Ugly English Elm

[Jan]

If this tree didn't have provenance I'd just look for better material, but...

20210814_134121 English Elm.jpg

It was the best one of very few options to collect, a root sucker that did have just a little (and I mean VERY little) fine root, from a grove of very large elms (trunks more than an arm span round) growing in a sand/gravel bar in a river bed. The elms and the river had a place in our hearts and we were moving away.

So, here we have it, one very ugly straight stick elm. Its history has given it a place on the bench; over the years I've grafted roots onto the base using cuttings from the tree, the latest one has taken nicely as seen in the photo.

20210814_163114 English Elm root graft.jpg

I was hoping for shoots low on the trunk to help thicken it and give it some taper but this was not to be so it remains a straight stick.

20210814_162941 English Elm roots.jpg

20210814_163029 English Elm underneath.jpg

Now that Covid19 has us all adopting the "hermit" lifestyle it is time to make "something" of this tree at last (having little promise it has been very neglected). I've root pruned and repotted the tree so now it is time to condsider how to move forward.

Option 1: I've been contemplating choping it below the lower hole in the trunk and trying to build a tree from there, possibly selecting one of the low branches as the new leader.

Option 2: Similar to Option 1 but layering off the holey top portion (rather than just choping) to make two trees.

Option 3: Grow some long shoots then use them to thread graft some low branches onto the tree - if the trunk thickens, great, if not then back to Option 1 ot 2.

Option 4: Open to suggestions.

[shibui]

I have a few English elms from similar origins. One of mine also has a big scar on the trunk. I really wanted to have that scar at the front as a feature but the trunk curves the wrong way and branches were all in the wrong places so it now hides behind unfortunately.
I also share your frustration about new branches not sprouting where they are needed. Elms seem to be top dominant so lower branches rarely do well unless the tops are cut quite hard.
Grafting branches is relatively easy and allows them to be put exactly where you would like rather than where the tree feels like growing them.

I'm not sure what chopping the trunk will give you. It will certainly be shorter but with a great big scar that probably won't heal in our lifetime and it will take many years to regrow a new top. Personally I don't think a major chop will solve the problems but the upper section may yield a better tree than the current trunk - maybe......

The top of the tree appears to be growing away from the side shown. I know it would be great to show that scar as a feature but, like mine, if the established parts of the tree don't lend themselves to showing this side you should look at making another side the focus. Just wondering what the trunk looks like from the other side?

[Jow]

Hi Jan,

I'd agree with Shibui on this one, I wouldn't go either of the 'chop' options.

You are doing a great job with the root grafts so I wouldn't be chopping the trunk and setting yourself back years and years. Its hard to tell from the photos But it looks like you have enough to work with and with your grafting skills you should be able to build the rest. Material that is 'ugly' tend to make the most interesting Bonsai in time.

If you are completely stuck style wise it would probably make a good workshop tree, I'd just make sure to take it to someone who styles material such as this and who can work outside the box a little; as 'ugly' material never makes conventional trees, but in the long term can eclipse any conventionally styled tree.

Good luck and great work on the grafts!

[SquatJar]

I agree on the don't chop views so far, I also don't mind the straight trunk, lots of interesting trees I see in nature have straight trunks. What sticks out to me is a few branches have really nice movement but many others are dead straight and taperless. Bend or cut and regrow some interest into those branches and I think you'll be well on the way to a Walter Pall coined 'informal broom'.

[MJL]

Hi Jan,
I’d be ripping the scar right down the tree - in effect - making it the feature - the tree effectively surviving hollow - it at least as an effect.

My rough edit off the phone indicates the thinking …. But I am not sure it would work - you’ll see I have also removed the thick bulbous branch at the top.


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[Jan]

Thanks for the suggestions, so trunk chop is off (I had been thinking that a short straight trunk wouldn't be as bad as a longer straight trunk).

I'll post images of this tree from other angles so you can see what I have to work with; the "scar" is actually a hole that goes all the way through and there is another large scar on the other side.

I can introduce some movement to the branches by adding some wire and position the two lower branches so that they are not like a pair of arms on a startled "Ent" (as in "Lord of the Rings").

I'll try fertilising (once it has settled in after the repot) to see if I can get some long shoots to use for new branches/thread grafts and I will certainly look at removing the thick upper branch, Mark.

Thanks for your thoughts guys, much appreciated.

Jan.

[Jan]

More images of what is there to work with...

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[Alan Peck]

Hi Jan,
Your collected material will turn in to a great tree with a bit of vision. Base is great and the work that you have done over the seasons will pay off.
Its very healthy so the stage is set for future carving and feature exposure. If it helps takes some inspiration from my collected English Elm from Goulburn in 2005.
Collected for the hollow base more or less as you see it except for all upper branching which has developed over the last 16 yrs from new growth shoots.
It just goes to show that the center of a tree is not needed. Each couple of years I get a break through on the trunk that I take advantage of to let in a little more light. I have drilled 8mm hole through the base to let any water drain through but I don't think it would matter if the base on the inside rots right through, so long as the exterior has roots on the bottom.
Go for it.

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