Old PJ Fig - Where to Go Next?

[BirchMan]

Hi All,

Long time no post, partially because i haven't had a lot to update on but also i'm a lot busier with a new job.

Anyway, i've been meaning to get some ideas and direction on this Port Jackson i bought from a WA bonsai club member i met at a show. He told me it's about 20 years old and was offloading because he's moving to smaller trees, so i was happy to oblige. When i got it, it was firmly potted in a trainer with loads of old moss around it (quite a little ecosystem at the base actually) and it looked like it had been allowed to grow on - with long straggly branches and an awkward trunk coming off the back. I soon gave it a repot into 50/50 akadama/potting mix and did the first defoliation a couple of weeks later.

This season i've just given it a defol' a few weeks ago to show what's underneath (and encourage the start of ramification) but would like some ideas on how to get a more convincing look. It's got nice nebari but the straight, taperless trunks and the "siamese twin" at the back need to be rectified.

[NBPCA]

Hi,

The existing front is a bit so so but would provide an OK bonsai if the main trunk and two side trunks are shortened. However.. Does the siamese twin lend it self to being incorporated as a low trunk from a different side on angle?

Consider before chopping.

More pics?

Grant

[Jamie]

hi mate,

i beleive that back branch was/is a saxrifice and has then just been used to add depth. as grant said the trunk is good but branching is so so, I think what he means is that they are straight for to long then branching at the ends. I would consider air layering the sacrifice if you are happy with trunk width (why waste it?) and then cutting back hard and regrowing new branching so the straight sections arent straight and long. you would get a fair few smaller little trees with some decent branching to work with for some nice shohins.

though

[Dario]

Hi BirchMan, I would really appreciate it if you could get a pic with the right rear corner of the pot facing the camera/you...and maybe another one about 10 to 15 degrees clockwise from the first pic. I am curious to see this view mate and even though the nabari won't be as good as the front you currently have, it may be possible to keep that branch you mention from this view (possibly move/bend it a little?). Although the middle trunk in your front would probably go and the others shortened, and the regrowth positioned to suit ...just a thought. :?:could be very wrong though
Thanks for posting and whatever direction you take, I believe with a few changes and a bit of a re-work, this will turn out nice in a few years!
Cheers, Dario.

[BirchMan]

Thanks for the responses Dario, Jamie and Grant. I'll endeavor to get a couple of rear angled pics in the next couple of days.

The problem with this tree is i can see so many options with which way to go, it's difficult to make a decisive call. I can totally imagine it in a round pot planted on something of an angle to make use of the rear trunk.

Cheers for the replies guys and keep em coming. I want a great tree out of this, not an ordinary one

[kcpoole]

I would also like to see some more pics of this with the Sacrifice in a better position. Keeping it would make a nice Twin trunk tree maybe?