Page 39 - BSAM 2018 Q2

Creating Juniper Bonsai in the Tropics
Text and Photos by Rudi Julianto, Indonesia
Edited by Budi Sulistyo
Iunderstand that Juniper is a very famous material for doing bonsai. I was inspired by the pictures of wild junipers growing in the wild that have a unique character due to the severe weather, with storms, lightning, rain, snow, turbulent wind,
and cold and hot temperatures that created beautiful trunks with jin and shari. Unfortunately, we can not find junipers growing wild in Indonesia. I have to depend on nursery-grown material or sometimes material from gardens and borders that homeowners do not want anymore. I design my bonsai based on the examples of trees growing in the wild. It does not mean that I copy and paste nature into my creation.
It is the concept and feeling of nature that is applied to my creation.
Juniper grow very quickly in the tropics, especially in at higher altitudes where the temperature is cooler. Due to the ample sunshine all the year around and rain showers for almost six months a year, I believe that Juniper in the tropics grows much quicker than their relatives that grow in temperate areas. Anyhow, the result of the bonsai will depend very much on the material prepared during the training phase in the ground. There are a few people who live in the mountains who have been cultivating Juniperus chinensis for over 20 years.
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