We Spent 6 Years Turning a $200 Nursery Juniper Into a Refined Bonsai

Six years. Two repottings. Five full stylings. Countless hours of pruning, wiring, and deadwood carving. In this video, we document the complete transformation of a Juniperus chinensis — from raw nursery stock to a refined bonsai — in a 20 min video. You'll follow every major decision along the way: the first structural pruning, selecting the front and nebari, creating and refining the deadwood (shari and jin), two full repottings with root work, and five rounds of wiring that progressively refined the pad structure and overall silhouette. This is the kind of video we wish existed when we started — honest, long-term, and showing the real pace of bonsai development. Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 0:25 - First styling 4:50 - Mild repotting 7:32 - Second styling 11:10 - Summer styling 11:49 - Fourth styling 16:40 - Repotting and maintenance Whether you're just getting started with junipers or deep into your bonsai practice, this is a full, honest look at what long-term development actually looks like. For more text and explanations check the article on our website about this tree: https://www.bonsaiempire.com/blog/jun... Drop a comment below if you're working on a juniper — we'd love to see where yours is at! #bonsai #juniperbonsai #juniperusbonsai #nurserystock #bonsaitransformation #bonsaijourney We thank the Japanese garden Clingendael, and our two technical supervisors Bob Ruitenbeek and Christiaan Yeh for their help. If you're based in Europe, most of the trees and products we use in our videos can be bought in our online store: English: https://www.bonsaishop.uk Dutch: https://www.bonsaishop.nl German: https://www.derbonsaishop.de French: https://www.bonsaishop.fr Also, if you'd like to keep track of your collection and receive care notifications on your phone (based on species and location) you could try our Bonsai Care App. It is a free download for your phone: https://www.bonsaicare.app Serious about growing your own Bonsai trees? Then consider enrolling in one of our online Bonsai Courses, taught by expert teachers. For the curriculums and free lectures, go to: https://www.bonsaiempire.com/courses