help with a couple of trees

[kez]

Hi folks,

this is my first post here. Have dabbled around the outskirts of bonsai for a while now but have never had huge success, really love it though.

I though I would post up a couple of trees I have had for a while that I would love some help with re. future direction. Both were purchased as Bonsai from local nurseries and had had some minor pruning and tinkering by me but nothing major.

First is a port Jackson fig I have had for about 2 years now, I have been trying to thicken and round out the canopy without a lot of success, and it has recently had a re-pot and a bit of a shape



Second is a chinese elm that I have had for around a year and a half, I have done none of the major shaping of this tree, only pruning. As with this fig it has just been repotted and had a big hair cut that should I hope thicken up the shape.



Looking forward to hearing some more experienced opinions regarding these 2

Kez

[Olivecrazy]

That elm wants me to go get my wire an find something to work on i think the rock has to go its stands out to much as for the tree its good if it was mine i would defoliate wire primary & secondary branches into place ( this would be nearly each branch coming of the trunk) then thin out each branch. Doing this would make the tree go BAM with new shoots in a few weeks an be possible to develope tighter foliage pads from there wish it was on my bench good work

[Guy]

looks to me that both need more food---with only a few trees I would immerse each in a large bowl of a weak seasol and soluble fert solution -once a week- and on the surface as well perhaps sprinkle some osmocote

[kez]

Thanks for the input mate, really appreciate it. I agree on the rock, may need to wait until a re-pot though. Just to clarify, when you say wire, what did you have in mind purpose wise? Would it be in the hope of re-directing the growth/branch structure? or ensuring growth continues along the lines it is currently growing?

Kind of new to this side of things.

Also when you mention thin out, are u referring to removing a percentage of the smaller side branches to encourage more budding? Sorry about the newb aspect of my questions

Thanks again

[kez]

Cheers guy,

I have a lot of fish tanks so they get a weekly soak in the tank water/filter mulm when I do my maintenance

[bonsaiLov]

I would agree with removing the white round rock

[AnneK]

Hi Kez,

I'm looking at both trees and saying what a pity we can't see other views. Must these views be your fronts?

Looking at the elm for example: from halfway up; the trunk is too straight without any relief. There maybe an alternative front which could minimise this. Otherwise it could be a CDRB cut down and rebuild. With good feeding and watering they regrow really well.

Regards, AnneK.

[kez]

Thanks again for the info folks,

I agree with the middle section of the elm, very straight, wouldn't know where to start with the rebuild though.

The fig got a defoliation and wire yesterday, here are some pics of it now from the same view, and with a potential other front, would love opinions

Here's the original and current front


potential other front


top


Ofcourse some changes may need to be made to the wire/bending of the branches if the new front is the most pleasing, and ofcourse any help would be greatly appreciated

Kez

[Bougy Fan]

I would like to see the view from the right hand side on the original front - the roots may look better ? It depends what you are looking for stylewise but I would bend the branches downward some more if it were my tree. I myself am not a fan of aerial roots so I would remove those too. That is

[kez]

Thought I'd put up a pic 10 months on,

The fig has come a long way (as has my skill and knowledge) but I wont post a pic as it currently has spots all over the leaves from lime sulfur that was applied for a bit of rust and it looks unsightly, gotta wait till a defol in summer. I will however post up a pick of the elm, which I think is doing OK. This tree will never be fantastic, It was purchased maybe 2 and a bit years ago from the little bonsai section of a local nursery and is what you would expect of such a tree.

It will always be messy, but it's overall shape and aesthetic stops me from wanting to do anything drastic. It has been, and will continue to be a good opportunity to practice deciduous techniques and I think in the last 10 months it's come along as well as could be expected. It is just starting to lose a few leaves and has just had a trim, and it's first ever wire, having been grown clip and grow thus far

It will be re-potted this weekend, probably into a more suitable pot and with the new angle as the front

Here she is

IMG_2285 (1024x683).jpg

Hope you all enjoy, like I said not a fantastic tree, but nice to see it develop all the same

Kerrin