Bonsai Tree

Step Two Wiring & Shaping  Once you can clearly see the trunk line and branches you may begin to make artistic decisions regarding the final appearance of your bonsai.  As mentioned earlier, these decisions should be based on your clear under- standing of the fundamentals of bonsai design and will be applied to each type of plant material on which you work in the future.  Find a front for the tree based on the trunk move- ment and nebari.  Select its first, second and back branch- es.  Determine an apex and the placement of all second- ary branching.  Remove all others.  In a word... Cut off anything that does not look like a bonsai. (The material must first be cleaned up so that you can see the trunk shape and position of branches along the trunk.  Remove dead plant material and sucker growth along the trunk and about an inch out the base of each branch.) We know this is easy to say and not so easy to do, but proceed slowly and carefully.  Remember that it is bet- ter t