This is a small Mugo Pine I got at HD two years ago. I've been quite conservative about any drastic changes so far. When I first got it in early Summer 2011, I cut off the bottom 1/3 of the root ball and removed some branches. I planted it in the ground that fall and left it there all last summer. This Spring I had to move it to make room for other things, so I dug it up and put it in a pot being careful not to disturb the roots, as the internet wisdom seems to be the best time to repot and root prune a Mugo is in mid summer.
I had originally thought the picture below would be the front, because the lowest branch on the left has an interesting twist in it, but I now see that the lowest right and left branches are at the same level and create an unattractive "bar".
I am now more strongly leaning toward this being the front since the branches are at different heights. Later this summer I will rake out the surface roots to see if there are any more interesting thicker roots I can expose.
I didn't uncover a strong root spread, but there is one moving diagonally down to the left that I think will thicken as the bottom of the rootball is gradually reduced. This strong movement of a root to the left should inform the movement of the branches once I start wiring it. I would think most of the branch movement should be to the right, but there is only one small branch on the right side. The other problem is that what I am thinking of as the front has a branch coming straight out toward the viewer. I think I will try bending that branch to the left and down. Also, the trunk has bulges where the branches come out. This I may correct by making a shari on the trunk to reduce the bulge.
Any suggestions would be welcome!
The next two pictures are of a similar sized pine I found in Yosemite last year and found it inspiring as a model for my bonsai. It's hard to see the branch structure, but it's hard to beat the background!
Here's a Mugo bonsai that I really admire:
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