chinese elm on rock

[Jamie]

hi guys, here is a developing chinese elm i bought a while ago, its going onto a nice rock, unfortunalty i lost all my files last weekend with my computer going down and the pics of befores and the rock went with it.

the tree itself is the one that sparked the question about shohin/mame trees when it come to doing root over rocks. the tree itself would fit into a mame category once done, maybe a touch over, with the rock it will sit nicely under 20cm. when i bought the elm, it basically looked like a little stump that only had an inch of trunk above the soil, then once i got it home and had a look in there it ended up going under another couple of inches with a gentle curve and twist.

i beleive this to have been a root cutting.

Elmrock.jpg

Elmrock2.jpg

i envisiage this one to have a full canopy, not padded, it will get there eventually, while its growing roots around and over the rock and being in the colander, in the collander i will be able to power feed this tree soon once it has filled and started really putting on growth, then it will power on

[Mojo Moyogi]

I like the collander as a growing pot Jamie, that little tree is going to fly along in your climate with plenty of feed.

Cheers
Mojo Moyogi

[craigw60]

Thats great Jamie you will have a lovely tree in no time. It sure is a root cutting the best way to get nice bark on elms young.
Craig

[Jamie]

thanks guys it is getting plenty of feed, the collander is good for the fine root systems as you know what i plan for this tree is in the virt, its unfortunate i havent been able to show the rock because it is quite an interesting piece. i predict the tree will be showable in about 2 years time

Elmonrockvirt.jpg

jamie

[kvan64]

Nice elm jamie. Just wondering why not padded? The first pic looks like a nice front to me. Can't wait till it's fuller in leaves.
DK

[Jamie]

hi DK, thanks

i just feel a full canopy will suit the rock so much better, i will possibly change my mind as i go along with it as it might come up nice padded. i reckon either shot could be a front, the first one does seem to be better to the rock though so will most likely be the case, but its always good to be able to change a tree around and have different veiwing angles!


im keen for it to fill out too, it is pumping along nicely. what you see is about 2 weeks growth or so. it was bare just after i got it

jamie

[kvan64]

Looks pretty good for a 2 week growth. You must have fed it right. Looks like you're collecting a lot of good stuffs recently jamie. By the way, how is your olive base cutting going?

[Jamie]

yes mate i have been rather picky these days with the sort of stock i get, especially buying it. the little olive both flat cut trunk and base are going really well, the trunk is throwing out roots and the base is covered in new 4 inch shoots

[Josh7]

Jamie,
I enjoy your improvisation with growing containers. Soon you'll be growing lettuce in bonsai pots......

[Jamie]

i dunno bout lettuce mate, i dont think i could get that ramification i like

as for the collander it has been around for a fair while. what it does basically is allows the roots to grow out iinto some space but once the roots get to the outer part of the collander the sun hits the roots and esentially it is like root pruning, what it does when the sun hits is that it does back a little then reshoots like pruning and back budding, creating a dense feeder root system allowing for the tree to take in essentially all nutrients given to it

jamie

[Chris]

good stuff jamie that looks great it will be good to see the rock in a years time. And good news about the olive I'm glad all is going well

[alpineart]

Good to see this little Elm Jamie .I've got a few little root cuttings going much smaller than yours with plenty of movement in the root. Plenty of little tiny mame and shohin pots to put them in ,dont need any more big ones .Cheers Alpine

[Jamie]

cheers chris and yep all olives are good!

thanks alpine, root cuttings seem to be very good for these trees, i will have to try take more, some other root cuttings i have taken of different species havet worked properly.

jamie

[bodhidharma]

It is looking good Jamie. I dont want to rain on your parade but i think two years is optimistic. I have been working on one for 8 years and it is no way showable. The large roots have to become one with the rock . as does the trunkline. Patience i had to learn young Jedi. I you want i can post one of mine 8 years in the making. The tree itself was already 10 years old.

[Jamie]

hey bodhi

all is good, i appreciate your thoughts, it may be optimistic for sure. i think i will atleast have trunk and branching sorted out by then, the roots will be well on the way too. the thing i have found about chinese elm up here is they love growing on with space, and they love getting fed, so eventually i will be power feeding, this one is quite small as i think i have said, so the roots wont need to be huge on this i am actually trying to get them spread around the rock and as the rock has channels and holes the roots actually slip in very well. but yes time is the big thing to get them to grab and thicken some. it wont be coming out until it looks right.

would love to see yours aswell mate!

jamie