Blue Atlas Cedar styling... opinions?

[teamak]

Hey all,

For those who didn't see my introduction post, I'm still only in my first year of Bonsai, so please go easy
Here are a few pictures of my most recent pickup, a lovely Blue Atlas Cedar. It was a hard choice, he does have some very nice starters in there and I may find myself giving in to temptation and getting another.
Here's the front

45 to left

and the left side


The reason I am showing you all, is because I'm going to clean him up a bit and get some wiring happening, now that I presume most of the more adventurous growth will slow down along with the amount of sunlight we get. Last few times I've tried however I've made a dog's breakfast of it. So I've drawn up (ms paint, rock on) what I'm thinking in my head I would like to happen.

Ignore the trunkline in pale yellow, in reality I would like it curved more to the left for a bit more balance... Red is about the height I'll cut back to, and the branch with the question mark is really stumping me (is that a pun? )... I'm torn between removing it or leaving it there, trained and shorter than the branch below. Would it throw off the balance once the trunk is more curved? Hhrrmmmm.



Apart from that, a general cleanup around the trunk, wiring of a lower back branch into better position and cutting back a branch sticking out to the front (can't see there, check the above pic from the left), is there anything you would add? Or not do? I'm asking this time because I don't want to ruin the potential (I think) this tree has.

Cheers

[The Hacker]

Hi Teamak

Very nice tree has great movement in the lower trunk so mayb just wire the trunk in2 the shape you would like & let it set it's shape then do the branch's next year, as you no bonsai is not a five minute thing it take's time & I think you have plenty of it on your side so rush it.

Regard's

The Hacker

[bodhidharma]

Nice movement but not a blue atlas cedar. More likely Atlantica.

[shibui]

Agree with Bodhi, no blue colour in the photos. Hard to tell scale in a photo so difficult to id further. My first impression was deodar???

Teamak, Much depends on what you want from the tree. At this stage you have options of producing anything at all.
At the moment, The base has good movement but the rest of the trunk is quite straight. I'd either wire more movement and/or cut to leave the branch you have marked ? as a new leader with the 2 lower branches bent down as you have indicated.
If you'd prefer a straighter tree the bends at the base will grow out as the trunk thickens but it will take a few years.

Always hard to design a tree from 2d pics but I thought the left side gave much more interesting base so maybe consider that as an alternative front?