Chinese Elm natural field style

[TimS]

Something that has been an ongoing bother to me since potting this tree into the lovely Yamafusa has been how proud of the pot the base of the tree actually sits and the difficulty this has posed in summer with water. It has become more and more exacerbated by the prolific root growth of Chinese elm pushing it up further out of the pot. Horticulturally it hasn't affected the tree whatsoever as being a Chinese elm it isn't much fussed about life in general, however aesthetically it has troubled me.

After a visit to the club from Quentin Valentine where he suggested a viewing angle change back to what was the rear of the tree in the blue pot i had the extra reason to repot this tree this year.

I picked up this Walsall stuidos pot back at the YVBS show with the intent to use it for my Japanese Maple Rebuild tree as a summer display pot with the thinking the muted pinks would set off the green foliage a treat. And well it may still do in the future, but i was buggered if i could get the roots of the chinese elm shallow enough to set them down at the lip height of the Yamafusa, so i employed the WSC pot on this tree instead. No idea what tree, if any, will go in the yamafusa due to how shallow it is.

As it as in the Yamafusa

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Popping it out and having a look at the root growth since last repotting. I diagnosed healthy and well and a good time to do it rather than wait another year.

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Trying to slowly reduce the height of the root ball, this is what i disliked in the blue pot.

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Trying valiantly to both get it lower in the blue pot (massive fail) and also cut the roots hard enough back to accommodate the ~220-degree angle change in the blue pot.

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Here is an idea of the difference between the two pots in depth and size.

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Final photo. While i still prefer the shallower pot visually, i think this is overall a good look. I raised the right-hand side as you are looking at it to bring the apex more to the center of the tree, but otherwise minimal adjustments required beyond hacking the roots up. I think it will look even better once the trunk is dry and the bark is that pale grey white colour again.

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[Ryceman3]

Hi Tim, the Walsall pot is a good substitute, maybe next year for the Yamafusa… you might have stuff to cut back to by then that will help to drop it down at lower. That’s the good thing about elms, you get plenty of roots and can cut back pretty hard.
It’s a nicely balanced tree.

[Daluke]

Tree looks nice.

This jumped out at me - I hate saying have you ever considered, but have you ever considered air layering off the straight piece?

[TimS]

Hi Tim, the Walsall pot is a good substitute, maybe next year for the Yamafusa… you might have stuff to cut back to by then that will help to drop it down at lower. That’s the good thing about elms, you get plenty of roots and can cut back pretty hard.
It’s a nicely balanced tree.

Cheers mate, long term the pot will end up with the maple, but a year in it so i can cut back harder as you say will be fine and probably an easier summer watering experience for me as well

I do like the reverse of the tree as the front now, it does hide the scar where the two primary branches eminate from well, still getting used to it though having used the other side for so long

[TimS]

Tree looks nice.

This jumped out at me - I hate saying have you ever considered, but have you ever considered air layering off the straight piece?

The day will come where the inverse taper becomes excessive at that point and i will be forced to air layer it, but not a day before then will i do it as i think this look far more like a tree in nature than having the two primary branches fork at the soil line

[Sno]

The day will come where the inverse taper becomes excessive at that point and i will be forced to air layer it, but not a day before then will i do it as i think this look far more like a tree in nature than having the two primary branches fork at the soil line

I really like this tree the way it is and I hope you can get it back into that blue pot . I know the health comes first , but that combination was great .

[TimS]

The day will come where the inverse taper becomes excessive at that point and i will be forced to air layer it, but not a day before then will i do it as i think this look far more like a tree in nature than having the two primary branches fork at the soil line

I really like this tree the way it is and I hope you can get it back into that blue pot . I know the health comes first , but that combination was great .

Thanks for the reassurance i'm not mad for preferring it this way rather than layered at the fork line

Yes the Yamafusa is undoubtedly better suited to this tree, especially as a winter pot with the pale blue against the gray bark, just wanting to err on the side of caution to do such a heavy root reduction over two years rather than smash it in one and potentially make some big decisions about root removal on the fly. Fingers crossed next year it will be back into the blue one again.

For anyone wonder why; the reason i didn't reduce the top of the root ball down at all, and just worked from the bottom of it upward is that there is a really big radial root base of thick old roots at the soil line there that are obscured by the sphagnum moss i had to put on top during midsummer to keep the root ball underneath happy. i will try to uncover them more over the next week or so as the tree settles in to the new pot.

[KIRKY]

Always loved the natural look of this tree. I don’t think you should air layer it unless something drastically changes.
Cheers
Kirky

[TimS]

Always loved the natural look of this tree. I don’t think you should air layer it unless something drastically changes.
Cheers
Kirky

Thanks Susan, the natural looks is what grabbed me back then (hard to believe 6 or more years has passed since I begun the thread and more since I actually purchased it) and every step has been about keeping this tree looking quote-unquote natural

With a species as ubiquitous as Chinese Elm I do hesitate to make drastic changes to one that doesn't follow the formulas

[TimS]

First time putting this tree in a show, it's on display at the Waverly Bonsai Show on this weekend (tomorrow) at the Waverly Community Centre. There is a main hall as well as this separate section seen below, there isn't just 8 trees on display in the whole show

Having it in this pot has grown on me a lot, especially how it picks up the oranges where the flaking bark has peeled off

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[KIRKY]

[Trimmy]

I saw this tree today. Possibly my favourite one there.

[TimS]

I saw this tree today. Possibly my favourite one there.

Thank you very much

[Sno]

What a great setting to show off your beautiful tree .

[Sno]

This tree would look good in any pot .