Beginner questions about unconventional bonsai: Gooseberry (Ribes uva-crispa)

Hello guys,

I am new to bonsai and haven't started with my own tree, yet. But I have read a lot about it online and watched several videos about bonsai. Please correct my vocabulary if I use it wrong or use the worng words.

Yesterday, I was at the nursery and was looking for a cute and reasonably priced tree for starting bonsai with. Sadly, most of the reasonably priced trees are sticks in a pot. But then I found this plant (see picture A).

A: Overview, possible front.

This is not a conventional tree for a bonsai. It is a gooseberry (Ribes uva-crispa) – it is therefore a shrub and not a tree. I read online that I have to be particularly careful when wiring, as this shrub breaks quickly.

I am a beginner, so I don't know if this is a no-go at training bonsai.

The tree cost €13 and had a thick trunk for the low price. I immediately fell in love with the pretty bark and the aerial root on the left (see picture B). I quickly knew what my front of my Bonsai will be.

B: Close-up trunk, possible front.

I don't like the branch that grows sideways at the bottom of the trunk and am thinking of removing it to give the plant (it's not a tree) more structure. Plus point: if I remove the branch, I can create a broader base of the bonsai.

Further up, the trunk branches out. Unfortunately, many branches start at one point. I fear that inverse taper will start at this internode and the plant will form a knob here (see picture C).

C: Internode.

But to my beginner's eye, I can see rather nice movement in the trunk.

I have created the following animation to provide an overview of the trunk. Would you choose a different front side?

D: Rotation-animation https://s7.ezgif.com/tmp/ezgif-7-8bef1fca9a.gif

I have taken a close look at the tree and am unsure: what is my first step?

As a beginner, I feel the need to shorten the bonsai and cut a lot of things away. But is that the right start?

Below is an overview picture of the bonsai (see picture E).

E: Close-up overview.

The bonsai currently lacks structure. I haven't defined a top and I'm finding it difficult to find one.

As a beginner, I am scared of cutting the bonsai. Here are a few ideas (see picture F).

F: Ideas to trim the bonsai.

I dislike the trunk at the bottom, so I feel like cut 1 is mandatory. Cut 2 and 4 seem like no-brainer, too.

The branch with cut 3a OR 3b is a hard one. It gros across the branch below. So either I accept the movement and cut it at 3b and try to wire it in a way that it doesnt grow across or I remove it with a cut at 3a.

And now for the top: if you have a good idea, please don't hesitate to help me with it. But this is my idea at the moment (see picture G).

G: Creating a new top.

I could wire the marked branch and create movement including a new top (see picture G2).

What do you guys think?

Do I have completely the wrong thoughts?

Should I prune the shrub at all?

I often read here how people want to train sticks in a pot. Is the gooseberry already tall enough to be trained?

I would transplant the bonsai from this small pot into a large pot so that it can grow better.

Bonus: it already has four fruits 🙂

Thank you for your help.

Willie

PS: As I was proofreading the post, I looked at picture A again and had the following radical thought (see picture A bonus).

A bonus: Radical thought.

That movement in the trunk with the left branch looks very fluid and naturally moving. Should I perhaps use its length, radically shorten the rest and leave just one more branch towards the top?