Bunya pine in need of help

[paul smedley]

Hi native gurus.
Finally today i have put all of my bonsai in one place and came up with a very spiky Bunya. I acquired it (like all the others) 5 years ago and it was 2 years old then. I have had a look through other topics but have not really made up my mind what to do with him. it has a great triple trunk to it that looks quite natural which is great. One left side growing great, right side growing ok and the middle one is growing but that is about all. I am wondering what to do with him. I am not sure whether i should cut the middle and keep both the others. Other pics of them look like they are pretty much formal to informal but there is not a lot to go on. I am assuming that the extremely spiky leaves have something to do with that. I could go for a bit of a W with the 3 trunks or will that look ridiculous? At a loss so would love some wisdom thrown at me.
Cheers P.

[shibui]

I admire your ambition but I think you are always going to struggle with Bunya. Not only prickly but also difficult growth habit to manage as bonsai.
Like all trees its ambition is to grow really tall really fast so when one trunk gets going it gets all the resources and the smaller ones don't grow much. If you want to keep that small one you will need to limit growth on the taller ones ( pruning)
I would also try wiring so that each has some space and sunlight. The smaller one would be good for a rear trunk to give depth and perspective to the arrangement so push it toward the back a bit.

I think you should invest in some good gloves or long cutters or both to deal with this one.

[paul smedley]

I admire your ambition but I think you are always going to struggle with Bunya. Not only prickly but also difficult growth habit to manage as bonsai.
Like all trees its ambition is to grow really tall really fast so when one trunk gets going it gets all the resources and the smaller ones don't grow much. If you want to keep that small one you will need to limit growth on the taller ones ( pruning)
I would also try wiring so that each has some space and sunlight. The smaller one would be good for a rear trunk to give depth and perspective to the arrangement so push it toward the back a bit.

I think you should invest in some good gloves or long cutters or both to deal with this one.

Thanks S.
gloves are a sure bet i think. The wiring i will get onto very soon and i may also give the big ones a bit of a trim and see how he does. not sure why i try to challenge myself this early in the game but I am a bit manic with the trees now i have found them all. Trying to absorb as much info for each plant i feel like an over wrung sponge at the moment. Your advice is always awesome.
Cheers P

[paul smedley]

Well i have had a look at the pine and decided to trim and wire soi hopefully this looks ok. i decided to eave the main trunk for the moment and pinch the top once it gets bigger. should i do anything with this trunk? it is very stiff so if so out comes the binding g and big wire.
any advice on how to do better?

[Kent LakeMac]

This might look good literati style. A few kinks in the trunk and minimal growth up top?

[paul smedley]

This might look good literati style. A few kinks in the trunk and minimal growth up top?

Hmm Kent. I hadn't thought of that. I will wait a while for not to be a bit walker then start the pruning and see if i can get it taller. I am a fan of literati but that is mainly because i have neglected the kids for so long and they are growing up not out. haha.