Thanks, Brian.
I guess I have learned something from going to Boon's Intensives! Working on his trees, seeing trees that have been properly trained for a long time is a real educational experience.
Sure, the workshops where a master comes in and styles a raw tree are fun, but learning how to refine a tree can't be taught unless you have refined material. On Boon's trees, he'll point out secondary branches he's going to cut off "next year", where there's another branch to take it's place.
One more comment about developing JBP: Boon says that virtually all the great JBPs have had branches grafted on. He says it's an essential skill to learn.
Think about it... Whenever I used to consider material for bonsai, I used to look at the trunk and the basic branch structure, and see if there was "a Number 1 branch, a Number 2 branch, this is a good Back branch", etc. As I progressed, I came to realize that the nebari and lower trunk were more important, and I would base my first selection criteria on the nebari, and then see if it had proper branching. Now, knowing how to graft, I can feel free to choose trunks and know I can put branches where they need to be.
(Sorry to have gone a bit off topic.)
