[illiterati]

I got this Chinese elm for free this past winter because the owner had repotted it in November and the main trunk died. I have taken a low branch and made a new trunk, hacked it back, and have tried to give it a new shape.I plan to repot it next spring into something that will allow it to grow. Let me know if you have any suggestions.

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[illiterati]

The last image is what the tree looked like in May, this is what it looks like today.

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[Georgezilla]

Lookin' good. It's a good feeling to save plants that would have otherwise died.

If it were my tree, I would put it in a grow box in the spring, then cut off all the branches except the leader and just let it grow for awhile.

[Enchantra]

It appears whoever had this tree before you was making some attempt at either an informal upright or a broom and it wasn't going to well.

At this point none of the branches you have left really have a future. I would in early Spring chop below where the branches come out, seal the wound well and wait and see what the tree grows. If that is to much for you to attempt, then chop off the leader and the left thick branch and wire up the tiniest branch as your new leader. You will develop more taper using either method and eventually after being allowed to grow you will have something better to work with.

[illiterati]

Enchantra, on 10 September 2009 - 10:46 AM, said:

It appears whoever had this tree before you was making some attempt at either an informal upright or a broom and it wasn't going to well.

At this point none of the branches you have left really have a future. I would in early Spring chop below where the branches come out, seal the wound well and wait and see what the tree grows. If that is to much for you to attempt, then chop off the leader and the left thick branch and wire up the tiniest branch as your new leader. You will develop more taper using either method and eventually after being allowed to grow you will have something better to work with.

It was probably the ugliest tree I have ever begun to work with, but you can't argue with free. I too have thought of chopping the trunk low and letting a new the new tree present itself, but I figured this season would be about seeing if it could overcome the root rot that was clearly visible on the nebari along with the decaying trunk which I chopped and sealed, so I kept the two low branches as sacrificial until I decide what to do next spring.

I think at this point I am going to go with your first option then and put it in a grow box for a good while.

[jkl]

I'm afraid I wouldn't waste effort on this tree.

The pot looks OK, though.

Put another tree in it.

[illiterati]

hahaha,well as far as pots go I am in no short supply, but I do like this one for an evergreen. The tree, however, I kinda see as though it were a mangy dog looking for a home... but I would not have given $5 for it:)

[Brent]

When I evaluate trees for bonsai, first I look for what the tree already has to offer and try to use it. This tree has nothing to offer except for the time that it took to grow that bit of straight base trunk section. From the first branch up, it is worthless. Take the wire off, you will never use those branches or upper trunk in a decent tree. The nebari is horrendous and will have to be completely ground layered off.

So, take it out of the bonsai pot, put it in a training pot, ground layer the trunk and let it grow wild for several years to develop some flair into the new roots, get some more girth and then decide where to chop to start a new top.

Considering what you would have to do to make this a decent tree, I think you got robbed. If you have five trees like this, you would be better of buying a $25 piece of decent starter stock.

When buying such material, always start with the nebari. It is the most difficult aspect to correct and takes the longest and the most skill. If you find a piece of material with a decent nebari already, BUY IT, no matter what the rest of the tree looks like. You can grow an entire new tree on top of the nebari in much shorter time than you can correct a miserable nebari on a promising top. I would never have got past the nebari on this tree. I can't tell you how many beginner trees I have seen that have had DECADES of work but are still junk because the root work was never done.

As long as we are talking about beginners: I've said it a million times on forums, but I will say it again: If you have a one inch trunk, you have a six inch tall tree, don't even both looking at the rest of tree. Why? If you are going to keep it at six inches (the infamous 1:6 ratio trunk to height), then the tree must already exist (or have the potential to exist) in those six inches. If you are going to grow it out, nothing above those six inches is going to matter anyhow, most likely it will all be cut off at some point.

Bonsai is rarely modification (except in yamadori or really excellent pre material), it almost always about growing your vision. You have to train your eye before you can train your tree.

Brent
EvergreenGardenworks.com
see our blog at http://BonsaiNurseryman.typepad.com

[illiterati]

Brent, on 10 September 2009 - 05:26 PM, said:

Considering what you would have to do to make this a decent tree, I think you got robbed. If you have five trees like this, you would be better of buying a $25 piece of decent starter stock.

I think you misread the last entry; the tree was free; at the very least I got a pot out of the deal and reused old wire so as to not put any investment other than my own time, which costs very little during the summer:) This bad boy will likely be in a growing pot long after my unborn children take their first steps, or at least until I run out of room on the deck and put him in the ground.

[lennard]

I dont think this tree is so hopeless. I would chop the left branch and the center trunk and leave only the right hand branch to develop as a new leader. I would replant it at a angle to suit a semi formal style- tilt it to the left . But I agree to put in a growth pot or in the ground to get the work faster done.

There is hope!

Lennard