First - great job! You obviously understand the plant's genetic vigor and aren't at all timid about exploiting it!

I think you have one more chop to do. I would look at the roots to determine the best planting angle, then select one of the two bar branches as the top, train it to a more vertical position, and let it grow wild for a year while restraining the other branch somewhat to allow the top to catch up so the reduction in taper isn't so radical.

Alternate: I would wait for the tree to shoot a branch (your first branch) off the trunk opposite where the new top emerges and immediately below your chop, then remove the 2 existing branches.

It looks like you might have chosen the front to hide the chop scar, but I wouldn't worry about that at this point. You have the makings of a nice tree that you'll have for a long time - plenty of time for the scar to heal.

Excellent work, Ryan!
I'll echo Al in saying that you have a good courageous understanding of the plant.
Most folks hesitate to make any sort of chop, and then they often get it wrong.

Keep the updates coming! Very helpful series.

Josh

Thanks Al and Josh!

I love these Willow Leaf. I've got probably 7 or 8 of them. They grow so quickly and recover from dramatic work like you wouldn't believe.

Al, interesting suggestion about chopping again. Might I ask why you suggested that? I think what you're suggesting is like that I've done in this picture:

{{gwi:22253}}

Chop at the red and wire the branch up like the green?

Almost ..... If those branches are bar branches (last picture in your first series), and it looks like they are, the extra chop would be on a plane between just above the slightly higher branch to just above the lower branch - almost a horizontal chop. The slightly higher branch is then trained upward & the slightly lower branch becomes the tree's first branch. As it is now, the branches occur at nearly the same level.

The reason I mentioned that is because I judged the Detroit area bonsai show last year and remember there was a F nerifolia that probably would have rec'd recognition if it wasn't for the fact that the lowest 2 branches were bar branches.

Just a side note: I find it absolutely amazing that I can't put a face to a name worth a darn, but I remember all sorts of seemingly unimportant information about plants. I can also look a tree over briefly in the course of my travels, & then remember whose it is/was several years later when I next run across it, and even see what work (even if it was substantial) was done to it in the interim period. ;-)

Al

Ah now I see it Al. Do you mean something like this?
{{gwi:22254}}

Yes. Now you're building a tree with the primary on the outside of a curve.

.... almost the same as what I mentioned as the alternate suggestion in my first post, except in that case you would utilize the top you created (last photo - your OP) and wait for a branch to show itself on the opposite side below the chop. Normally I wouldn't suggest that route because you can't always depend on a branch where you need it, but with nerifolia being such a predictable and prolific back-budder, you'd be virtually assured the tree will shoot a branch where you need it - probably several.

You'd eventually end up with a little sumo. ;-)

Al

Hmmmm you've certainly given me something to think about, Al.

Mr. Jerry Meislik and I have been discussing this same issue via e-mail and he agrees with me that the bar branches aren't too big of a deal and wouldn't cause reverse taper for many, many years.

I'll at least look the tree over for a couple months, then see what I think in the spring.

Thanks for giving my mind a good workout, Al!

Ooh! Just read the thread, and I can't stand the suspense! What happened? Did it pop a branch where you wanted? Where was it? What does it look like now? Inquiring minds want to know! ;-)