I have not had a Fukien Tea in my collection since selling the one I had for 12 years at Bonsai Under the Oaks 2 years ago. I was not looking to replace it either since I’m trying to downsize my collection. However when I saw this particular one it called to me and since the price with right I decided to get it. It had good bones but needed some refinement.
The first thing I did was give it a quarter of a turn to the left in order to create a better nebari with more surface roots exposed. Not only did changing the angle of the front help the nebari but it created more movement towards the top of the trunk. The second thing I did was remove the 1st right branch which was going up and looked like a bow. Then the third thing I did was reduce the height which created more movement in the apex.
The fouth thing I did was shorten all the branches.
In the future I will remove the 1st left branch and replace it with one the of the new growths underneath it which are in a better position. I will also remove and replace an awkward back branch with hopefully some new growth.
Also there is a little reverse taper just above the nebari on the right side. I’m going to try to deal with this by placing vertical slits with a knife in the trunk in that area. Fukien seem to heal their cuts with a lot of cambium which sometimes gives them a gnarly look. I’m hoping this will create a swelling in the area of the reverse taper. If that does not work I may remove veritcal slivers of cambium aiming for the same resutls.
I have not repotted the tree yet, but this is what it currently looks like still in its orginal pot.
The growth at the bottom is to hopefully fatten up the trunk!
