If these are never overgrown then a big trunk of Juniperus should be
full of holes where the branches used to be?

Iris Cohen schreef
Actually they are not full of holes; they are full of the stubs of dead
branches. In bonsai lingo these are called jin. The scars of dead wood down
the trunk are called shari. An old collected juniper full of jin & shari is
highly prized. The bonsai experts carve the dead wood to enhance its natural
appearance. We paint the dead parts with lime sulphur to keep them from
rotting. The whole process is also done artificially on nursery stock. If
you are styling a juniper and you want to remove a branch, you can't just
cut it off. You have to make a jin out of it. I learned all this the hard
way. There is a famous bonsai artist out your way, Mark Noelanders, who can
tell you all about it.

Iris,

+ + +

The fact that stubs are not overgrown does not mean much, this would be the
rule in most trees.

Looking up Marc Noelanders I find he is from Belgium, which is very close to
here indeed, athough not within calling distance.

http://www.bonsai.lu/noelanders.htm

Seeing all the little trees on the various web sites I feel pity for the
abuse they have to endure, although I must admit that in a few cases the
results are quite stunning.
PvR