This is a tree i have been working on for a couple of years.

It was given to me by a good friend (thanks Kris) who was clearing out in preparation for a house move. At the time, it was a mass of foliage and while having some good movement, had been grown as a stock plant with many whips being grown long then later wired and then finally air-layered off as separate trees. It worked really well as a method of producing stock and also did a great job of thickening the trunk on this tree but it was in need of some direction.

I used it as a demo tree at Bonsai Society Victoria in October 2022 for it’s first styling. Unfortunately i don’t have any pics from that time but it underwent a basic program of branch and trunk line selection, reducing it from a huge mass of foliage down to its base structure.

It (and myself) were invited back in June this year (2023) to give it a second pass where i was able to massage things into a much more considered form.

During the 2023 demo. Note the large pot it is in.

The tree came up pretty well and was a good example to discuss changing the flow or direction of branches as i worked. Towards the end of the demo there was a lot of concern about the chances of ever getting it into a bonsai container as it was in a large growing pot………

Cut to a couple of weeks ago when i finally got around to re-potting it.

Post re-potting

Another good friend gave me a pot that he thought would suit it (thanks Ken) and I went about reducing the root mass to a point where they would fit.

I also cut a shari on either side of the trunk to begin forming two live veins that will hopefully make the trunk much more interesting as it continues to develop. I will enlarge these each year until i am happy with them.

It’s a bit of a strange tree but i really like it. The only problem is it hangs down so far below the base of the pot that i will have to weld up a stand for it so it can fit comfortably on my benches.