Ok so I got this tree in fall of 2021 from Lowe's for $5. There were a bunch of pots with sickly looking arborvitae trees planted in pure mud. Like it was as hard as a brick when I got it. This was the best of the bunch so I picked it up. It recovered spectacularly once I took it out of its mud and put it into bonsai soil. Roots are coming out from the surface, indicating that it's filled up the container pretty well.
Thuja occidentalis isn't a traditional bonsai specimen because it's not native to Japan. Korea has thuja varieties, but they look different. But just because it isn't traditional, doesn't mean it shouldn't be done! Part of the appeal of bonsai for me is being able to use the techniques on native and unique material.
The challenges with arborvitae are that the foliage can get really lanky if you let it grow out. But unlike hinoki cypress, which has a similar problem, arborvitae will backbud very easily on hard wood. So you can trim the foliage and encourage more compact growth closer to the trunk.
In this particular case, there's a lot of spindly/limp secondary branches and foliage. That's fine, I didn't wire the secondary branches so that's expected. I just wired the primary branches. There's no point, imo, in wiring secondary branches if they're just going to be heavily pruned the following season. The unfortunate thing is that the apex looks weird/contrived right now. Again, that's normal. If you don't have a naturally good apex, it's common technique to basically whip branches around to make a comb-over. As that area gets the most sun, you will get a lot of growth there. So after a few seasons you'll have more foliage to fill it out.
Honestly, I'm just happy this tree is alive. After having to literally use a pick axe to remove the brick soil it was in, I'm thrilled this thing is still with us.
