I'm curious about where to make my cut for a new apex.
I'm also wondering if the trunk is a good size to start training.
I planted this tree in the ground 5 years ago. I pulled it up as a seedling. It's about 8years old.
Questions, comments, or concerns?

Looks like red cedar (juniperus viginiana)? Size is all in the eye of the beholder! :whistle:
It won't get much larger in the pot, so keep that in mind.

There's that baldish spot in the middle. Unless you can get some more buds to pop out and grow stronger, you'd have to wire down upper branches to cover. If you can stand it, you might go for a big jin from the top. Sounds extreme, but if the tree is healthy, you could break near the top with some pliers, and pull the bark down (gently!) until you get a natural lightning strike mark. I've seen it in demonstrations, and I've done it to some of my yard junipers for future use. If you just repotted this year, wait until next.

Some examples (not my trees or photographs, mind you! Thank you to whomever took them.) The last being almighty Goshin, by Naka.

I repotted about a month ago. It was in the ground. I'll post closer pictures of the pads. I haven't done the research into exactly what type of tree it is, but the tree grew in my yard where I had other cedar trees.
More pics to come

Thank you

brkirkland22 wrote: Looks like red cedar (juniperus viginiana)? Size is all in the eye of the beholder! :whistle:

Some examples (not my trees or photographs, mind you! Thank you to whomever took them.) The last being almighty Goshin, by Naka.

I don't know if I'm experienced enough to create a large shari or jin, like Naka did. But I like the direction you're suggesting. Maybe I'll plant it in the ground at my new house. The trunk is already 2 1/2" in diameter.

brkirkland22 wrote: Looks like red cedar (juniperus viginiana)?

Looks like one of those to me, too. Why not leave it in the pot for a couple of years. Study it, and just let it get used to it's new environment. (Plants do grow in pots, and get bigger, i've seen them do so, just not as fast).

Then see what you want.

As far as putting it back in the ground, maybe it would be better, to let it recover from the recent transplant. A year or two.

next year, i'd say, a wider, shorter pot.

Samantha wrote: Plants do grow in pots, and get bigger, i've seen them do so, just not as fast

I believe that brkirkland22 was saying that the tree is pretty much at the maximum size it can be for a pot of this size.
What you've said does hold true, though.

Ed

Do most bonsai hobbiest train trees while the tree is in the ground?

My new house has great property and I have plenty of pots.
Dilemma's

simplysaid wrote: Do most bonsai hobbiest train trees while the tree is in the ground?

My new house has great property and I have plenty of pots.
Dilemma's

you can do this..
it has a lot of benefits..