This tree was given to me by a bonsai mate of mine. As you can see it's a bit long in the trunk and it has a horrible tangle of roots. The only way round this is to air layer it. I also changed the front of the tree which meant clamping the crown to a different angle.

The air layer was applied in February using the constrictive wire method and surrounding it with green plastic mesh containing pure akadama.

The air layer was removed in June 1997 to reveal good root growth all round, and the tree was placed in a training pot. Many years of work to go yet before this tree looks half decent.