Six years with a nursery juniper, from nursery stock to bonsai

Sometimes you buy a tree mainly for its trunk, and this juniper is a case in point. Bonsai Empire followed the tree over six years. It was about 20 years old when bought, and had already spent roughly ten years in the nursery being grown as material. It cost about 200 USD, a serious investment that the authors feel was justified by the strong trunk and its beautiful movement.

In the first year, a branch that had grown too thick was removed and replaced with younger, still flexible branches. Because the tree was healthy, around 30 to 40 percent of the foliage was taken off. Hanging shoots were removed, pairs of branches of similar thickness were chosen and wired upward from the main branches, using thinner wire for thinner branches.

When repotting, the drainage holes were covered with mesh and the tree was anchored with two long wires. Old, dark roots were removed, and the new substrate was akadama, lava rock and pumice. The old organic nursery soil is only replaced gradually at later repottings.

In years two to four there was little to do beyond maintenance pruning twice a year. In year five came fine work on the branching, rewiring and a second repotting. By year six the tree looks almost finished.

What I like most is the idea that a bonsai is never truly finished. Interestingly, the video title speaks of 26 years, which presumably includes the years in the nursery.

Source: Bonsai Empire