Winter pruning of a Chishio Japanese Maple

Nebari Bonsai

Continuing to develop density and fighting it from becoming too leggy is a challenge. Before:

In March, I made a thread graft through the trunk to replace the second branch on the left (highlighted in yellow; the thread graft is green):

From various angles, it is apparent why it needs to go:

So, with the thread graft well underway, the offending branch can be removed.

Not exactly a twig…

And after a little wiring, and some light pruning, it is done for the winter. Next spring, I will wire a little movement into the thread grafted branch, and hopefully it will be ready to separate by mid summer.

For fun, here is a shot from 11 years earlier, almost to the day.

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