Noob Cotoneaster

[Traken]

So, last year I picked up a nursery stock cotoneaster that got ignored until this spring. I’ve been terrible at taking progress pics, so the first few really suck. It started as basically this



Being a noob, I’m exceedingly paranoid about cutting back stuff, so I wound up only doing this at first.



After seeing what others have done and getting a little more nerve, I realized that was... well... terrible... lol, so I reduced it further. It was repotted out of the nursery soil earlier as well. It actually swells out much further below the soil, but I figured I could look at it further later. I’m not sure if it’s really all that attractive or necessary to uncover it further.



Here’s a 360 view

I probably should have still taken it in further, but I’m a wuss. lol. I’m also concerned about this branch



One, the straight portion seems very bleh, and is too stiff to bend, and the section below is kinda excessively chunky. I thought about completely removing the whole thing, but I was worried that would just leave far too much of an empty area.

I know cotoneasters are robust, so hopefully I wasn’t too aggressive. Heh. Feel free to completely pick apart every stupid decision I surely made. This is all about learning, so any thoughts are appreciated. I’ll only cry a little. lol

 

[0soyoung]

Its a slow motion adventure.
You're okay.
It is okay.
Stay with it.

I had a big one growing in a garden bed. Dug it up and went through what I now realize was ridiculous steps (gotta learn somehow) getting it into a pot. It looked like crap, but it was among my first crap in a pot.



I kept looking at it, trying to figure out what was 'wrong' about it and what I might do. The main thing I could identify was that it was too tall = I need to compress it! I invested $7.50 in a ratchet strap and in the end came up with this.



My point to you is, study what you've got. Think about bonsai principles and what you might do to it while you patiently tend to that ugly thing. Stay with it and make it smile back at ya! You're doing just fine.

 

[Traken]

That turned out really cool, @0soyoung. How long did it take you to compress it that much? The wood seems so rigid, but, maybe I could slowly pull that straight branch over using another branch if it’s just a matter of taking a long time.

 

[Flounder61]

"My first crap in a pot" Love that. I have lots of craps in pots. Lovely work on that cotoneaster!

 

[0soyoung]

That turned out really cool. How long did it take you to compress it that much?

Thanks. I'm pleasantly surprised this thing smiled back.

Basically in one session. Just got the strap tight, clicked the ratchet. Waited (not cracking), clicked the ratchet a few more times, waited, etc., until I reached the point that was, I guessed, as far as I needed to go. Put guys on, tensed them, and took the ratchet strap off.
Then, in the following 3 years, it was, Imagine foliage pads, add some wire, adjust branch positions a little and 'cut and grow' with the shoots. IIRC I did compress it a little bit more after the foliage pads began to take shape.

I'm not suggesting that ratchet straps do anything magical - they are just instruments of leverage (and very inexpensive!). But if you have a situation in which you think you can make something that pleases you if you just had a way to move 'that branch over here' - give it a try.