Pruning prunus incisa koujou-no -mai

[Linn01]

Guys,

Im faced with a pruning decision. My prunus has two major branches. My intention is to keep 1. Should I keep the one going sideways or the one going up? Or should I keep both? This would also be decisive in deciding what will be the front. My apologies for the rather unclear pictures.

 

[Linn01]

And I assume I can such a major cut now right?

 

[Canada Bonsai]

Im faced with a pruning decision

Cherries vary widely in style, and your young material is still suitable for any style. Did you already settle on a general direction? Your decisions today will be very different if you want a literati with a slender 3cm trunk with minimal taper, or a massive trunk with great taper and a 30cm nebari.

Or should I keep both?

If you can, keep both. It does depend on your personal goals and on what you would like to accomplish with bonsai but, in general, it is good practice to work on many trees at once and eventually select and keep the best ones and sell the others. Many things can go wrong in the life of a bonsai, and betting entirely on one tree is, in my opinion, a risky approach.

 

[Linn01]

Thanks 4 your reply Canada Bonsai. My aim would be something in between. I would like some taper, like your 4th and 7th pic. But the tree has to remain elegant and female, no massive trunk. I would also like to keep it small, not shohin size, somewhat bigger but then again not too big.