Post 227 Swamp Cypress graft incorporation

Back in September last year at the start of this growing season my Swamp Cypress trees took off after their winter break. The one in the pictures below produced an adventitious shoot in a place where I didn't want a new branch and under normal circumstances would have just removed it as a matter of course. But there was a branch gap just above where a little more branch density would add to the composition so I allowed the shoot to develop and wired it into a loop early to place the new branch where I wanted it..
By late October it was ready to graft.
I wasn't able to execute a full hairpin so went for something that was closer to an approach graft. I made a groove in the trunk about the depth of the scion diameter and shaped to match the U shape of the bend in the scion at that point. A nice tight fit makes for a faster union.

 In this picture you can see where the shoot emerges from near the junction of another branch and the trunk. From there I took it up and around and under to bring the scion and trunk into the right proximity and orientation. I couldn't get a full 180 bend so went with an open U shape of about 60 degrees.
By January the graft has taken well and the new branch tightly incorporated. As a half way house to full separation and removal of that loop I've cut a wedge out of it to diminish any contribution it is making. 

Here is another picture from the side showing the tight incorporation of the scion and trunk. The join will be very neat in the future and it is placed at the rear of the trunk. By the end of this season the junction will have callused over and look quite natural. I'll take the loop out fully in another couple of weeks. The structural integrity of  the graft junction makes the new branch quite secure.

So after about 2.5 months I have a new branch of the right proportions filling a gap that would otherwise take away from the composition. Fast, easy and a great result.

Inadequate branch density is a major failing of many bonsai, where they have been developed too quickly by simple styling of available material with limited cut and grow. See Bonsai Foundations on Facebook