Help! Chinese Elm Pre-Bonsai

markhr · 07-26-2009, 03:50 AM

Hello everyone, this Elm i purchased from a local nursery for $15. The trunk is 4 1/2 inches in diameter. The tree is about 15 inches tall. The lower part of the trunk seems to have some real potential, however the upper structure of this tree seems very problematic. It appears there have already been 3 major trunk chops to this tree(two at the center and one at the top). These have left the tree with some very bad scars, It really makes me wonder what the previous owner had intended. I am very much considering a total trunk chop under the first branch and completely starting over with this thing. I am very very new to the art of bonsai and have some other material that will be posted to seek advice on. Basically my questions are as follows:

1. What are my options with this tree??
2. How do the scars of trunk chops heal and what eventually happens to the cut paste or elmers glue that is used to seal a wound? Does it stay on the bonsai for many years? It seems that this would be rather un-attractive and i wonder is it worth it to apply this type of foreign substance?
3.What time of year can the trunk be chopped and how should this be done?

Thanks to anyone and everyone for their advice. Please let me know if you would like to see more photos.

-Mark

M.B. · 08-01-2009, 07:48 PM

Hey Mark, lots of questions and I'm not sure I can answer some but here goes....
1. What are your options: I love elms and I would have picked this one up too. I must confess I'm not very good at figuring out how to style a tree by a picture. That first branch is awful straight. I would probably wire some movement into it and thin it down but without seeing it in person, I don't know how flexible, how much to cut off, ect. There's also the option (if it's too stiff to bend) to cut every thing off and start over on your branches and ramification. Elms are very fast growers that usually pop branches all over and this is a possible way to go, depending....
2. Scars heal pretty quickly on elms and you don't have to worry about what was used to cover the scar. It will either fall off on it's own or wash away, depending what type was used. No you don't need to reapply. With time and good care the scars will heal over on their own.
3. Late winter or early spring, before bud break is the best time I have found to trunk chop. Here in northern California it's usually around Feb. but if the winter is warm as it has been the last couple years, January. It seems like spring gets pushed earlier and earlier lately. I use the usual pruning tools, nothing special.
One thing I'd like to clarify, what size pot is this in? It looks like a one or five gallon. Either way I doubt it's a 4 1/2 inch diameter trunk. When measuring trunk diameter you measure the bottom of the trunk but not the root spread or nebari. If you put a soda or beer can next to it I would be able to tell the size a little better.
Mary B.

noissee · 08-02-2009, 01:08 AM

The trunk chopes are fine. Just let this tree grow wild for a year or two, and they will be well on their way to healing. If you want to do some work on it, the only thing I would suggest is ground layering right above the nebari. The roots don't look very attractive in the pics. If you are unfamiliar with this, then just google: ground layer bonsai

noissee · 08-02-2009, 01:11 AM

I would actually go ahead and do another trunk chop in between the first big scar and the second big scar. Pick a branch that is growing more upright, and chop above it. Then let it grow wild.

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08-01-2009, 07:48 PM	#2 (permalink)
M.B. Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Outside Sacramento, CA Posts: 116	Hey Mark, lots of questions and I'm not sure I can answer some but here goes.... 1. What are your options: I love elms and I would have picked this one up too. I must confess I'm not very good at figuring out how to style a tree by a picture. That first branch is awful straight. I would probably wire some movement into it and thin it down but without seeing it in person, I don't know how flexible, how much to cut off, ect. There's also the option (if it's too stiff to bend) to cut every thing off and start over on your branches and ramification. Elms are very fast growers that usually pop branches all over and this is a possible way to go, depending.... 2. Scars heal pretty quickly on elms and you don't have to worry about what was used to cover the scar. It will either fall off on it's own or wash away, depending what type was used. No you don't need to reapply. With time and good care the scars will heal over on their own. 3. Late winter or early spring, before bud break is the best time I have found to trunk chop. Here in northern California it's usually around Feb. but if the winter is warm as it has been the last couple years, January. It seems like spring gets pushed earlier and earlier lately. I use the usual pruning tools, nothing special. One thing I'd like to clarify, what size pot is this in? It looks like a one or five gallon. Either way I doubt it's a 4 1/2 inch diameter trunk. When measuring trunk diameter you measure the bottom of the trunk but not the root spread or nebari. If you put a soda or beer can next to it I would be able to tell the size a little better. Mary B.

08-02-2009, 01:08 AM	#3 (permalink)
noissee Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: florida panhandle Posts: 206	The trunk chopes are fine. Just let this tree grow wild for a year or two, and they will be well on their way to healing. If you want to do some work on it, the only thing I would suggest is ground layering right above the nebari. The roots don't look very attractive in the pics. If you are unfamiliar with this, then just google: ground layer bonsai

08-02-2009, 01:11 AM	#4 (permalink)
noissee Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: florida panhandle Posts: 206	I would actually go ahead and do another trunk chop in between the first big scar and the second big scar. Pick a branch that is growing more upright, and chop above it. Then let it grow wild.

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