today's efforts elm and azalea

[matty-j]

hey everyone

so today i picked up a little elm
ive had this azalea for a couple of months but didnt know what to do with it
i had some "inspiration" haha if you can call it that
ken gave some advice on the azalea which was a 3 trunk setting
but to be honest i struggle with 1 trunk let alone 3
so i gave it a go an this is how it turned out
i was thinking a windswept style maybe not the most
appropriate style for an azalea?
and i was thinking tomorrow i would run a saw straight between
the 2 trees and separate them not sure if this is a good idea or not?
an turn the other tree into a broom

any way the azalea up first what do you all think?

before.jpg

windswept front.JPG

base.JPG

both.jpg

now for the elm any styling advice? i like it but i think near the upper middle half is a problem
it kinda looks like a bar branch there not directly opposite but there close
what should i do? remove one? or leave it? or something else?

before.jpg

front.JPG

top.JPG

barbranch.JPG

any advice would be much appreciated

[shibui]

I'd take the apex out of the elm above the highest branch then bring that final branch up as a new apex. Gets rid of the problem of 2 close branches creating reverse taper, adds more movement and taper - Win, win, win!

[matty-j]

thanks for the advice shibui much appreciated

i removed the left hand branch instead of the apex because it had a crack in it from my heavy handedness
and was worried that i would loose it any way so i removed it and shortened the apex slightly

a quick pic i think ill slip pot this into a larger pot and just let it grow freely
for quite a while

front 2.jpg