How to make a Juniper Bonsai tree

This tree is a Juniperus 
chinensis, or a Kishu juniper. The tree is about 10 to 12 years old and 
it cost 150 US dollar in a Bonsai nursery. Now it's not particularly cheap 
but the tree is really designed   As a bonsai so that in the last five six 
years already some work has been put into   It. And that's why today we can really 
make a nice looking Bonsai right away. So it's got a very artificial twisting trunk,   But looks quite nice with a long curly 
branch here and some branches here as well. So today I'm going to prune and wire 
it, I'm not going to repot it at all,   That comes in a half a year from now. And it's going to be quite a drastic change 
so one of the things that I'm doing is this   Branch here is going to be a Jin, so all the 
foliage is going to be removed and also I'm   Going to change the angle of the tree so it 
will be more or less something like this. And lastly all the foliage above this point 
is also going to be removed so all this is   Going to be pruned away and we'll build 
the tree with only these few branches. So I'll begin with pruning the foliage right 
here and removing the top part of the tree,  And we might make a small Jin of this 
this straight section, but let's see. All right so I removed this foliage 
the next step is to cut here.  So like I said I want to keep this part as the 
Jin feature perhaps so at least I want to keep   That possibility open so I'm just going to prune 
right above it and that's somewhere around here. All right took off the top 
of the tree as well. So with the angle change, the 
tree will look more or less like like   That and we'll build the tree with 
the foliage that is all around here.  And we'll make this a Jin, and what we'll also 
do, is follow the Jin down towards the trunk and   Make a Shari line so you will see a nice 
white line going around here which gives a   Really nice interplay of the deadwood and the 
live vein so we'll do that next as well. Deciding on the design of a Bonsai 
isn't always easy, especially when a   Tree is as full and overgrown as this plant.
If you are interested to learn more about   These techniques consider enrolling 
in one of our online Bonsai courses.  Here expert teachers explain the relevant 
techniques and you can ask them questions.  For a free lesson go to bonsaiempire.com/courses Alright so I finished creating the Jin feature 
here as well as the Shari line which I continued   From the branch all the way down swirling 
around the trunk into the ground here.  So doing this I want to be on a safe side so 
I really follow the dead branch I make a thin   Line just all the way across the trunk and I 
make it quite thin only a few millimeters and  

Eventually we can thicken it, make it a bit 
broader, but over time don't do it all in once. So for now this is more than enough so 
what this does is it makes the trunk line   A lot more interesting and this feature 
will be nice in the end result as well.  So the next step is wiring the tree and 
then setting the branches in position.  To create the the the Jin feature 
and the Shari I use this Jin tool,   You can buy this online at 
most Bonsai shops as well. Before we apply the wire we remove dangling growth 
and small branches that are growing downwards.  This basic cleaning of the branches will 
make it much easier to wire the tree. Try to select pairs of branches 
that are more or less of the same   Thickness and wire these with one piece of wire.  Start with wiring the main branches 
and slowly work your way up the tree.  Smaller and thinner branches 
need a thinner wire as well. We finished with this tree so we did 
a lot of work on the deadwood,   Wired it, and just set it in 
position all the branches. So I'm really happy with the result 
and you're looking at it from the   Front and also at the angle that I 
think will be best for the three. So this is all we do for today, come 
next spring so about six months from now,   We'll place this tree in a nice Bonsai pot 
and we'll show you that next in the video. The wire that we put on I think 
it will be on the tree for a good   Three to four months perhaps even a 
little bit longer it just depends. So I'll keep a close eye out on the 
on the branches to see how the wire   Is doing and make sure to remove the wire 
before it starts to bite into the bark.  But I'm very pleased with the
result and I think once this will   Be placed in a bonsai container it will 
look even better than it does right now. So the tree did well over the winter, 
it didn't grow much obviously and right   Now it's early spring so it's 
about to start growing again. You can see a lot of new growth 
starting to happen but it's still   Starting up so right now it's a very 
good time to put it in a bonsai pot,   And it will look so much better than this 
plastic container that it's in right now.  So today we'll repot it ,we'll 
take it out of this plastic pot,   Work out the the soil away from the roots, and 
see if we can fit it into a nice Bonsai pot. So one nice option especially in terms of color 
and and shape as well this being a Han-kengai,   Or a semi cascading, tree, 
this pot will be really nice.  But it might be a little bit too small, 
so I have an alternative which I don't  

Like as much for the shape because 
this is more for a Moyogi or like   An informal upright tree but it's 
a little bit bigger so let's see. Let's assume for now that 
we'll place it in this pot. So I'll prepare the pot and put the mesh in   There and attachment wires and 
work work on the tree as well. So to work out the roots I use a root rake 
which is a little bit more aggressive, and also   Chopsticks which is a little bit more safe.
So on the outside I know for sure that   A lot of the soil and roots will have to 
come of, so I'll use this root rake. So it hasn't been repotted for a long time,   That that much is clear, it's potted in 
a partly organic partly inorganic mix. So it seems to be some some pumice   And organic matter as well so for sure this 
tree will be much happier placed in in our   Bonsai substrate which is an inorganic 
mix of akadama, pumice, and lava rock. So I have the mix already prepared right here 
so this is what we'll use for the for the tree. We also prune some of the old roots which can 
be distinguished by the dark almost black color. Next we prepare the pot by covering 
the drainage holes with a mesh. We also attach two long wires which will be 
used to anchor the tree to the pot firmly. We add a layer of soil before 
placing the tree into the pot. Place the tree slightly off center in the pot 
and make sure to plant it at the right angle. Using the two long wires we 
firmly attach the tree to the pot The soil mixture we use is a blend 
of akadama, lava rock, and pumice   You can read more about Bonsai soil 
on our website: bonsaiempire.com We have finished styling this tree, pruned and wired it,   And just repotted it the only thing 
we have to do now is watering. Learn how to create your own bonsai trees by 
enrolling in one of our online Bonsai courses. We explain techniques like pruning, wiring,   And repotting and you can 
ask questions to the teachers. For the curriculums and free lessons,
go to: bonsaiempire.com/courses

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