Chinese Elm natural field style

[TimS]

Greetings all

This is my first time sharing one of my bonsai trees on the forum other than those few i have sold; not because i'm necessarily over-protective of their existence (all my tress go on my instagram) but because I've only been practicing bonsai for about 4 years so i don't feel i can lay much claim to these trees since my involvement with them has been relatively short.

I don't rightly know the age of this tree, though the head guy at my local bonsai nursery estimated 15-20 years perhaps erring more towards 20. It stands at about 75cm tall, and as you will see it had the main structure in place when i took ownership of it. This tree is very special to me, as soon as i saw this tree it captured my imagination. For weeks afterward i would go to this nursery and look at this tree until finally after about a month of going to visit this tree i took the plunge and purchased it. What this tree stirred in me was that it is very much a miniature replication of a full size Chinese Elm in nature and it just spoke to me in a way few trees that aren't masterpieces do .

I am hoping to get some ideas on how to take this tree to the next level, some fresh pairs of eyes on it as i have been looking at this tree for a year and just working on ramification and widening the canopy further in that time. Ideally i would like to show this tree at some point, though I've no idea about how you actually go about entering a tree in a show, but i have no idea if this is the tree would be acceptable for a show either having never participated in one and only ever seen exceptionally high quality tress in shows.

I dropped down form the very deep oval pot (dark blue) to at much shallower pale blue one which has accentuated the bark nicely in winter without leaves as well as the width of the root base which was lost in the deep pot. Somehow it still doesn't feel quite right to me, perhaps i need to go wider on the pot?

Anyway i share with you this tree in the hope that some fresh and far more experience eyes will help to guide me into the next stage with this Chinese Elm.

When i purchased it



Winter after potting into the shallower pot




In leaf today







Canopy structure

[demps]

nice tree mate! would be stoked to have an elm like that in my collection

[Pat3222]

Nice tree. I only wish I had an elm like this. I’m even newer to bonsai than you so by no means an expert. For my two cents I would try to round out the canopy a little more. Something like this.
Cheers

[Boics]

Nice tree indeed.
Personally I'd be working on taper and ramification.
I see a few trunks/branches that lack taper - especially towards the top.
Whilst it may "set the tree back" a bit, i think removing some of these taperless components will be what lifts this tree to the next level.

Defoliation and wire also come to mind.

[dansai]

Nice tree Tim.

I've done a bit of marking up on you're winter image to help discuss what I would do. Firstly, i'ld shorten the thick branch at the top indicated by the pink. The area circled in green looks good. You can see the way the branches go up and then out, whereas the top looks a little like an upside down triangle. You may as Boics suggested cut back a fair bit to get better taper, which although will set the tree back, may end up the better tree. Or, using what you have, wire some more movement into the top area to bring the outside branches down and point more outwards rather than up. This will broaden the canopy and round it off.

Also try to get a bit lower when taking photos. You should be looking straight on rather than down at the tree.

[anthonyW]

Hi Tim wondering which is your front mate.

This looks the best front but we have a contradiction with this branch going across the smaller trunk/major branch, wondering your thoughts here for design ways.

phpv6zEc2PM.jpg

[TimS]

Thanks for all the comments guys, this is exactly what i was hoping would come from sharing this tree.

anthonyw yes that photo there is the front currently because on the reverse there is a wound healing over where the two trunk lines converge. I have been thinking about removing or at least cutting back that branch and regrowing it in a different direction for that exact reason. Why i was thinking about removing it totally is because it is very, very close for forming a bar branch with the one that heads to the rear of the tree. What are your thoughts?


Dansai and Boics; you two are on the exact thought path i am on. I cleared out a bunch of crossing branches and other mess at the top of the tree and now all that i can see is the inverted triangle at the top. I will certainly need to do something about that, i don't believe there is enough give in the thick branches to make wiring them a realistic possibility to create any real movement in them that would offset the thickness, so i think i will have to bite the bullet and cut them back hard and grow more taper into them over the coming years.

Pat3222: Thanks for the kind words and the excellent reference picture. I would agree with you that the apex should be taller and it should be more rounded as well. This is my causing for having chased the widening of the canopy to capture the daughter trunk at it's extremity, which has cost me in height.

[anthonyW]

Okay Tim some ideas then....no pressure lol, if you like what you have completely ignore of coarse...cheers

phpGykbuIPM.jpg

phpLdF12SPM.jpg

phpFWOe5TPM.jpg

php1TdNFNPM.jpg

[anthonyW]

php4GuYbHPM.jpg

phpDOKfbnPM.jpg

[TimS]

Thank you very much anthony for your work there!

I think i'll have to say i prefer the second option, i know you're not supposed to get attached to specific parts of your tree but i just can't bring myself to lop off the daughter trunk! It is a bit of a distraction to the eye working up the tree, however i think it would be a bit of a 'predictable' trunk line for this tree if i were to take it off and just leave the single trunk. I like that it drags your eye off the main trunk and gets you exploring that area of the tree too.

What you have drawn there in the second one is very much along the lines of what i was thinking in my head so it's good to see i'm not way off the mark in where i'm envisaging the future for the tree.

[Keep Calm and Ramify]

Hey Tim,
I actually quite like it as is - especially the view with no leaves.
I wouldn't try to tame this wild looking tree too much. Some of its "bonsai faults" I find to be it's most interesting attributes.
It's naked silhouette is especially evocative of "Spooky" illustrations from Scooby Doo cartoons... (dare I mention Walter Pall's Fairy Tale style )

scooby doo.jpg

scooby doo 2.jpg

For my two cents I would try to round out the canopy a little more.

yawn....sorry, but please don't this.
If you want your elm to look like that - go get another tree (& see how easily forgettable it may soon become)

Here's the symbol.....

[DangerousDave]

I really like this tree too. I understand your post is aimed at getting advice from experienced growers on how to take it to the next level - something I have zero qualifications to participate in - but I also note your passion for how much this tree spoke to you and represented natural form. If I were in your shoes I’d be reluctant to make any big changes.. it already gives you a lot. But I admire the guts to go in and have a crack at getting something even better I guess.

Show-worthiness is also not an area I can comment on.. but I did find it interesting there is a similar elm in KIRKY’s recent post:

https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/forum/view ... =3&t=26350

Tagged tree “11”

Just some thoughts. Great tree

Dave

[DangerousDave]

From said post

Dave

[TimS]

Keep Calm And Ramify: I can't say i'd watched scooby doo recently but there is something of a similarity of those illustrations about it. I certainly don't want to reinvent this tree. I'm really happy with where it is at, i'm just trying to build on what is there. I'm thinking at this stage just to cut back the couple of heavy branches right up in the apex to lessen the effect of the inverted triangle they form and regrow with better taper, ramification and movement into that same area they are in now.

Dave, thanks for finding that photo. It is actually surprisingly similar that tree to mine in the upper canopy areas so that is a really useful reference photo for me. If i could work a bit better taper into the apex of my tree i think that would assist it greatly

[TimS]

A little update on this guy, though not much has changed this year. Since moving to pot with significantly less depth than the old one in winter last year, the growth has been far less pronounced this year. In the original pot it had so much space it grew rampantly. Also removing so much roots to get t into the shallower pot in the first place no doubt sucked a bit of the wind out of its sails for this year.

This is the time of year where the pot colour really starts to make this tree stand out for me. The blue playing against the grey of the bark and the copper tones of the leaves getting their autumn hue. Each year i look at it and think i need to make some tough decisions on it, and each year i just sit back and appreciate it for what it is.

elm.jpg