Prunus Incisa (kojou-no-mai) - which one to choose

[BonPiotr]

Hey,
I have just received two young Kojos from online nursery. It isn't bonsai nursery (there's maybe 2-3 places like that in my country) and sends stock on random, so picking trees from there is kind of gamble. Which one would be better in your opinion for long term project. Maybe you see some qualities, which I don't (I'm still new to bonsai). I just want to know your view on these trees.

My plan is to choose one and give away another, transplant into akadama/pumice mix in airpot, give it rough cut and just see what happens in next 3-5 years.

Here they are:
#1
A little bit thicker trunk line. I have found place, where I can cut for taper (2nd pic). Base is weird almost flatc (pic doesn't show this well) with branch growing straight upward, so maybe material for twin trunk? I like a little gnarly look and also it has many secondary branches growing from trunk line. Initially this one was my pick, but I have some doubts.



#2
Much slender one with nice natural bend. There isn't any nebari, but roots seem to grow radially. I don't know if I like this look, but it's still nice IMO.




PS. Sorry for rotated pics, it happens automatically, when uploaded.

 

[0soyoung]

The natural (or intuitively obvious) time to prune these is right after flowering. These cuttings readily root. In other words, you should not be afraid to prune to shape them, you've got enough material to start a business ( ), you really don't need both, or ....

On the other hand, you don't want to hard prune the trunk until it is about as thick as you want (stems don't thicken much until the shoots from it are nearly as thick). So maybe you want to let one grow just to make a thick trunk. Maybe you use the other, in the meantime, to explore making a shohin and rooting cuttings. Then you become a philanthropist.

Personally, I like kojo no mai as a shohin, but the fun is in finding out what you can make to suits your desires.

Enjoy!

 

[luvinthemountains]

I would keep #2, and let it grow for a few years. I am just on my first year with one of these, so I cannot say how quickly it will develop.

 

[penumbra]

I would go with #2 if I was only keeping one, but they both have a lot of potential.

 

[BonPiotr]

Thanks for advices I have inspected roots since posting and #1 has some mild root rot, so safest bet would be #2

I will probably go with #2 and after first aid #1 will go to some „friendly garden”, where I can watch it from time to time