Grouper, thankyou sincerely for the reply. It is not only helpful to me, but to others who stumble through as well. The points you raise, are ones that I've been pondering over the now 14 months I've owned the tree.
When I aquired it, the tree wasn't in the best shape. When I asked an experienced local club member to help with my first ever repotting, he saud sure. I went to his place, and he proceeded to TEAR the dead stump and other clumps of roots from the rootball that was long overdue for a repot.
It pushed buds, and grew well through the beginning of summer, then took a turn for the worse
? I put it in the "bonsai hospital" for the rest of the summer, and it pushed some healthy fall growth.
First and foremost I haven't wanted to push this tree to much, as it was a gift from a friend and the last remaining tree of his collection. So, I have done some minor work to set the stage for the future changes to come. What they are is up in the air.
As you said, the height presents a problem. The main tree is like a gangly teenager, too tall and thin. Yet he's growing a full beard that hasn't yet turned grey.(semi-ancient crown) It's a bit of an anomaly at this point. I'm looking at many options, including removing some of the lower braches, and planting in a small drum pot. Reducing it will be a bit tricky because of the way all the branches leave the trunk. If a new bud pops, I'll train it upward to give me the option if I want it.
I'm planning on reducing branches in spring and adding guy wires. All in all, it has been fun to work with, nurse back to health, and set it on the path to its future. Thanks for the advice and have a merry Christmas.
p.s. I know we all say it, but here goes... There is more movement than apparent in the 2-D photo, but I hear you. If you take the 4+ hours to wire it, might as well bend the son of a gun. Copper would probably help out some, huh?
-Dave