Ok, the rules are:
- Training = pruning before it goes in a bonsai pot.
- Going into bonsai pot = picture on gallery page, and for seedlings, sub-categories (this wasn’t an issue when I only had one of each type).
- Maintenance = pruning after it goes in a bonsai pot.
…in case you were wondering.
The paperbarks were grown in the ground for a couple of years, during which they turned into a hedge. Thery were lifted from the ground into nursery pots in August, at which point all the leaves promptly dried out and had to be cut off. Signs of growth in October.
The goal is to encourage growth out of the center, and to keep it low.
The paperbark can grow thick leaves like a juniper. Once there’s some solid branches to work on, I think I’ll be looking eventually to create well defined pads of leaves.
What about the other three paperbarks (I rhetorically ask myself)? All of the paperbarks are growing, the twin trunk is the most progressed. The others are still putting together initial growth which is somewhere between fresh buds and maybe a few inches.
