Thanks for the kind words!
I mostly got lucky with the root placement in relation to it’s position on the rock, for what that’s worth. There are two pieces of wire that I used to strap the roots to the rock prior to it being planted. Those seemed to secure 3 (of the maybe 5) roots relatively solidly around the rock. After trimming off a few long roots, I tucked the rest down around and underneath the rock. Filling in the rest of the soil was straightforward.
Prior to this planting I had it growing out in a kind of semi-cascade style. It was initially a small cutting propagated in water, transferred to a 4" nursery pot for about 8 months to establish initial structure, then transferred into a 2x deep 4" pot for the semi-cascade, and now the root over rock. Not a ton of root training on it besides making an initial root flare with the early repots. I definitely lucked out with how it joined up with that rock (that I found in the yard).
Ask away if you have any questions! I could probably dig some pictures up, too if you really care.
Sorry for the delay and thanks for your patience! I’m learning that I need to both better organize my photos and find an alternative to imgur for creating/posting albums.
Here’s an album of pictures from a little over a year of growth.
Prior to these pictures it wasn’t much to speak of, just a little cutting in some water or a start in a 4" pot. When they’re that small/young, I do my best to just let them explode with growth prior to poking at them with my ideas and torture.
Again, I appreciate your patience as I get my stuff together! I’m happy to touch on any points with this project or others. Thanks for the interest, this has been a fun project.