bonsai trim

After reading another bonsai book, gave my plants a trim, this time thinking a bit more carefully about it. The large one was like the picture on top of this post, only with larger leaves, starting to look top-heavy.

 Now it feels opened up. First I nipped off all the biggest leaves, leaving their petioles (curious to see if they will become new stems, sprout new leaves, or wither and fall off). Then I rubbed off all the small leaves emerging in places I don't want leaves or branches. Last of all I snipped off the stems growing towards the inside of the plant. It looks much nicer already!

On the smallest plant I just took off the lower leaves, to give it some bare stem that will eventually look like a trunk.