So, my birthday is on the horizon. I could be normal and go out and party with my friends, but I quickly waved aside that crazy idea. I instead decided I should purchase more trees so that I spend less time with my friends instead. Whoops.

My friend says that she’s going to plan a bonsai intervention soon. I’m going to avoid that moment for as long as possible.

So, the actual tree. Right. I decided that I would go to my local nursery and see what stock they had, and it just so happened that I was able to snag this beautiful Crassula Argentea for a very reasonable price since it’s not in training to be a bonsai yet. Here’s the proposed front:

Nice find, right? Here’s another view:

Foliage is a little bit leggy, but nothing a bright and hot Colorado spring/summer plus some clip and grow/defoliating can’t solve.

So, what’s the future for this tree? There are a few issues I see right now:

The root system is not fine enough for the tree to survive in a bonsai pot. It needs some refining.

I’m on the fence about the twin trunks style, as it currently lacks a third dimension.

The very bottom of the trunk lacks defined taper.

Right now, the plan of action is to repot it into a mica training pot next weekend, and let it sit for a year or two and give it unrestricted growth. The mica training pot will create a finer root system that’s necessary for it to survive as bonsai, but allow slightly less restricted root growth. After that point, I’m going to be left with two options. If it still lacks a more three dimensional character, or the twin trunks just isn’t working, I’m going to chop it right here and create two different trees.

However, if it does gain a three dimensional aspect and the twin trunks style is looking good, I will simply defoliate or do some clip and grow to create a better canopy, and then repot into an actual bonsai pot. We’ll see then. Until that moment, I suppose this tree will be out of the spotlight for a while as it develops. Next post is going to be the promised soil mix post, followed by a repotting post and some nice pictures. I’ll see you then.