I need help . . . . not that type of help . . . bonsai design help! Here's a tree of mine - it is a cork bark elm. Grown for its trunk in the ground for about 6 to 7 years and it has had one year of branch development (calling it development is a bit of a stretch). It's in a pot WAY too early, but thats a function of both space constraints and a bit of a pot fetish, so just ignore that for now OK.
Elm.jpg
OK, so the question is one that I am sure all of us beginners and less artistic folk grapple with: How the hell do I get my mind out of left right back left right back design process? With a trunk like this, branches from the outsides of bends only means a tree with three branches????? How do we drag ourselves away from THE RULES that get drummed into us in every bonsai book?
I need inspiration people, and I need it quick! I REALLY don't want another deciduous pine tree!
Cheers,
Andrew
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Personally, I am leaning towards Penjing more and more. Have a look at the post "Penjing - a little marvel" on here today. Sorry, don't know how to link it! I think this may work. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9376
Glenda
Last edited by Glenda on September 2nd, 2011, 6:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Knowledge is not a heavy thing to carry around" - JB Taylor (my father)
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Grant Bowie wrote:One common mistake is to cut off too many branches too early.
Keep as many as you can and use them all. On your tree the curves are not extreme and the branches could come from everywhere.
Instead of three branches you could have 20 or 30.
Grant
Now we're talkin'! You can no doubt see that I have done that with this one now. All this year's growth has been left on. What I'm wondering is whether or not I should chop off the now thicker branches from the last year or two in the field. Comments?
Grant Bowie wrote:One common mistake is to cut off too many branches too early.
Keep as many as you can and use them all. On your tree the curves are not extreme and the branches could come from everywhere.
Instead of three branches you could have 20 or 30.
Grant
Now we're talkin'! You can no doubt see that I have done that with this one now. All this year's growth has been left on. What I'm wondering is whether or not I should chop off the now thicker branches from the last year or two in the field. Comments?
Keep them all for now and work with them. The existing ones have over thickened but keep them under control and the other ones will catch up.
Hi Andrew, I'm being purely constructive in my assesment of your tree here, I don't agree with the notion of keeping the existing bottom two branches. For one there is nothing particularly appealing about the 2 lower branches in regards to how they exit the trunk, their taper or how they are structually. Secondly, to retain 2 branches such as these and grow others on above to catch up is a little counter-productive. The number 1 and 2 branches on your tree are fast approaching what I consider to be the ideal diameter to work well with the diameter of the trunk. The downside is, I fear that the branches are relitively close to each other on the trunk, not opposite, but I believe close enough to cause taper issues with the trunk at some stage in the future if they are kept. This occurs frequently in Cork Bark Elms on which any slight loss of taper is further accentuated by the thick, rough bark. The effects of this can be seen a little in the trunk of the Cork Bark Elm that I have entered into the Shohin Competition, although using the wrong lens and rushed flash photography are to blame also.
The strong points of your tree are that it has quite good, even taper, attractive bark and an ok base that has a couple of minor flaws that can be rectified in the medium term. The movement in the trunk is there, while certainly not a weakness, purists would perhaps say the movement is a bit monotonous, but I see that as easily rectified as well in time, by how and where you grow branches and an apex on this tree.
My advice is to remove all branches and select shoots from the regrowth that are well spaced vertically if they are intended to be developed into major branches. Part of the paint-by-numbers look of this tree that is bothering you at the moment stems from an overall lack of branching, particular minor branching or what I like to call accent branches which are used to fill space between the dominant foliage planes of the major branches. Accent branches can also be used de-emphisise weak areas in a trees design and lead the eye to more visually pleasing areas. Think overall branch density rather than individual branch weight when growing accent branches and you will be on the right track.
As for the building of all branches, look to build taper and movement into them that compliments and will harmonise with the trunk. This is best done by repeatedly cutting back, selecting buds, wiring new shoots into desired directions, moving left, right as well as adding height to the branch profiles, growing those shoots to a desireable thickness to achieve the desired taper. Anything that becomes overgrown or coarse needs to be removed because it will threaten taper and be very obvious in a otherwise well structured and later well ramified canopy.
As to how to go about improving the base of the trunk and nebari, getting the tree into a grow box roughly the same depth as the current pot, but much wider will be helpful. Annual repotting while selectively removing overly heavy roots and reducing others to improve root ramification and prevent the tendancy of Chinese Elms to produce heavy, cylindrical logs below soil level. Once the roots are well distributed and are striking out horizontally into the available space afforded by the wide, shallow container, you will see improvements made to the flare at the base of the trunk.
Another option if you wish, would be to airlayer the trunk at a favourable location just above the existing base. Airlayereing works well with Corkies as the rough bark disguises the evidence of the layer that discourages some people from using the method.
I hope that at least some of this is can be helpfull in improving your tree. Keep us posted on it's progress regardless of how you choose to go about it.
Cheers,
Mojo
Last edited by Mojo Moyogi on September 3rd, 2011, 1:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
...Might as well face it, I'm addicted to Shohin...
"Any creative work can be roughly broken down into three components- design, technique and materials. Good design can carry poor technique and materials but no amount of expertise and beautiful materials can save poor design". Andrew McPherson - Furniture designer and artist
P.S. I quite like the look of that pot. Just not for this tree at the moment.
Cheers,
Mojo
...Might as well face it, I'm addicted to Shohin...
"Any creative work can be roughly broken down into three components- design, technique and materials. Good design can carry poor technique and materials but no amount of expertise and beautiful materials can save poor design". Andrew McPherson - Furniture designer and artist
I must say that keeping those bottom branches has been bugging me. They are too close vertically for my comfort as well. I have a nice group planting pot that I will move the tree too. I think it is early enough and it will give the roots more lateral space. I'll post a new photo once I have it done.
Thanks again for the constructive comments and suggestions!
Hi andrew and what a lovely trunk
I am a great fan of taller slender trees and this suits my like real well
I would remove all the branches and regrow, but I would be having the first branch lower than the current first one, and have lots of them all the way up the tree. Back, left , right, frontish ( 45 deg) is good and all combinations between
