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Perhaps I've underestimated the limits of restyling. Or maybe I just wasn't articulate enough. I'll explain what I was thinking in a little more detail and see what you think.

If I were to take my seedling and wait until it reaches a height of 12-18 inches, and then repot and wire it down into a cascade, I assume there would be no problem with this. Of course it wouldn’t truly be a bonsai @ this point, but I could encourage it to grow so that it looked nice even @ this point. I like the idea of a young tree as a cascade because most cascades I have seen do not depend so heavily on trunk girth.

Eventually though the tree will age and gain some trunk girth, I'm not sure how long it would take but I'm guessing it would stay as a sort cascade style for 5-10 years. After that time however it would seem relatively simple to allow and encourage the base of the tree to grow and after some time is allowed for branches to grow long enough, let the tree take more of a semi cascade appearance.

Growing at this point the tree's girth should be a fair and after another 5-10 years the cascading branches can be gradually cut back, and eventually with some repotting and rewiring, the tree will look more like an informal upright and can continue to be grown and ramified to look like such.

To be honest, I have no true Bonsai, and am a complete novice. I just thought that this would be a more aesthetic way, though perhaps more lengthy, to eventually obtain an informal upright. It doesn't seem much different to me than the typical manner of pruning away branches after they have served their purpose. Only this way, the branches to be removed give the tree a distinctive and appealing shape before outliving their purpose.

I don’t know maybe I'm just impatient, I just thought that there could be a way to encourage and guide a tree to grow into the desired shape instead of letting it grow wild for years and then chopping it up.

18-Dec-2003	#6
LostHawken bonsaiTALK Expert Join Date: Oct-2003 Location: ME Country: USA USDA Zone: 4b AHS Heat Zone: 3 Posts: 154	Perhaps I've underestimated the limits of restyling. Or maybe I just wasn't articulate enough. I'll explain what I was thinking in a little more detail and see what you think. If I were to take my seedling and wait until it reaches a height of 12-18 inches, and then repot and wire it down into a cascade, I assume there would be no problem with this. Of course it wouldn’t truly be a bonsai @ this point, but I could encourage it to grow so that it looked nice even @ this point. I like the idea of a young tree as a cascade because most cascades I have seen do not depend so heavily on trunk girth. Eventually though the tree will age and gain some trunk girth, I'm not sure how long it would take but I'm guessing it would stay as a sort cascade style for 5-10 years. After that time however it would seem relatively simple to allow and encourage the base of the tree to grow and after some time is allowed for branches to grow long enough, let the tree take more of a semi cascade appearance. Growing at this point the tree's girth should be a fair and after another 5-10 years the cascading branches can be gradually cut back, and eventually with some repotting and rewiring, the tree will look more like an informal upright and can continue to be grown and ramified to look like such. To be honest, I have no true Bonsai, and am a complete novice. I just thought that this would be a more aesthetic way, though perhaps more lengthy, to eventually obtain an informal upright. It doesn't seem much different to me than the typical manner of pruning away branches after they have served their purpose. Only this way, the branches to be removed give the tree a distinctive and appealing shape before outliving their purpose. I don’t know maybe I'm just impatient, I just thought that there could be a way to encourage and guide a tree to grow into the desired shape instead of letting it grow wild for years and then chopping it up.