I dug up a thorny beast...what is it???

[Mike Corazzi]

No idea what it is. Don't think I've seen any at the major shows.

 

[M. Frary]

maybe into zone 4.

For sure into zone 4.
The things were brought in for bird feed.
They're everywhere now here.

 

[Atom#28]

@Leo in N E Illinois thank you for that info. So much to digest and I look forward to seeing how my Clump of a Thousand Trunks reveals itself this season. I never paid much attention to it before I got into this bonsai madness....
@sorce that's a damn good point. Deer hang out in my yard all spring and fall, so I’ll be keeping the thorns. Gives it more character.

thanks, everyone. Bonsainut is the best

 

[Atom#28]

Little bit of cleaning and editing tonight. Trying to simplify and clarify plans. My gut tells me to go with a one, two, or three trunk design. Really leaning toward one trunk. The 4th and 5th trunks are growing soooo far forward I’m not sure they’re useable. Of course, since this was recently collected I plan to wait about a year to allow for recovery..... Advice, thoughts, critiques are definitely welcome!

current front:

current back:

 

[Stan Kengai]

@Atom#28 I would recommend getting some more height difference in the trunks. Generally, the smaller the trunk, the shorter the height.

 

[Atom#28]

@Atom#28 I would recommend getting some more height difference in the trunks. Generally, the smaller the trunk, the shorter the height.

I agree. I wasn’t sure if I should wait for the tree to establish some roots before I reduce the lesser trunks. All of the 5 trunks were initially chopped about 2 years ago when the tree was in the ground.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I think sooner rather than later for getting the heights correct on the smaller trunks. The second and third largest trunks should be about 2/3rds the height of the main trunk. The smaller diameter trunks should be about 1/3rd the height of the main trunk. If you can, avoid exactly half. The "rule of thirds" keeps the eye moving through an image, if you make one exactly half, the eye will settle at that point as a static point. Of coarse the "rule of thirds" is a design principle, which is really just a suggestion. The design principles are known to work, ask anyone in print advertising. But you don't necessarily need to follow them.

You could reduce this to a single trunk, but for the moment, I think the 5 or 6 trunk clump is interesting. If the roots allow at the next repot, you could separate the main trunk, and keep the remaining clump of 4 or 5, as a separate clump bonsai. You have good enough variation in trunk diameters that the separation could work.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

I like the third photo, and then remove the closest of the secondary trunks. It’s like the momma protecting her kids.