I'm trying to fatten it up a bit...and just see how it does. It's more for my own learning experience than anything else. I'm glad you told me about the possibility of nematodes. It has only been in the ground for one year.
Ryan,
In my opinion, your tree does not need to be planted in the ground. The base is 2", you already have good bark with lichen, good movement from what I can see, and your branching is fairly high on the tree.
It's kind of a Buddhist thing here.
Don't try to have what you want with this tree, try to want what you have.
Here's what you have:
Pro:
You have a mostly elegant trunk line with some natural movement, right up almost to the top of the tree.
You have a great healthy tree with good looks on the trunk insofar as bark and lichen are concerned. It looks old.
You have several good branches placed perfectly for certain styles or artistic impressions.
Most of all, you have age. This tree has been worked for several years and mostly done pretty well.
Con:
The top branches on this tree are already on the verge of becoming too thick to use. The top of this tree can be remade in just a very few short years, but you must start this year.
There are no low branches on this tree, so forget about thickening the trunk to produce taper. What will happen is the upper branches will grow far too quickly and you will ruin what you have.
So that's what you have...a tree that is on the verge of being a very good literati tree, but with few prospects to become much of anything else. Don't get me wrong, I REALLY like this material.
So you could put it in the ground for a few years and end up with nothing. Or you could begin training it now and have a nice tree in 5 years or less.
What do you think?
Chris