Zelkova Japanese Grey bark Elm

[alpineart]

These needed some serious root work and another layer .

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Using the tooth pick method that Bodhidharma showed a while back i decided with all my spare time to set a layer and improve the roots on the original base trunk and the middle layer .The bases and layer were treated exactly the same , drill the hole where required ,

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insert a halved wet tooth pick dipped in hormone powder

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and back filled and/or potted up .The trunks were tilted slightly just enough to get the drill at the correct angle .Then a probe/chop stick was used to press the soil back around the base as per normal re-pot, watered and it all over . These 2 will be allowed to grow on for several months then cut back by 50 %,hopefully the full on growth will produce the roots required prior to clipping back

[alpineart]

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Cheers Alpineart

[alpineart]

Couldn't help myself ,Time rich at the moment , i got sick and tired at looking at potted plants so it was out with the wire , yes electrical coated wire was used on the main branches

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.The side branches and shoots were wired with the earth wire section unraveled ,

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all up 10 m of red wire and 27 m of the thinner copper wire was used to shape this tree .

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Its got me beat how one could afford to buy bonsai wire when a tree like this eats close to 40 m of wire .Anyway after about 6 hours i think this informal upright Zelkova is well on its way to being a good Quality Bonsai in a relatively short period

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Finished height is a tad over 700mm and 500mm wide the base is 90mm , The cloth at the bottom is covering the sacrifice branches . Now i can focus on the next potted plant .

Cheers Alpineart

[TheNumber13]

So if I understandcorrectly , you also used the toothpick method within the air-layer?

I like the idea, will be great to see how it pans out. Thanks for showing.

[bodhidharma]

Well done Alpine I am guessing you know an electrician Copper is worth more on the market but electricians still leave a lot of it lying around after they finished a job.

[alpineart]

Hi Number 13 , thats it in a nut shell , just had to try it out to see if it will work , can't see any reason why it won't .

Hi Bodhi , being in the trade helps and reno's are good for recycling unwanted material . I do buy old SEC wire rolls at scrap price when the opportunity arrives , still have 100's of meters of it in varying thicknesses that was purchased several years ago .

Cheers Guys .Alpine

[alpineart]

Another season under its belt and a few changes taking place .

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I have allowed the 3 lower shoot to elongate

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and plaited them together last Spring

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hoping to produce a fused trunk Zelkova

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rather than waste the material . I un-wired all the branches and shoots , a 3 hours task that i don't particularly like but had to be done .

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Then a good hard trim back to continue the ramification and to begin the shaping process .

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The lower braids are fusing slowly and have been rewired , strange but true all the tooth picks used in the base for root production have failed . Not a single root has been produced , for an elm that's very unusual and i cant figure out why they didn't produce the goods ???. The same method was used on the upper layered layer of this trunk and produced roots . The same medium was used on the layer as in this potted tree. I have re-potted the trunk back into the same pot after a root prune and a layer will probably be set on the braided trunk after it begins to leaf out . Due to the fact they are only 6-8mm thick i will ring bark and tourniquet the stems and place an open pot on the base . A little carving is required to the stub of the main trunk to improve the taper to the new apex

Cheers Alpineart

[fiveoffive]

looking good so far.

[alpineart]

looking good so far.

Hi Fiveoffive , it would have been nice if the root work had worked out , but its not the end of the world . Just can't figure out why the tooth picks failed on this trunk . .

Cheers Alpine

[MoGanic]

Alpine, would it work better if the toothpicks were done the whole way around the trunk, then a tourniquet applied below these? I would assume the sap flow would be somewhat restricted and therefore it would cause roots to shoot out a bit quicker.. Not 100% sure though.

[alpineart]

Hi MoGanic , mate this particular test has me stumped . To work on a layer and not on a trunk is a mystery . I think a tourniquet would definitely produce a different result . I have re-potted quite a few tree's lately and i have notice 2 trunks with tooth picks haven't worked . Being so busy lately i have forgotten which species they were as i have worked Tridents , Japanese Maples , crab apples , Elms , Pines , Cedars , junipers and a lot of other bits and pieces . That will teach me to take more notes and pics as i work these plants over . Haven't got the time to re-do this particular trunk as plenty more await a work over .

Cheers Alpine

[MoGanic]

Stunning tree though, worth the work! Hopefully we'll see some updates soon hey? haha

Good luck mate.

-Mo

[alpineart]

Time for a trim

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and definitely set the layer to hopefully double the stock again

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. This has bolted over the last 2 weeks

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so i have trimmed it back hard

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and set a pot layer on the fusing trunks/branches that were plaited together last season using a ring bark and wire combination

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. They appear to be slow to thicken but are very strong growers so we shall see how long it takes to throw out some roots .

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And its back to the bench .

Cheers Alpineart

[bodhidharma]

You got me beat Alps, I cant figure out how you manage to do all that work and still manage to do regular posts Are you taking Steroids

[alpineart]

Hi Bodhi , mate i did for a little while ,for medical reasons , that's whats buggered the bones . Seriously i have good time management and find it difficult to sit idle . Times a wasting and i have no time to waste . Even with a buggered leg i still manage to make good progress i simple move the stools to the plants , now with all the trolleys around the place , it makes for a good assembly line GMH would be proud of . If i don't do it , it won't get done .

Cheers Alpine