Corky bark elm, first pot.

[GavinG]

Although we still have two months of frosts to come, some green tips are emerging on a couple of the elms. I'm not really keen on sumo style - at worst they can be exaggerated and graceless, but after about 167 years of fairly mindless grow-and-chop, this is one I've ended up with.

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The branches are stiff and clunky, and the crossed-leg root really should have been sorted out years ago.

If it is rotated left forward, and leaned over to the left, there is something more satisfying.

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The eye-poking branch can go, and there's enough of that branch left to build from.

Here are four potting options, all with something good about them.

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And this is what I went with. Another forty years of branch development and I'll be happy.

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Gavin

[Shane]

Nice, Gavin. Interested to see how this develops now it's potted up; with no size comparison, it looks quite small. I just bought a corky bark elm last night from shibui when he demoed to the Bonsai Society of Vic club. I think the two are similar size, but I will be planting mine out in the garden for at least a year.

[GavinG]

It's about 20cms tall at the moment. They ground-grow well, but make sure you sort the roots out early, not like I didn't. Ish.

Gavin