New in Bonsai - Shimpaku

Hello everybody!

I bought this Shimpaku on the internet here in Brazil
He has 6 years and seems to be looking good

I'm new in this world of bonsai and I ask your help to improve my tree

Look how he is:











And then what did you think? as I am beginner would like to hear some tips for example if I need to make the switch substrate, pruning,... etc

I waiting doubt and criticism if necessary

I apologize for the mistakes in the writing

Thank you all !

Welcome,
That is some nice material that needs a lot more growth. If this was my tree I would be tempted to try and compact the existing trunk with wire and or zip ties to make it fit in to a small a space as possible by excentuating existing movement. Then I would plant the material in the ground, or pond basket, with some nice granular soil, to thicken up a bit. Remove and rewire before it begins to bite in and repot in a year or five back into the ground until you have a nice fat and contorted trunk. This is just one option, but I think it would be the fastest option for achieving an impressive bonsai.
FYI, I married a paulista in September. Part of our honeymoon was a week in Fernando de Norohna

MrFancyPlants wrote:Welcome,
That is some nice material that needs a lot more growth. If this was my tree I would be tempted to try and compact the existing trunk with wire and or zip ties to make it fit in to a small a space as possible by excentuating existing movement. Then I would plant the material in the ground, or pond basket, with some nice granular soil, to thicken up a bit. Remove and rewire before it begins to bite in and repot in a year or five back into the ground until you have a nice fat and contorted trunk. This is just one option, but I think it would be the fastest option for achieving an impressive bonsai.
FYI, I married a paulista in September. Part of our honeymoon was a week in Fernando de Norohna

Hello man, Thanks for the tips, I'll do that, put it in a larger pot and i'll let a few years to grow and catch size.
thanks again for the tips!

hahaahah congratulations man, a great honeymoon did then ... cheers to you!

there was a recent thread named "how to make a better shimpaku" where someone linked to this thread
http://bonsainut.com/forums/showthread.php?4789-ONE-MORE-TIME!-Yamadori-Style-Junipers&highlight=shimpaku

that might be able to point you in a good direction

hi!
You can style it at its current stage, maybe something like this.




regards,
jun