Carved Elm trunk

[philf555]

Hi Alpine, Awesome carving very inspiring. You have actually given me an idea with a privett trunk I have. Do you know how well (or if at all) privetts take to carving? Ive been lookin at this stump for years and think carving could do the trick, not too fussed if i kill it (would rather not) but thought Id ask if its worth a shot.

Cheers
Phil

[alpineart]

Hi Phil , elms are a bit like a noxious weed , Privets are noxious weeds so i cant see an issue with carving them . Most trunks i have carved work out unless i take the to the point of no return .The big trunks that died i think i went a bit too far with the root pruning , basically nothing left on the stump .Lessons learned for sure . The carving is only basic , they will get o good detail after trimming . With the new bark rolling over the dead wood i will follow and carve profile and detail the rest . These are now trainers , i have already re-potted them this morning , so i will trim and wire and shape then and post up some more pics .

Cheers Alpine

[philf555]

Thanks Alpine, Ill have a go at it and post some before and afters.

Cheers

[fiveoffive]

Dam I will have to have a look at them next time Im over,

[alpineart]

Hi Fiveoffive , here is a sneak peek at the effort today

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. To give you an idea as to the size of the trunks and bases the cream drum pot is 210mm x 70mm . There big enough to make a bold statement as future Bonsai.

Cheers Alpineart

[emi93m]

1 of 30 half your luck !

[alpineart]

Hi emi93m , 18 out of 30 survived . 1 out of 30 and i'd have to cut my wrists .

Cheers Alpineart

[bodhidharma]

Hi Alpine, missed these, must have been asleep. I am looking at the leaves of these and they are not your standard E.E leaf Actually they look very similar to a Hornbeam leaf. I wonder if you have a crossbreeding going on here

[alpineart]

Hi Bodhi , mate i have had these to 4 different nurseries and all the experts have came up with a different names . So basically there are unknown species of golden elm at this stage . Sooner or later someone will I.D them positively .They are grafted onto a green variety elm with a much smaller leaf more the size of a Zelkova or slightly smaller . The leaf is quite harsh and stiff like sandpaper , on the ground grown trunks the leaves are around 100mm x 70mm .

Cheers Alpine

[alpineart]

I need of some well earn therapy , so this is the best i could do

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I defoliated them last night and this morning the larger trunk had already began to bud burst

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A few hours of wiring and shaping for some nice trainers .The trunks will have up to 80 % of the dead wood carved out , leaving only the live vein profile which has already began to roll over .The smaller trunk has covered a 12 drill hole . Definitely mind therapy , the body will wait .

Cheers Alpineart

[MattA]

Hey Alpine,
Nice work as always, the one in the cream drum is mmmmmm for some reason the contrast of yellow & green leaves on the same tree appeals to my eye.

I am curious if you ended up getting the Earl's woodhardener on them & how its performing? I found large elms could rot out in very few years (a plus or minus depending on your view)

Matt

[alpineart]

Hi MattA , the 2 coloured leaf is a little bit of a mystery . The foliage on most cases in well above the graft , these 2 twin coloured trunks have only had the green on them as of the last month or so . The other two turn green late last year . It seem as the foliage is reduced they are reverting back to the root stock traits .

I never did get the wood hardener onto them and they are as solid as dead wood , however the pieces removed prior to potting up have rotted in the wood pile .There seems to be more bacteria in these piles of wood .The ground growing trunks have no sign of rot either .As you can see where i split the deadwood where the holes were drilled it is very solid .

I gently {as i do} tried to split the side out of the left trunk in the long pot with a tomahawk to no avail ,4 good hits wouldn't split it open . Even inside the base and underneath is as good as the day they were cut and carved , i would compare it to the hardest kiln dried select grade Meranti available . These all were watered everyday with a garden hose like everything else . I would be looking more at dry rot in the case of the wood pile ,ie wet-dry-wet-dry then resulting in the fungus attack which breaks down the timber .
I have a couple that need trimming back they have full sized foliage and are in a semi shaded are of the garden , i will see if they have any rot . I will post the pics hopefully someone can I.D them from the original leaf .I will also post a pic of the full tree still growing here it has suckers in green with a low shoot in large yellow leaves .

Cheers Alpine

[alpineart]

Here is a few pics of the trunks in question and the leaf difference

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Cheers Alpinart

[anttal63]

Great beginnings Ian !!!

[alpineart]

Hi Anttal63 , they are great starters that for sure . With some detailed carving the will be much better . I have found basic carving works better , as some trunks die so the full effort is best left for the survivors . They can die back in the areas you don't expect them too , or go completely wheels up . I should have put the effort into removing all the trunks from the ground into training boxes , i would have had 18 good trainers , Another lesson learned .

Cheers Alpine