Chinese Elm styling advice

radhatter

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Hi Bonsai friends,
I’m having a challenge deciding on what direction I want to take this Chinese elm. I think the core of my problem is I can’t decide where to make the apex. There is the obvious continuation of the main trunk but it’s got a section that is fairly straight. I’ve considered resolving that by changing the potting angle but I’m not sold on the idea. Before I commit to any direction I’d love ideas if you all have any. I know styling through images is practically impossible but I’m hoping ya’ll might be able to give me some inspiration.

Thanks!

IMG_9333.jpegIMG_9336.jpegIMG_9332.jpegIMG_9331.jpegIMG_9328.jpeg
 

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Shibui

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Correct about it being hard to design from 2 D pictures.
Not sure if it will work in practice but this pic struck me as having most potential.
chinese elm.png
There's a branch at the front, about half way up that could be a potential new leader It will require taking almost all major branches way back (red lines?) and then allowing the resulting shoots to grow out to somewhere near the blue line.
The problem is I can't work out where some of those major branches come from so you'll need to check the tree to see if such a plan would actually work with the tree and the branch positions.

Good luck with the planning and styling when you come up with a viable plan.
 

radhatter

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I hadn't really considered it from this side, I'll take a look today and see if what you're proposing works on the actual tree
 
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