I find it hard to imagine that wounds in this genus would not close as
in other trees,

Iris Cohen schreef
Yet it's true. I can show you on my own Juniper bonsai. No, the fact that
it is a bonsai has nothing to do with it. Other pruned bonsai heal just like
outdoor trees.

Iris,

+ + +
I am not one to argue with the facts, but could you provide a little more
detail? Are those wounds never overgrown or only at a very late stage? If
these are never overgrown then a big trunk of Juniperus should be full of
holes where the branches used to be?
PvR

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

From: "P van Rijckevorsel"

I find it hard to imagine that wounds in this genus would not close as
in other trees,

Iris Cohen schreef
Yet it's true. I can show you on my own Juniper bonsai. No, the fact that
it is a bonsai has nothing to do with it. Other pruned bonsai heal just like
outdoor trees.

Iris,

+ + +
I am not one to argue with the facts, but could you provide a little more
detail? Are those wounds never overgrown or only at a very late stage? If
these are never overgrown then a big trunk of Juniperus should be full of
holes where the branches used to be?

My observations of Junipers here in New Mexico indicate that the bark does not
grow to cover a wound or a dead stub until the tree grows out to that area. If
you leave a 5 cm stub when pruning, the tree will need to grow about 5 cm
(radius) before that stub will be covered by bark. Most other trees will
quickly grow bark to cover stubs. If you make a large wound on a Juniper, it
may never get covered up. This may be due to the large quantity of aromatic
compounds found in Juniper wood, the tree doesn't really need to protect itself
as much.

Sean



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From: "P van Rijckevorsel"
I find it hard to imagine that wounds in this genus would not close
as in other trees,

Iris Cohen schreef
Yet it's true. I can show you on my own Juniper bonsai. No, the fact
that it is a bonsai has nothing to do with it. Other pruned bonsai heal just
like outdoor trees.
Iris,

+ + +
I am not one to argue with the facts, but could you provide a little more
detail? Are those wounds never overgrown or only at a very late stage? If
these are never overgrown then a big trunk of Juniperus should be full of
holes where the branches used to be?

Sean Houtman schreef
My observations of Junipers here in New Mexico indicate that the bark does
not grow to cover a wound or a dead stub until the tree grows out to that
area. If you leave a 5 cm stub when pruning, the tree will need to grow
about 5 cm (radius) before that stub will be covered by bark. Most other
trees will quickly grow bark to cover stubs. If you make a large wound on a
Juniper, it may never get covered up. This may be due to the large quantity
of aromatic compounds found in Juniper wood, the tree doesn't really need to
protect itself as much.

Sean

+ + +
The quality of wood likely has nothing to do with it. The heartwood is quite
durable, but in wounds it is the sapwood which is exposed and that is not
resistant at all. Wounds are entry points for diseases (read: fungi). Stubs
are bad too
PvR