Little chinese elm repotted!

[MoGanic]

Hello all!

A bit late, but I decided to re-pot Elmo Snr. today as the tree previously in this pot was NOT doing well. A. because it wasn't a tree and B. because it was ugly so I ignored it.
So everyone, meet Elmo Snr. I chose a different front than my initial thoughts as, when imagined with tiny little foliage pads where they should be, I found this a more interesting angle .

Elmo Jr. is still a youngen but will eventually grow up to be a beautiful tree one day .

Kind Regards,
Mo

[bodhidharma]

Hi Moganic, pretty sure it is not a Chinese elm. A little more movement in the trunk line should be added now before it is to mature to do it. (maybe an Acer)

[MoGanic]

An acer? hmm will have to wait until thw leaves pop out as I was fairly certain it is a elm of some sort!
How can i add some movement to the trunk? would wiring work?

[shibui]

It does look like chinese elm to me.
re trunk movement - yes wiring would do the trick. Not sure what that wire you have on it at the moment is doing though and rather messy too.
It is hard to tell with 2d pics - Does the tree have any depth? All branches appear to be at the sides? Wiring would allow you to bend the trunk (sideways and back/frontwards) to get better 3d movement AND would allow you to twist the trunk if necessary to put some of the existing branches to the rear or the other side to balance it a little.
I'd plant it so that it is tilted toward the 1st branch - that would bring the apex more over the base and balance the tree a bit too.

[Andrew Legg]

An acer? hmm will have to wait until thw leaves pop out as I was fairly certain it is a elm of some sort!
How can i add some movement to the trunk? would wiring work?

Mo,

I'm not gonna take a guess on what it is, but have a look at the buds. If they come out in pairs, it's gonna be a maple, and not a elm. If they come out alternating in singles, then its gonna be a elm, not a maple. That is of course assuming it's not a pine tree!!!

Cheers,

Andrew

[Andrew Legg]

An acer? hmm will have to wait until thw leaves pop out as I was fairly certain it is a elm of some sort!
How can i add some movement to the trunk? would wiring work?

Mo,

I'm not gonna take a guess on what it is, but have a look at the buds. If they come out in pairs, it's gonna be a maple, and not a elm. If they come out alternating in singles, then its gonna be a elm, not a maple. That is of course assuming it's not a pine tree!!!

For the wiring, try to avoid having wires crossing each other. I'd start by removing all the wiring you have. Get some solid wire onto the trunk and bend it to the shape you want. Then wire the branches with something thinner. Don't cross the wires, and remember to keep an eye out for wire-bite. This tree will grow quickly in spring! I'm worried that you have a bit of bite on there already! Do a Google search for "Graham Potter Bonsai Wiring not for Dummies" video and have a look at that. It will give you good advice on wiring technique!

Cheers, and good luck!

Andrew

[MoGanic]

An acer? hmm will have to wait until thw leaves pop out as I was fairly certain it is a elm of some sort!
How can i add some movement to the trunk? would wiring work?

Mo,

I'm not gonna take a guess on what it is, but have a look at the buds. If they come out in pairs, it's gonna be a maple, and not a elm. If they come out alternating in singles, then its gonna be a elm, not a maple. That is of course assuming it's not a pine tree!!!

For the wiring, try to avoid having wires crossing each other. I'd start by removing all the wiring you have. Get some solid wire onto the trunk and bend it to the shape you want. Then wire the branches with something thinner. Don't cross the wires, and remember to keep an eye out for wire-bite. This tree will grow quickly in spring! I'm worried that you have a bit of bite on there already! Do a Google search for "Graham Potter Bonsai Wiring not for Dummies" video and have a look at that. It will give you good advice on wiring technique!

Cheers, and good luck!

Andrew

Thanks for that Andrew, yeah the previous scars are from wiring which was left on for at least a year or two too long, it was about a mm deep when I pulled off the old wires in some places. Should I bother sealing the cuts?

The wire I have on there at the moment is literally adjusting the branches by mm's. Just to keep everything nice and flat for now. Will re-do this as soon as I get the chance .

Thanks for the advice and of course the encouragement. Will check the buds when I get home.

PS "That is of course assuming it's not a pine tree!!! "

[Andrew Legg]

Personally I wouldn't, but I have no doubt that there are those that would!

[MoGanic]

It seems to be healing those scars fairly well on its own, might let it run as it is for the moment. Just looked at the buds (which have started bursting by the way, EXCITING) and it is without a doubt a cute little elm tree.

I have a few branches to create depth, but I'm not overly concerned with that at this stage, I just like the way it looks right now . (The main trunk line leading up to the apex has good movement, just that thicker part at the bottom which hasn't got much at all. Tried wiring but it seems the trunk has firmed up quite a lot and will have to use some other means next year, I think the repot and light trim are enough for this youngen this year haha).

[harry]

with that colour new growth I also doubt it is a chinese elm none of my chinese elms ever have that colour new growth.

harry

[MoGanic]

with that colour new growth I also doubt it is a chinese elm none of my chinese elms ever have that colour new growth.

harry

[Pup]

G,day I am of the same opinion as Bohdi and Harry it looks more like a Maple to me the bark is the wrong colour for a Chinese elm.

All the wire that is on there is a waste of time as it is doing nothing, it needs to be taken off, and using the right size wire redone, putting some movement into the tree.

Cheers Pup

[MoGanic]

Excellent.

[MoGanic]

Leaves is popping! Pics up tonight =D

[MoGanic]

Finally got some time to take these pics!
=]