Iris Cohen wrote:

I need an
article which tells me how to turn a $25 juniper in a 4 inch pot into a
masterpiece.

There are a few developmental series at http://www.rgbonsai.com,
although not specifically with junipers. I hope to expand that section
in the not too distant future.

The other problem is that the books & magazines have step by step articles on
how to take a tree from day one over a period of six years & turn it into a
bonsai. But either I didn't have this tree six years ago, or I didn't have the
magazine six years ago, and the tree is six years old. I need an article that
tells me what to do with it today, not what I should have done six years ago.
Sometimes you can extrapolate, but it is usually difficult to tell what is
going on when you walk into the middle of Act Three, Scene Two.

With any untouched tree, you start with the beginning of Act One, Scene
One. You seem to expect books to give step-by-step instructions on
exactly the plant you have right down to branch placement and trunk
size. Obviously, that can't be.

Reiner Goebel
Toronto, Canada
http://www.rgbonsai.com