It's always difficult to get any sort of perspective from a 2D photo, but you have the makings of a very nice mother/daughter tree, with the daughter tree on the right. If you decide to go that route, the daughter tree needs to have a smaller caliper (trunk diameter) than the mother tree. As things are now, the mother tree is the same size as or smaller than the daughter tree. This means you need to reduce the daughter tree considerably and leave a maximum amount of foliage on the mother tree so it can fatten up. At the same time, you need to keep the tree's future in mind, as you envision it. That's usually the hard part for beginners. If this was my tree, I would reduce the daughter tree today, by removing the vertical branches that won't be part of the composition. This plant tends to grow in tufts of foliage at branch ends just behind pruning cuts (like burning bush), so (on the daughter tree), I would remove any end 'tufts' that have multiple branches so there are only 2 secondary branches growing from each main branch. Concentrate on developing only horizontal branches you'll be keeping as part of the future composition. Let the mother tree grow unencumbered by pruning. ANY branches you intend to keep should never have more than 2 branches emanating from any single point - IE, Y's are ok, but 3 branches from the same point will give you trouble down the road because of reverse branch taper, so correct that as soon as it's reasonable to do so on both trees pictured in your posts. As you develop the top of the mother tree, keep in mind it will want to overhang the smaller tree protectively, so as you prune & wire, the main tree will want to move from left to right, as seen now - if we're looking at the best 'front'. One of your tree's most attractive features will undoubtedly be its roots. Experienced judges of bonsai material look there first, so start working on the roots at the first repot time. Reduce heavy roots the most & allow fine roots in the right places to grow unencumbered by pruning. If you lack roots in a particular spot where roots are needed, get after stimulating root growth in that area and work toward a horizontal root system and roots of equal size/spacing. This picture (above) is actually a preparation for layering off the top of a Carpinus koreana with poor roots, but just filling the holes (done with a brad-point drill spun in my fingers) with rooting gel will produce roots where wanted. If your tree has enough trunk below where the two trunks join, it's a good candidate for layering. See this maple's nearly perfect root structure after layering: You can still see the wire I used as a constriction to block the downward flow of photosynthate to roots, which caused a high level of carbohydrates (to enhance rooting) and a nice swelling (trunk flare) to occur immediately above the constriction. I do this to a LOT of trees with weak root systems - it's much easier than fixing them. This is a very impressive root system (Acer b) for such a very young tree - done by drilling the holes & layering off the top - as you saw in the pics above. Any back-budding that occurs low on the trunks - let those branches grow to increase lower trunk diameter. You can remove them later, after they've done their job, but if they occur very close to each other, eliminate one of the branches to reduce swelling and reverse taper. This goes back to the 'no more than 2 branches emanating from any one point'. Al

Hi. Have ordered the WY Infinity Towel Warmer with Brushed Stainless Steel finish. Now, that I am looking at lighting fixtures and faucet/shower trim, I realize that I don't really know what this finish looks like. Hopefully it will arrive soon, but there is a big sale at my Lighting store this weekend, and I'd like to take advantage if I find something I love. Is the SS finish closer to chrome or nickel? It's not the end of the world if it's not a perfect match, TW will be on its own wall, and probably usually covered with towels, but I need to buy a coordinating towel rack and robe holders, so just in case, while I'm shopping this weekend... Know many of you have this TW. Hope you can chime in, and let me know which direction to go with finishes. Thanks!

I just recently started using brush cleaner, which you can get at any paint store. I've never bothered with it for latex paint before, but like you, I just bought two Corona brushes (love them!) and wanted to take care of them. Now I feel stupid for never using brush cleaner before! First, it it so much easier than just water, and second, it leaves the brush very soft and clean. Look for a brush cleaner that says rinses easily with water or something like that. Lynn

The regional manager for PT came out when mine was being sprayed. I asked him if I should brush it and he said- "At least brush it once so so I feel like you are doing some work vs. just playing in your new pool". I guess it's just not that big of a deal with PT.