I got this in august 2013. I think it's coming along nicely. It refuses to give me a branch on that left side above the back branch though. The extreme low branch is for sacrifice, I only wired it down so it was out of the way.
Not a bad looking trunk ! If you are after new buds the best way is to cut everything off except your sacrifice and then feed it and it should bud all the way along the trunk. If you are going to wire your branches down it looks better if they come straight out of the trunk on a downward angle, rather than an arc. Swampy wood is fairly soft so you should be able to attain it but if the branch is too thick you can undercut it to help with the bend.
Regards Tony
"The problem with quotes found on the Internet is that it's hard to be sure of their authenticity." Abraham Lincoln
Yep it's actually the best time. I have a few I am growing in the ground that got hit hard with the heat. They are popping buds everywhere now. Heaps of that smelly stuff you don't like helps as does a gravel bed
Regards Tony
"The problem with quotes found on the Internet is that it's hard to be sure of their authenticity." Abraham Lincoln
Looking again at the tree I think the wire is a bit small for that diameter trunk. If that's all you have the put 2 or 3 strands on. Another handy tip is when you bring the wire from the trunk to the branch take it over the top of the branch if you are bending it down and have the wire right in the junction of the trunk/branch.
Regards Tony
"The problem with quotes found on the Internet is that it's hard to be sure of their authenticity." Abraham Lincoln
Ok cool. I have thicker stuff but not much, might redo the under wiring and double it. The bark kind of cracks and creaks when I bend it, I was pretty rough but I didn't want to snap the branch off at the trunk.
It took me a while to find this thread again, after 8 years! I think it’s starting to look nice. Yes it will be the big standard swampy formal-ish upright with styled form branches even though they don’t grow that way in real life. It will be my bonsai Christmas tree one day.
This one has grown well this year and it’s the first year I’ve seen a good coating of deciduous colouring on it. This is the back of the tree. Too heavy for me to move at the moment: