Totally understand! Fun thought / design experiment at the least! Thanks for sharing. What a great tree.

David, I had one of these S-curve ficus also... Two additional thoughts: push the low branch down for the full cascade -or- do like I did and cut all the branches off one summer. This will allow for a total reset if you're not happy with the current placement.

Here's a quick sketch. The branch labelled "no longer defining branch: could also be jinned to leave a large stretch of negative space to emphasize the long trunk line further. Olives are on deciduous species that typically feature lots of deadwood. This design emphasizes the thin, long, tall mostly straight trunk to give it a more bunjin feel. It would be a drastic restyle.

Wonderful tree! It really needs nothing except some thinning. I agree with mike, growing a convincing second trunk will likely take >10years and would focus my efforts elsewhere. One thought: the apex placement is currently very conservative, as it comes back over back toward the base. If you are really excited to restyle, one thought is lighten the weight of the apex and push it over to the left to give the tree more movement and dynamism. This would work with the straightness of the trunk and emphasize this element, rather than trying to counteract it as the current apex does which feels artificial to me. Will try to do a quick sketch for you today!

Hello Jen, we do not have folks with expertise in this area within RMBS. However, 3 years ago we had a presentation from John Anderson (Colorado Springs) jwander.com who is a local expert and consultant on culturally modified trees. He is likely the local expert and I would reach out to him to start.

Dan, This is a wonderful thread! That ginko is great! Who made that blue pot for the Lowe's larch? Glaze is very nice

Guys this is the grossest post so far!

Josh, Candle cutting is a technique to refine foliage pads and create additional ramification. This tree is likely years away from needing to concentrate on candle cutting technique. As Mike suggests, larger grow pot in the future will develop the tree over a shorter timeline. Focus on trunk line, bulk and strength right now rather than refinement.

Hey Matt: good questions. Agree that you have the soil particle range correct. Everything that falls through 1/16" should uniformly be discarded. Particles captured on top of the 1/16th screen are left in mix for water loving species and small bonsai. If particles stay above 1/4" screen, they are generally left out with some caveats: Very large bonsai, especially pines could tolerate there particles that are just over 1/4". I often retain these larger particles for the bottom "aeration" layer as well (see Ryan Neil, Bonsai Mirai). If you are finding that a lot of the pumice you have is >1/4" (ie: won't pass through this screen) and you have modest or moderate size trees, I would advise to pulverize it to some degree and resift it. You're mostly looking for the size that passes through the 1/4" screen and is captured above the 1/8" Hope that helps!

Hey Stew, I would assume that you just potted that tree? The soil looks correct. If that is the case, I would let this tree grow and build roots until next year prior to any heavy work. This tree looks young. I'd focus on trunk line and building health / strength and ramification. I'd put a bit of wire on the trunk to create a little movement (avoid "s" curve). Let this tree grow like crazy, resist urge to prune for the next couple years and focus on trunk movement. This tree is in development Is this Japanese Black pine? Or other species

Hey Stew: Really great question. For the conifer and cold hardy species I'd put them on the ground and heel them in with mulch to the rim of the pot. Make sure they are out of both the direct sun and especially wind. In the weeks where we don't get snow you will need to check and water them. Many folks have a cold frame, which is an upgrade from this. Window well with mulch is similar to this, but you have to be able to monitor the watering. Caveat: if your trees are in SMALL containers.... you may want to bring them into the garage and watch h20 closely. Deciducous stuff ideally should go in unheated garage with a bit of light. Watch the watering until you figure out which trees can tolerate the above treatment (maybe beech, but not maples). Hope this helps. Could really be about an half an hour discussion. Andy

Wow check out that bark!