RMJ foliage selection

[wireme]

I've always liked the idea of using our native plants to their greatest potential. With this in mind I've been keeping my eyes open for RMJ's with superior foliage to propagate for grafting stock or even field growing. I brought home some cuttings of a potential plant yesterday. These cuttings are not from a stunted mountain plant but from a large healthy and vigorous valley bottom tree. I see tighter growth often on stunted yamadori but trying to avoid environment influences I've been looking at the free growing trees for this purpose. The tree also had very few flowers and berries. What do you think? Nice foliage? A contender? I would hope that given some some bonsai cultivation the foliage would tighten up a bit more yet.
I've never actually seen shrimp foliage in person how far off do you think this would be cultured as bonsai?

Mp

 

[tmmason10]

Ryan Neil might be a good source to ask this question, I think he has a lot of experience with RMJ. I actually just bought a RMJ with very similar foliage. I'm hoping it stays like this.

 

[wireme]

Thanks Tom, your foliage looks very nice too. Is there a really great difference between foliage like that and the more accepted/desired shimpaku types?
I actually have comparable foliage on at least a couple of my collected trees too, but they are old yamadori with constricted lifelines etc. My theory is in order to get something really special finding desirable characteristics on young vigorous trees might be a way to go. I guess I'll try to grow out some cuttings from the tree I showed above and from some of the tighter yamadori trees I have to compare. It will be interesting to see if there's much of a difference.
Mp