what the heck do I do with this?

[jersey steve]

hello all
New to bonzai and trying to modify some plants destined for the bin in a garden shake up.

I have this bush which I dug up and pruned back the roots. Its trunk has been warped due to the difficult spot it was placed in (hence also the strange lop-sided foliage). I love the shape of the trunk and the curves and I like the way the foliage drops low on the left side but the rest of it seems out of kilter. I dont want to over prune and kill it. Please can someone advise what is the best way to approach this? (ie what branches shall I cut away?)

the bush is feet high and 3 feet across. Its a Peiris Japonican and in good health considering its been neglected for a few years. Any help much appreciated.

 

[queenofsheba52]

Hi Jersey Steve, so glad you found this great site !

If you can fill in your location in your profile, it helps us to give better advice.

I love that curvy trunk!

 

[jersey steve]

Hi ! Im currently in the United Kingdom in the midlands (birmingham) . Weather is temperate with average summer temp as about 22 celsius and winter average temp as 7 Celsius. Rarely snows, summers are usually warm winters are mild.

The previous owner says it was planted about 15 years ago.

 

[coachspinks]

You don't see a lot of these in bonsai but if you google it there are pictures of them on the web. I have a japonica in my yard and cut it back pretty harsh and it back buds well. These also have some nice flowers that hang down. How long has it been since you dug it or root pruned it?

 

[Potawatomi13]

New to bonzai

Welcome. Bonsai(Bone-sigh)please not Bonzai.

 

[just.wing.it]

Wow! Cool Andromeda / Mountain Fire!

Welcome!

I tried one from my yard at my old place.
I killed it....

Good luck with yours!

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy!

Sick trunk!

Sorce

 

[jersey steve]

You don't see a lot of these in bonsai but if you google it there are pictures of them on the web. I have a japonica in my yard and cut it back pretty harsh and it back buds well. These also have some nice flowers that hang down. How long has it been since you dug it or root pruned it?

Hi
I dug it out of its garden border about 6 weeks ago. I was going to just bin it but then I thought it looked like a cute little tree and would be worth keeping - and hence my journey has begun.
I went online to see how to prune the roots out and cut off the dead and crossing little branches but now Im at a point where I darent cut anythng in case it ends up looking like a badly cut poodle.

 

[jersey steve]

Wow! Cool Andromeda / Mountain Fire!

Welcome!

I tried one from my yard at my old place.
I killed it....

Good luck with yours!

hahahaha well if mine dies Im in good company

 

[just.wing.it]

hahahaha well if mine dies Im in good company

Haha!
Yeah...they have great bark color and movement in love veins that reminds me of juniper.
And that bicolor spring foliage is killer...love the red.

 

[Vance Wood]

If you don't know what to do with it I bet you could sell it to someone who does as a good price.

 

[MrTreeFace]

If it was me I would make jin with all the leggy branches to the left and with the ones on the right brining them just above the main trunk (curvy spikes). Then with the lower branches on the right with foliage lower down I would prune to compact the growth and try making foliage pads at different heights with them. So reducing alot of the long branches to jin and leaving the smaller ones with healthy growth to be the new apex. I have a pieris japonica in my garden in Cardiff Wales I’d love to bonsai... but its not mine ?