AusBonsai

It's a paperbark with prickly leaves, so I'm guessing its a Prickly-Leaf Paperbark (Melaleuca Styphelioides).

I have a feeling this one, or part of it, may become my first actual bonsai, so wanted to get a record of it on here before I do anything drastic. Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

I dug this one out a few days ago. When it was in the ground, I thought it might be suitable as a clump. However after tidying it all up, I dont think I can see that working anymore. Angles just don't seem right.

It was a couple of meters tall, and very scrappy. I took it all off down to about 1m for now, and removed all the dead stuff. (Yet to do it all properly, tools still packed away). Its lost at least half to 2/3 its foliage through this.

I think, once I'm sure it's surviving and I know how, I will be splitting this one into 3 seperate plants. Left trunk should be a good one. Middle 2 are joined at the bottom. Right one seems average.
Thanks for looking, and for any opinions/advice!

Hi
These trees shoot freely from old wood so you could cut it much lower than 1m if you wanted. I am no expert in this species but with such drastic root reduction you may need to do that in order for it to survive.
Craig

The soil looks a lot like mud. If so, you will need to wash it out and replace with decent stuff. It would be a good opportunity to inspect the roots as well. As a general rule they like a lot of water with many species growing in damp/swamp-like conditions. It is still warm enough (in Sydney) to chop back harder if you want. I would suggest that you keep it in a shallow tray of water for a few weeks until it starts to reshoot just to be on the safe side.