Large Juniper Project Part 4

Here is the juniper we've featured in several other posts.  This is what it looked like when we left off last time.

 When we finished off  the last time the initial carving had been done and most of the unnecessary branches had been removed.
 The next step will consist of branch selection and wiring. I'm still debating with myself about the secondary trunk. I keep going back and forth between losing it and keeping it.
Before wiring I wrap the larger branches tightly with raffia. I take several strands of raffia and tie them together like below to wrap the branches with. Using the raffia will help insure that I can make the necessary bends without breaking the branch.

 After tightly wrapping the heavy branches with overlapping bands of raffia I apply large wires to the main branches. When using the raffia it is very important to make sure there are no gaps. If there are you can almost count on a branch breaking.

 After applying the raffia to the main branches I jin a couple of branches I decide are not necessary. Then it's time to start the bending and placing of the main branches. The branches are mostly longer and straighter than I want so by some serious bending I can not only give them movement and shape but considerably shorten them as well.

 Here I'm using a pair of jin pliers to help appy the larger wires.

 It took a couple of wires on some of the branches to be sure that they'll stay where I place them. It took some strength and the pliers to put some bends in the primary branches. But as you can see the raffia and wires are doing their job.

 I needed to use guy wires in a couple of places to hold the branch in place. These are smaller sized wires I attached to the wire around the branch and then a jin on the tree after pulling the branch into place.

 After getting the main branches moved I needed to make sense of them and the secondary branching from them.

 I trimmed and wired all the main branches as well as all the secondary branches and all the smaller tertiary branches and twigs. All branches and twigs hanging down from the main branches were removed and everything was thinned out and opened up.

 After getting most of the branches wired I finally made up my mind about the second trunk- I cut it off and turned it into a jin.

 So after all of todays work look what was hidden in the big bush.

 It is well on it's way to becoming a good bonsai.. For now its a matter of fertilizing and pinching to create the foliage pads.  Next spring if all goes well I'll be putting it into a smaller pot. I'll also do some more detail work on the deadwood.

 I really hope that you've enjoyed the process of finding and creating this bonsai in the making. As always I welcome any thoughts or comments.