[xtolord] ligustrum sinense

[Neli]

I love it! Remind me when to submit the final photos.

[xtolord]

Thanks!
Still need to do some adjustments, but it does look like a tight fit
Although the pot size was roughly what I was aiming for.
I think it needs some more root training to toughen the feeder roots.

Neli for the final submission :
Final submissions and photographs must be submitted no later than Midnight EDST on 1st October 2014.
The competition thread : viewtopic.php?f=6&t=14661

[Neli]

Thanks...remind me a week before again..he hehe

[xtolord]

Was having some second thoughts on the previous pot and the root state. The roots have not been developped and I was afraid it would not make it long in the smaller pot, specially with the roots exposed at this stage.

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[xtolord]

Here is the final entry for this Ligustrum.
I ended up defoliating it completely after the first shot to have a look at the inner branch structures.

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Height : ~16cm
Pot : Round pot unglazed

Overall I'm more than satisfied with the whole progression so far and on the final outcome.
I had a general idea of what I wanted to create when I selected the material for the competition and it got further refined as the competition progressed and for my part I feel like I reached my target.

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Starting material

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Rought vision of the tree

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Achievement at the end of the competition

I was planning to remove the aluminium foil to expose the roots for the final shots, but in the end decided against it.
There are shots of the root's current state in my previous post ( which I'm posting below) and removing it just for the final shot and replacing it afterwards would be complicated, counter productive and would stress the plant more than necessary ( the defoliation and 2 recent repottings is as much risk as I am willing to take right now ). I know ligustrum are rumored to be handle quite a bit, but trust me, stress them too much and they will die on you.

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what is planned for the future of the tree
Like I said above I ended up defoliating the tree completely to have a look at the inner branch structures to have a clearer idea of the future plans for this (pre)bonsai.

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I'm keeping the current sacrificial branches in place. I still need them to thicken the lower part of the tree.
For the upper part, I am planning to keep on reducing foliage there to encourage more growth in the lower areas.

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I do have a few undesirable structures that I kept mostly because this tree is still in its training phase and I need those structures to create more sacrificial branches later on.
This straight branch (pic above) will be removed at a later time.

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From a top view the branch disposition looks balanced but as the lower branches will thicken and get pruned back I might need to keep and eye an the future branch placements.



Well that's it
Thanks to AusBonsai and Steven for hosting those competitions and making it more interesting everytime.

[xtolord]

360 view :
https://flic.kr/p/ptXgKo