I acquired this ficus from a great Boston bonsai nursery (Bonsai West) last October on clearance, due to some really bad structural flaws, and a generally uninteresting trunk line. I had no idea why it wasn’t an ideal piece of material at the time. I liked the roots and wanted something to get started. It was my first tree and now it’s my first educated styling / first working. It almost didn’t make it through the winter, but after repotting it in pure sphagnum moss it bounced back dramatically.
My tentative plan is to plant it on a slab or non traditional pot to show this front and keep the roots exposed. I left branches longer than I’d like, and will be lowering the right side and doing more work on the apex as I learn more.
Mirai has been worth every penny. I should have signed up sooner. Thanks to Ryan, the garden and production teams, and everyone in the community 
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Hi Evan, looking good so far. I think it would look great on a slab. Go for it!
And my 2nd tree.
Pretty pumped about the direction this one is going. Not doing a super thorough pruning / cleaning because it was repotted from it’s nursery container this spring. This partially finished styling took 6-7 hours of fumbling around!! Ryan makes this work look so easy.
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Nice start! By the way - I am also in the Boston area and have been to Bonsai West many times. Great place.
Some thoughts:
- I would consider taking the juniper’s trunk off the vertical. Maybe change the angle to lean it in the direction of your defining branch, which I am assuming is the longest one on the left
- Your branch pattern seems to be up and then down. Is that intentional? I would either go down and out or up and out (and maybe then down to insinuate age in a longer branch)
Nice to “meet” you on the forum, and enjoy!
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