It's an Old Gold Juniper which was the subject of a styling competition on another forum. It was not required to be in a bonsai pot for the competition, which could possibly be one reason why it's still alive!

After its initial styling:

And then a year later, after quite a bit of thinning:

And finally, a vision for the future?

-Audric

I have no clue, quite frankly. The original intent (as you could probably see) was for it to be a 2-trunk bonsai, but now the second, smaller trunk will act as a sacrifice branch and be allowed to grow unrestricted. The same goes for the lower left-hand branch. I'm not sure how long it will take to the branches to produce reasonable thickness in the lower part of the trunk.

I'm guessing that the upper branching in the new apex could be established (roughly) be the end of the coming growing season. The virtual is actually not much taller (if at all) than the current height. However, the development of these branches and other branches may take a while longer. Unrestricted, it can produce quite a bit of new growth. The following picture was taken before it was thinned out (the second last pic in my first post). This was the result of 1 1/2 growing seasons. Some pinching was done the second year.

So my rough estimate is that maybe in 2-4 years, the pads will become decently developed and refined. However, this does not account for any recovery period for repotting, which hasn't been planned either. I'm sure that the roots will have to be reduced/refined, but I'm not sure when or how this should happen (i.e. if it should go into the ground, back into its pot, or into a bonsai pot).

-Audric

Coincidentally, I too chose Old Gold for a contest. It was my first Juniper and as I did a partial styling for the contest I decided to forgo re-potting until next Spring.

How has the tree been performing for you? After making the purchase I read that this is not a particularly good variety for bonsai. That any of the "gold" types are weak growers and prone to disease. The thing is my tree does not appear especially gold. Can you, (or anyone else), shed any light on this. Thanks.

Norm

I do not know very much, nor do I have any other junipers to compare it to. Objectively, it seems to be a decent grower and I haven't had any issues with it at all. A few smaller branches died (you can see in the last picture), but they were broken when wiring.

As for it being gold or not gold, the last picture shown is as gold as it's every gotten. However, when I compare it to how it looked like when I first bought it, it's not much different. Only the new growth is [slightly] gold, but then quickly turns green. I guess that the only way that you'll have a very gold tree is if you allow it to grow freely without trimming it. Hope this helps!

-Audric

You have a very nice plant. If it were mine, I would be tempted to change the angle some. If you make the dominant trunk a little more upright, the plant as a whole might not look like a slingshot.

In nature the dominant trunk is upright and the smaller grows out away from it hoping to get some sun.

Have fun with it.

randy

Thanks for the information. I see that you have left your lower branch as a sacrifice. My tree had a similar configuration but I jinned the secondary branch for the sake of the contest. In retrospect I wish that I had left it for a few years. Thanks again.

Norm