My first B. Integrifolio air layer, calling all Banksia experts

[MattM]

I'll start by saying I love Banksia's. I have had a rampant Integrifolio growing in my backyard that I planted a couple of years ago. I left it leggy with the idea of air layering for bonsai. It is my first air layer. It is 60mm diameter. I air layered it in February 10 2019 and put it in a pot on 17 September 2019 as I had to go to Japan for Rugby World Cup and thought it may be too late by the time I got back home to Western Sydney. When I cut it down and potted it up to my surprise it still had no roots. Anyway I potted it up and left it with a friend while we were on holidays. Today is is shooting prolifically. So my questions are;
1. Should I cut it back harder so it back buds closer to the base of the trunk or just let it grow for now?
2. How do I "encourage" taper?

Thanks, Matt

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[Watto]

The most difficult part of bonsai is leaving things alone, not touching, not moving them about and keeping the scissors away from them. However this is what I think you need to do, nothing. Just love and water and lots of hoping for survival.
The art of patience is a must here.
Style, taper and ramification are a couple of years down the track.

[gordonb]

Leaving it alone is a good idea - the roots must establish, and it should be rooted enough to be stable before you do anything else.
As for taper, there is taper available in what you already have [see attached]; but you first need to let it grow for a year (or more)

[shibui]

First you need to know the current state of roots because you will only get good response if the tree has good roots. You could do as suggested above and leave it for another full season to give it the best chance to establish a good root system and that's probably what I would do. Plenty of foliage feeds new roots. Cutting the tree again will set it back severely. As mentioned, bonsai is not about immediate results. We need to work in timelines of years rather than days and months to fit in with tree growth cycles.
I have found banksias to be quite quick growers so your tree may just have a good root mass already. If you are determined to push this one to the limits you should gently check the roots to see how well they have grown. If you do find a good pot full of roots I think it would be OK to prune the tree again.
A banksia will often bud all over the trunk after pruning but, like most trees, buds near the top are far more common (as we see here) so it is far better to prune trunks closer to the area you require the new growth.

[MattM]

Thank you all for your replies.
I will leave it alone and look at it next spring/summer.
Matt