Help with initial training of a nursery juniperus squamata!

[Cria]

Long time lurker, first time poster. Please let me know if my post content/formatting/forum location is wrong for the future!

Was immediately attracted to the movement of this juniper when scrounging around the nursery. Got home and did some super basic cleanup to reveal branches and start planning its training but now running into indecisiveness.

First off is this big ol' branch that was much thicker that I first thought. Also noted to be broken so I'm thinking to salvage as a jin feature?

I was initially convinced that this side with the potential jin will be my front but that means lopping off that back branch which appears to cross over from this side. Also likely needing to lop off left branch since the new tree balance will need to shift right and it's too low once I lose the same side foliage of the planned jin branch.

After that do I keep the right bottom branch as a first branch without a strong candidate for second branch appropriately placed higher on the left? Or do I lop it and start all the action higher up? Do I leave it and keep a heavy rightwards windswept look? Do I pick a new front altogether? Is there a means of salvaging the lower branch I haven't thought of and doing some kind of han-kengai??

Admittedly dejected that what I thought was a good find full of promises is turning into more of a tricky puzzle to solve. But half the fun is learning and problem solving! Very open to suggestions or options I haven't thought of.

Thanks!

 

[Esolin]

If you aren't sure, don't rush it. There are a lot of ways you could take this material, but the right one depends on your specific tastes in bonsai. One of the best trees I have was a puzzle that stumped me for years. I'm glad I didn't just start whacking things off before I finally saw the best design (which involved tilting it 45 degrees).

If you see this tree as a learning exercise and don't really care if you make mistake, then by all means, have at it. I bought lots of $5 junipers when I first started out to practice styling with. I didn't care if I butchered them and they turned out ugly. But if you really value this material, then hold off until you're sure. Practice finding the design in other cheaper trees until you're able to find the design in this one.

Sorry my advice isn't more specific, but it's the best I got. Welcome to the bonsai madness!

 

[Cria]

I much appreciate any advice, even if the recommendation is to pump the brakes! I actually made the decision earlier today to see how the "broken" branch does through the season before deciding on it. The splits don't seem as bad as I first thought and there is a lot of continuation with connecting cambium. So I pulled out the trusty gorilla glue and a bit of aluminum wire to support and hold the splits closed while the glue cures and the branch hopefully heals. Plan for now is repot into better soil, give her some TLC this year, and stare at her judgmentally every day until the answer presents itself over the next year. I have another more spry chinese juniper and a hinoki cypress I picked up on the same nursery run that I feel better playing around with in the meantime for practice! This one feels more special for some reason and worth the wait to see what works best.

 

[Deleted member 47471]

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[Cria]

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Thanks for these options! I suspected some heavy chops would likely need to be made. Will let y'all know what route I go when I eventually take action.