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Four-year progression: making a shimpaku juniper from graft

February 4, 2022 by Jonas Dupuich

In spring of 2018, I picked up a prostrata juniper from Kenji Miyata. The branches were long and the foliage was course but I liked the curves in the lower trunk. It was a perfect candidate for grafting.

I made one graft using itoigawa shimpaku foliage and spent the next three years reducing the original branches while the new growth filled in. I created a shari in the trunk near the end of the process and finally removed the last branch last week.

Here’s the progression.

Prostrata juniper - March, 2018

Prostrata juniper – March, 2018

May, 2019

May, 2019

May, 2020

May, 2020

September, 2020

September, 2020

August, 2021

August, 2021

After carving - August, 2021

After carving – August, 2021

Grafted itoigawa juniper

Grafted itoigawa juniper – 9-1/2″ tall

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Filed Under: Bonsai Development, Uncategorized Tagged With: juniper

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mark donnelly says

    February 4, 2022 at 7:34 pm

    Just one graft?

    • Jonas Dupuich says

      February 4, 2022 at 8:36 pm

      Yes, just one graft. Here are close-ups: https://bonsaitonight.com/2018/07/03/side-veneer-graft-aftercare-bag-technique/

  2. Sean says

    February 6, 2022 at 2:43 pm

    I read recently that you can’t graft a branch ‘upside down’. Meaning your rootstock cut needs to go down toward the roots, and can’t go in and up. Is this true? I need yo graft a branch but want it to bend down, not up.

    • Jonas Dupuich says

      February 7, 2022 at 12:22 pm

      Good question – for most species I’ve worked with (I don’t know of any exceptions), it’s no problem to graft up or down. I usually graft in whichever direction makes sense based on the design for the tree.

  3. Sean says

    February 9, 2022 at 2:35 pm

    Any advice on sourcing Itoigawa? I saw bonsaify sells Kishu starts but haven’t had luck finding a good itoigawa mother plant. Thanks!

    • Jonas Dupuich says

      February 9, 2022 at 4:04 pm

      I don’t know of any good sources for mother plants. I’d check with Left Coast Bonsai: https://leftcoastbonsai.com/

  4. Larry Puckett says

    February 14, 2022 at 2:57 pm

    I just watched your presentation to the Sacramento club from a year ago on YouTube, very interesting. I was especially interested in your Sekka hinoki comments but only found one post in your blog on them. I have 11 to repot this spring and am considering ground growing them a few years instead of in pots. Have you tried that, I assume they will develop faster in the ground? I’d love to see more posts on yours. Would you recommend regular root pruning, say annually if in the ground to keep them growing horizontally or possibly growing them on a tile?

    • Jonas Dupuich says

      February 14, 2022 at 3:08 pm

      I’ve only grown sekka in containers, but I’d assume they’d grow more quickly in the ground. I think a tile, board, or anything that could facilitate horizontal root growth makes sense. I wouldn’t prune the roots more than every few years at the most, but if you want relatively small trees with relatively good roots frequent root-work makes sense.

      I’ve been growing sekka for a couple of years but have yet to do much work with them. I’ll be sure to start posting when I do!

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