This sabina juniper is in my garden since 2008. I chose it mainly because of its long, dry appendage which I have always imagined to be a ten jin.

At the time of purchase, this was the tree :

The first thing I did was a good cleaning of the bark which brought out interesting details of the dry wood. This was followed by a rough selection of the branches to be left.

By changing the inclination I tried to highlight the long apical jin.

The next step is to cultivate aiming to thicken the foliage with a nice vigorous vegetation.

Sun, fertilizer and adequate watering are the classic ingredients for achieving this goal.

This was the tree in 2009:

It is time for the first shaping: the selected branches are wired and opened outwards trying to focus on the movement of the main branches. It is useless in these cases to obtain more detail.

In 2010 I proceed to the first transplanting, positioning the plant with its new inclination.

In 2012 the vegetation is thick and vigorous.

It is time for the second shaping. The first thing to do is to accentuate the inclination for the realization of a bonsai in semi-cascade style.

The increased number of branches allows to create more defined stages.

The following year (2013) after the re-potting and the thickening of the foliage:

After two more years the plant starts to be too thick. In addition, some branches begin to lose their vigour (especially the lower ones).

Front and back

Left side and right side

Detail of the foliage

At the end of the year 2015 I proceed with the third shaping. This is an opportunity to further simplify the structure and prune weak and superfluous branches.

Instead of cutting the branches at the base, I prefer to keep them and turn them into long, thin jins.

Front and back

Left side and right side

Crown detail

Detail of the vegetation

Detail of the trunk