AusBonsai

DavidN wrote: ↑December 8th, 2020, 9:03 am Have you considered creating a shorter tree using those lower branches? Run shari down the left side, foliage on the right and air layer the top off to create another tree.
Please excuse my poor virtual using Paint but just wanted to share what I was thinking.
Great stock BTW.
David

I second this option. I feel the lower half and the top half of the tree is in quite a bit of disproportion. You can turn the top half of the tree as a tenjin and bring a branch behind the main trunk to make a lower left branch.

I'd go with Option D and look to add some interesting shari/carving up and through those stumps. I definitely like the look of this over the initial 2, unless of course you want to layer the top, but then you're in for a long(ish) ride to get the base developed... and I don't think you want that given you baulked at a 5 year time frame around the grafting option. I think Option D will give you the quickest route to a more refined tree.

I'm with R3 - D plus a bit of a carve would look great.

B or C for me. D seems to be the worst option. The main branch is in the back. If you plan on removing it down the track then ok.

The roots will need to be sorted out but that's easy.

treeman wrote: ↑December 9th, 2020, 4:40 pm If you plan on removing it down the track then ok.

Yep.
With carving and shari this base has the most promise from what I see in the pics, so I’d look here.