Bonsai Gallery of Walter Pall: Rocky Mountain Juniper nr. 1

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Rocky Mountain Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) #1

About 75 cm high
More than 500 years old, probably older than 1000 years
Pot Japanese
From a tree which was collected in Colorado by Larry Jackel in 1998

This juniper stood still in the mountains when it was shown to me by Larry Jackel. he asked me whether this was good for me and I say yes. So I got this tree one year later and was lucky to be able to import it into Germany. In these days it was considered a really big tree, way too big by most bonsai enthusiasts in Germany. Times have changed and now it is a good sized bonsai which a strong man can just about carry alone. It is a modern bonsai concerning the use of deadwood and proportions. It is what is referred to as sumo bonsai, appearing huge and massive by comparing the trunk diameter to the height of the tree. It is not enough for a sumo tree to be fat. This would be grotesque. It must at the same time convey some elegance by movement of the trunk and it must have taper. That's what we have here. The soft feminine flow of the foliage contrasts strongly with the masculine trunk and deadwood.