Hello everyone, I purchased a huge elephant bush from my local nursery a while ago and I've been trying to get it into a nice shape. The trunk is a great size, but I think the proportions are off. I've included pictures of what it looks like now, and some crude illustrations of what my original plan was and another option I'm considering. I'd love some input from the community. I keep staring at this thing but I'm not seeing the vision in its current state. There are some pictures in my profile of what it used to look like if it helps.
by evanl714
6 Comments
Pic 3 would be a cool front of tree
Contact Gilbert Cantu at Little Jade Bonsai. He works exclusively with p. afra, and I’m sure he would give you some tips because he’s a really cool guy.
I don’t like to comment on how to style because it’s art and you’re the artist. Keep staring at it until your vision of it becomes clear – doesn’t matter how long that may take (look up photos of other works to give you more inspiration)
That said, I really like your vision in the last photo (S curved trunk). I wouldn’t use the base to do that though, the top section is already there. So I’d chop the top part off, propagate it, and let it thicken/develop with the natural movement it already has. Then style the lower part how you see fit. Leaves you with 2 well developed p afras and 2x the fun
It’s got a really sizable trunk so that’s already a big win for what ever you decide. I personally love Baobab style.
https://preview.redd.it/d65ek410j78g1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3797d84ceba98a45e2635ab682f72ed0c6d17a52
Insane front in my opinion!
No matter that you do I’d expose the trunk all the way through. That’s the best part of this tree and right now you can’t even see it