I’ve been looking at a Rocky Mountain juniper in my garden for the last three years. The trunk is fairly straight, but there is interesting deadwood on one side.
![Side A](https://bonsaitonight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/front.jpg)
Rocky Mountain juniper – side A
![Side B](https://bonsaitonight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/back.jpg)
Side B
Although it was a while before I knew what I wanted to do with the tree, I’d set two goals right away: avoid vertical growth, and avoid long branches with poor taper or movement.
The first goal was easy to solve – select a new planting angle for the tree.
![New angle](https://bonsaitonight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/angle.jpg)
New planting angle
The second goal required a saw.
![After pruning](https://bonsaitonight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/cut.jpg)
After reducing the branches
With my two main goals accomplished, the next question was to come up with a plan for the foliage. The many small shoots along the trunk would make it easy to develop new branches without the need to graft, but I wasn’t convinced that leaving the tree tall was the best way to show off the tree’s best feature – the deadwood along the trunk.
To keep the focus on the natural deadwood, I removed all of the foliage except for the lowest block on the right side.
![After reducing the foliage](https://bonsaitonight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/reduced.jpg)
After removing the foliage on the upper part of the trunk
Removing the small shoots really made the deadwood stand out. From here I started carving the upper branches.
![Carving the first branch](https://bonsaitonight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/carving.jpg)
After carving the top-left branch
Once the top-left branch started to take shape, I found that the middle section of the trunk was too long and straight. I reduced it and finished carving the right hand section of the trunk.
![Deadwood detail](https://bonsaitonight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/deadwood.jpg)
Deadwood on the top branch
![Right side](https://bonsaitonight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/right-side.jpg)
View from the right side
![Back side](https://bonsaitonight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/back-side.jpg)
View from the back
![Styling complete](https://bonsaitonight.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/carved.jpg)
Carving complete – 15″ tall
I held off on wiring the tree as it’s already gone through a lot. I typically avoid removing so much foliage all at once, but I was curious how the tree would respond to the work. In the month since making the big cuts, the tree has grown well. I plan to repot it this winter into a smaller container suitable for a semi-cascade style tree. I’ll provide an update after the repotting.
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José Alberto Domingues Pereira says
Well…what a difference!
Jonas, Don’t you think that is a lot of work at the same year?
Jonas Dupuich says
Thanks José! Yes, this is more work than I recommend for this or any other time of year. It’s best to do the big cuts incrementally.
I think of this as more of an experimental tree and I wanted to learn how the tree would respond if I did all of the work at once. I will provide an update if I learn anything about the effect of this work going forward.
Thanks for the question!