Just got a nice little Chinese Elm, looking for any advice

[mb1029]

i just brought this little Chinese Elm for $10 because i like the way it looks, it's a nice little tree

anyway, i'll start off with a picture




as you can see it has a little rock and some moss growing around it which i think looks great

also, u cannot see it in that picture, but there's something like a root that's alittle above the ground? i'm not sure what it is but here's a picture of it



it's just under the rock if you cannot see it


so yeah, i'm looking for any advice or feedback, this is my first elm(although as u can see in the pictues, i've already got acouple little bonsai's)

also, those pictures make it look bigger then it actually is(atleast, it looks big to me in those pictures), anyway, it's only like 5-6 inches tall

[bodhidharma]

Hi mb, not a lot to say about this tree in its present state. It will need a bit of movement in the trunk and you can do that by cutting it back to a new leader and let it grow for a couple of years. It will be a good time for you to study the tree and learn a little about its growth habits and learn how to root prune etc. Dont forget its feeding regime and for further info hook into A.Bs wiki

[oscar1]

Hi MB,
Your little elm has lots of potential, the first ting you need to do is work out what size and style of tree u want. It doesn't necessarily have to have much movement in it if u want an upright tree. U do need the select some branches there appears to be several places where more than 1 branch is coming out of the truck, Only leave 1 cut the rest off. There also appears to be a couple of branches higher up which are disproportionally thick and growing upwards. These should either removed or one could make a new apex as has already been suggested. Its hard to see the root ur talking about in your photo.

good luck with it
Oscar

[bonsaibruce]

Greetings,
The rock and the moss only hide the problem a little bit. You have correctly seen that the root is a problem. The tree, sweet as it seems will be root bound in the white bucket.
Before it puts on too many leaves take it out of the bucket and cut off any root that goes in a circle. Any big ones will strike if potted on.
Look at the lowest branch and cut any off branch that is thicker than it. If that is too radical or scary, cut every branch so there is only one leaf on the branch.
Do not cut the lowest branch.
Root prune it soon.
Happy bonsai,
Bruce.

[mb1029]

can anyone give me some more specific advice?, i'm hoping to turn it into a natural looking tree

so far i've got something like this in mind(for appearance)



or





although i dont have any idea how to make them look like that(i know i wont get it to look like that, just those are the styles that i think i could turn it into)

i'm not really fussed on the appearance tho(of course i care what it looks like, i just dont mind what style, as long as it looks "natural")

although i'm a complete newb when it comes to bonsais(i even had to google apex)


and here's another picture of what i think the root is



it's the thing i circled, if it is a root, how should i go about repotting/cutting it? i dont have any proper tools(although my dad has a pair of metal shears in his toolbox that should be able to do it), also if it is a root and i do manage to cut it off, what type of pot should i re-pot it in? the same one it's in now? a bonsai pot? maybe something bigger?(i've got a green hanging pot that's like twice its size(twice the length, probably around the same width))

thanks everyone(and sorry for the big picture sizes, i dont know how to resize them without physically making it smaller in paint)

[bodhidharma]

Yep, that is a part of your root system that must come off. You can use a saw to do it. Be careful of your other fibrous roots, they are the stringy looking things, now is a good time. You can repot it back into your container you already have or, better still, into a large polystyrene box. Until you get better experience go to your local nursery and buy some premium potting mix. Let it grow for a year or two while you practise wiring etc.

[mb1029]

i cut the root today, i hope i didn't kill it

the root that was showing was the main root, it was terrible tho, it already had another loop going around under it

here's a picture of all the roots left and the root that i cut off(i made the picture smaller this time, although not too much, i dont want a bad quality image)



as you can see there's not much left, anyway, since i dont have or know where to get a large polystyrene box i just put it straight back into its original pot(am i supposed to put something on it first? because i just litterally put it straight back in the white pot with some new soil)

i also planted the roots i cut off, no specific reason why outside of the fact that i still have loads of soil

if they grow, they grow, if not then no harm no gain

[kcpoole]

Hi MB
First thing, when you post images, can you avoid posting them as Inline images. If you do then anyone who views the thread will have to download all the full images instead of the thumbnails.

Now with the tree, Probably will be OK but now has only roots on one side. next year you will have to check and hope that some more roots develop all around the tree, otherwise you will have to graft some on or layer the tree to build a decent Nebari.

For now, repot and then keep up the after care.

ps
If I was going to remove that much root, I would have done so gradually over a year or 2 to ensure the trees survival, chop off 1 loopy bit, while making sure that plenty of fine roots remain, and then have another go to remove the rest of the problem next year.
This being an Elm, you may bo OK, but many other trees would not survive

Ken