Hello, Bonsai Empire community! While new to the hobby, certainly excited by it. I did attempt a search before posting on this topic but didn't see much.
This jade is one of the 5 bonsai projects I have on the go and I thought it a logical choice to start learning about pruning given that they seem to leaf pretty vigorously and without any intervention, they don't really look like a tree at all. As such, I thought it might be rather tolerant of a new hobbyist's over attentiveness.
It was purchased in a grower pot and transplanted into the pot you see. Soil is a 50% bonsai mix and 50% akadama although I guess they are not too picky so long as they have good drainage. The surface substrate is perhaps unconventional (not to mention a little large in scale) however it allows me to display this collection of interesting puddingstones foraged from the shores of the great lakes.
I understand that the goal in pruning a jade is to remove the largest leaves that prevent light from getting to the smaller inner foliage thus promoting denser foliage. I've circled a few examples that I would prune this week. The branches also appear to want to grow straight out so I also suspect that as that continues the growing tips will need to be pruned back in order to preserve the appearance of a crown. I'm not ready to do this yet but I expect where I place arrows are where I might need to do that should lateral growth continue. I'm also experimenting with wiring (left) to help redirect one such branch upwards rather than prune it back which I believe to be working well so far. Based on some research I've been careful to avoid scratching the bark with the wire as it is apparently somewhat vulnerable in that regard.
Am I on the right path or are there any other tips regarding pruning or wiring this specimen?
