Thoughts on this good sized J. horizontalis?

[Brain Treez]

I couldn't pass up a 2-inch trunk for $25, so I picked up a couple of the variety "Lime Glow" at a nursery.


I hacked off the largest and straightest branches with the least taper, but am now at a crossroads as to how to proceed. The main trunk could be made of the lone vertical branch or one of the numerous branches splitting out more, well, horizontally.

If I were to use the vertical branch, as opposed to chopping and jinning it, I'd probably want to bend it back over the rest of the tree so it would run parallel over a lot of deadwood. I'd like to repot it into some proper substrate this coming spring, so I'll likely leave on plenty of foliage for extra juice in recovery.

Thoughts? Tips? Concerns?

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I do two things when my vision for a plant is lacking: wire everything and bend the heck into it, and start working back the foliage.
Then leave it for a season or two.

This should give you plenty of options without setting you back a whole lot.
If you don't repot, you would even be good to not water it for up to two weeks sometimes. Juniper roots can be reduced whenever the time is right, so there's no hurry to repot it and getting it into bonsai soil as long as you watch your watering.

 

[Brain Treez]

I do two things when my vision for a plant is lacking: wire everything and bend the heck into it, and start working back the foliage.
Then leave it for a season or two.

This should give you plenty of options without setting you back a whole lot.
If you don't repot, you would even be good to not water it for up to two weeks sometimes. Juniper roots can be reduced whenever the time is right, so there's no hurry to repot it and getting it into bonsai soil as long as you watch your watering.

Thanks, I'll try that approach. If any branches don't survive the heavy bending, there are backup options in the branches that do.