Thanks for your input guys. This is kind of what I was expecting. I'll grant that its too tall (I chopped about 20% off before this picture), but that's also the direction this one seems destined for. I'm hoping for more elegant than too-tall-and-skinny but anybody who's met me knows I've been fighting that all my life. (Thanks Dad.)
Have you started "root" work?
The nebari of this one is going to be its best feature. If you squint and study it closely you can see the ingredients for a good nebari are there. Its hard to make out in this picture as its presented though.
Whats the bottom line here. Raised from seedling yet allowed to grow 4-5 feet tall. Is there a purpose to this kind of growth? Did you just allow it to grow without thought for bonsai? Was it grown this tall for some sort of literati design in mind down the road?
Let's stop here and I'll address these questions.
If I'm remembering right, this one showed promise as I was doing root work. As I planted it into the pot, I decided I'd introduce some subtle movement into the trunk, thinking I'd chop it later, but allow the roots the benefit of ample foliage growth to really pump them up. Turns out, I liked the movement of the lower trunk enough that I tried to continue that further up (not quite as pleasingly/convincingly). At one point I thought this would be suitable material for a literati maple, but I'm not certain that'd be believable, or that I could pull it off convincingly.
This tree has buds ALL over the trunk. Also, it has two low branches that are wired and will be allowed time to gather some steam. It, like much of my material, will be going into a larger container (Anderson-esque Flat perhaps) in the hopes of fostering growth. I'm hopeful that the rootwork I've done the past 3-ish years will begin to be apparent and that those low branches start to alleviate some of the monotony of trunk size. My struggle is figuring out how to incorporate those low branches into a design that's pleasing.
This next part's going to sound like a contradiction ...and I guess it is.
I'm growing this one with priority to the nebari. Its spent two years in this shallow pot sorting the roots and establishing a flat rootball. I'm not tied to saving anything but the nebari. The lower trunk movement I like but its lacking taper all over. Depending on what buds develop/extend (all over the trunk) I'm not opposed to chopping it lower eventually to develop a different tree. Presently, I'm enjoying something different for my bench as this tree meanders through its development.
Again, I appreciate your thoughts.
