---
title: "This is two sides of my new Portulacaria Afra. I have no idea what to…"
description: "This is two sides of my new Portulacaria Afra. I have no idea what to do with it, design-wise. I added some wire to give it a little artistic movement but I…"
url: "https://getplanta.com/community/hB0M8pmURCqUK7zhKpIOTw/4RHJ7y5V3uqtQEMrS6tn4v"
community: "Bonsai Matters"
author: "BrianDaWheelman"
published: "2025-09-04T23:13:17.432767Z"
language: "en"
image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/a939J0yZcxUxjJul39WDAnUPU4gTT1_I7cAcyW-AErk/VIZV2f0oRAqqUjfzSHj4BA.webp?size=large"
---

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# This is two sides of my new Portulacaria Afra. I have no idea what to…

_Posted by BrianDaWheelman on 2025-09-04_

This is two sides of my new Portulacaria Afra. I have no idea what to do with it, design-wise. I added some wire to give it a little artistic movement but I don’t really like how all over the place it is. It’s not a defined tree shape at all. I bought two pruning tools ready to rock and roll, but I have no direction. I also would like to propagate the cuttings so I don’t waste them.

![Attachment 1 of 2](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/a939J0yZcxUxjJul39WDAnUPU4gTT1_I7cAcyW-AErk/VIZV2f0oRAqqUjfzSHj4BA.webp?size=large)

![Attachment 2 of 2](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/a939J0yZcxUxjJul39WDAnUPU4gTT1_I7cAcyW-AErk/ozqQxGQVTqeoLQwWYxwEcQ.webp?size=large)

## 7 comments

### Just a guy commented on 2025-09-05

What I do is I search up a style and wire the bonsai in that shape.

#### BrianDaWheelman replied on 2025-09-05

Thank you. Is mine too young to wire?

### Just a guy commented on 2025-09-05

Nah the earlier the better unless it’s a twig

### BrianDaWheelman commented on 2025-09-05

I’ll probably trim some longer stems off tomorrow once I get more soil and some 3-4 inch pots for the cuttings.

### Waspinator commented on 2025-09-06

You could style that a bunch of ways, but to get you started I've highlighted a couple that'd work with the existing lines. Red is the overall form, pink arrows are showing which way a few branches could bend, and yelloe is growth you'd hope for as it grows into the style. Here's a broom style option:

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/0aEjxie6sp2j8dSN-ejLnU9dTQl1mR1VekkhDobC1Og/Z4LetvcYRHyCk7xPEF2b4w.webp?size=large)

### Waspinator commented on 2025-09-06

And a windswept look:

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/0aEjxie6sp2j8dSN-ejLnU9dTQl1mR1VekkhDobC1Og/U-mPT3OkSVqTcJpzXLdRuw.webp?size=large)

#### BrianDaWheelman replied on 2025-09-06

Thank you! I was actually originally going for a windswept look given the amount of long legs off the main two branches. But I really want a one trunk tree that looks like a tree with a good canopy. It would be difficult to get that with this current arrangement. I’m considering taking a few cuttings from this tree and replanting them to see what I get. If nothing else, it would be a cool learning experience.

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