Shimpaku Styling

[Devo12]

Hey guys

Finding this guy tricky to style . Can go a few routes with this and just not sure any Juniper style wizards out there who could gimme some direction and other options ! Would appreciate

Thanks guys ️

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

What I do in such cases, is to just start wiring. See where this tree wants to go.
Because you don't clip off anything while wiring, you can start over and try again a few times.

It also gives you a 100% control over the design choices. I see it as a good practice.

 

[Graft]

Noob here, in fact my first post. But I'm thinking raft??

 

[SeanS]

@Devo12 where in Cape Town was this from?

 

[sorce]

raft

G!

I'd drag it down to a Cascade, since all the one sided branches on the main stem will be pointed in a good outward direction and you have 2 good trunk to apex. "Apex Apex!". See if BVF gets that reference.

Sorce

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

"Apex Apex!". See if BVF gets that reference.

Sorce

Nope

 

[sorce]

Nope

I can't believe you found it, and so fast. Fast like a fake Chevy Pick-up?

Sorce

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I can't believe you found it, and so fast. Fast like a fake Chevy Pick-up?

Sorce

Here too much I guess.

 

[Shibui]

When you find a tree tricky to style that just means there are several good options. If you can't choose between good options it means they are all equally good so it does not matter which you choose. Just pick one option and start work.

 

[James W.]

Another option, if nothing "speaks" to you, is to wait. Or work the roots and repot into good dirt. Move it forward without eliminating options.

 

[BunjaeKorea]

Was that 750 Rand or 75 Rand? Anyway, I talked to it and it says make me into a cascade.

larger but food for thought

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Easily, the first branch on the left side of the photo has great movement, it could become your whole tree, the others could be jinned, converted into a deadwood feature. The deadwood would be shortened appropriately over time. Initially you leave deadwood branches longer than the design requires, and shorten them over time, rather than cut too short and find later that it would have been better to keep it.

A second design that seems obvious is to use the right hand branch, with the white tag on it as a cascading branch. Cascades require a higher level of horticulture, in order to keep the cascading branch as healthy as the branches "above the rim" of the pot. You could go semi-cascade, ending the cascading branch above the feet of the pot, or you could go "full cascade" ending the cascading branch well below the feet of the pot. Cascades are simple in principal, but difficult to execute to perfection. The other two large branches would likely become jin if you go with cascade.

I really like the left hand branch as an upright bonsai. It already has a lot going for it.

The least interesting branch is the middle one. You should probably turn that to a jinn right now, and then consider the other choices.

Those are the two obvious designs. Both depend on using just one branch, turning the other large branches into jin.

There are definitely other possibilities, but for those I would need to see the tree in 3D. Maybe someone else will propose one.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

If you don't like either option, just let it grow another year. Time always adds more branches, more chances.

 

[Japonicus]

Maybe someone else will propose one.

I like the left trunk too. The second upright follows the basil travel and could become a sister tree
without much imagination.

I would do twins, and air layer the suggested cascade for another project tree in another pot
leaving a nice deadwood between the 2nd tree and the proposed cascade once the layer is separated.
Then, and only then, after giving the 2nd trunk a chance, I might jin the entire tree rather than jin it immediately.

As for raft, I would hate to cover the interesting base, so no raft in my ideas.

 

[Forsoothe!]

I agree with others saying there is a natural Mother-daughter tree in there...
Careful wrapping the right hand (middle) trunk and duplicating the spirit of the left trunk's swoon would make eye candy.