When I first got the tree, most branches were on one side of the trunk, an unfavorable quality, but nonetheless it had plenty of branches and foliage to work with. My plan became to twist the trunk around using wire and wooden braces, and in doing so distributing the branches more evenly around the trunk. It also boasted beautiful old bark at the base, as well as a nice rootspread and an interesting dead branch, which should become a focal point of the tree.

I ended up needing one brace to exaggerate the lower bend, then twisted the apex forward with a wire hooked behind the dead branch on the bottom right, distributing the branches. I then used another brace on the back of the trunk to straighten the apex upward. Finally I wired all the branches in a downward position, resembling those of a large, old pine whose branches have started to sag under their own weight. The dead branch has been stripped and weathered, and is framed in the middle of the composition.

Half a year later the treen was unwired and repotted into a bonsai pot. Another year and another wiring session later yielded the result seen above. The trunk has bounced back slightly from its initial big bends, which will need to be remedied in the future. Meanwhile the branches have bifurcated and the pads of foliage have filled out nicely. The tree will be left mostly alone and fertilized regularly to promote more growth and more bifurcation over the following years.