Commercial Elm progression

[leatherback]

In summer 2018 I was taking a styling class and I did not have material to work on. So I went out to a garden centre and bought a young bonsai off the shelves, which seemed to be perfect for an advanced bonsai styling class.
I am not sure why, but people were looking at me skeptically when I brought my tree in at the start of the day.

 

[leatherback]

The topic of the class that day was rafts. As I did not have any trees that I wanted to flip over, I thought this chinese elm was perfect:

- Good species for bonsai
- Sinuous movement in the trunk
- Hardly any branches in the back

So that day I lifted it from the pot, re-organized the roots, trimmed back and wired some small branches in place. So on June 22nd 2018 this is how I finished the class for the day:

 

[leatherback]

Speeding through 2018:


Starting 2019 with a clean slate:

 

[leatherback]

And in 2020 saw me starting with a few branches from 2019, after a summer cutback in 2019. Do not ask me why I did that..


It grew well in 2020...

 

[leatherback]

And in winter it was cut back, repotted, rootwork checked and stuff

 

[leatherback]

Leaving us this spring.. The tree spent a bit of time at -10c - -15c (5-15F) this winter, causing a few cracked spots on the bark. Nothing too serious as far as I can judge now


I know that frequent cutting back slows down thickening. But for this one, I would like to see how far to get without major chops.

 

[cmeg1]

Awesome raft....they are so cool,but I never proceed to make one.

 

[just.wing.it]

Good use of the material for sure.
Looks like a fun project, let the people look skeptically....who needs em!

 

[PA_Penjing]

Impressed with your patience AND lack of ego. I would never have the confidence to show up to a serious class with that elm. And I don't know if I could look at something that ugly for two/three years and still keep hope that it would begin taking shape. Nice work, I might have to bite this idea someday down the road.

 

[Sputnik 184]

I did a similar exercise with a commercial Chinese Elm a couple of years ago but I decided to make two of mine. I layered the top of the s bend and then put that in as a raft keeping the base as a small cascade. Still a long way off but it’s quite a challenge.

 

[Ruben Bouwmeester]

Nice Jelle, now I want one too. Damm all shops are closed.

 

[Clorgan]

Leaving us this spring.. The tree spent a bit of time at -10c - -15c (5-15F) this winter, causing a few cracked spots on the bark. Nothing too serious as far as I can judge now
View attachment 367056View attachment 367057

I know that frequent cutting back slows down thickening. But for this one, I would like to see how far to get without major chops.

Inspiration for mine perhaps! Very cool, great idea

 

[cornfed]

These progression posts are super informative. It's like being able to hit fast forward on a tree.

 

[leatherback]

Impressed with your patience AND lack of ego. I would never have the confidence to show up to a serious class with that elm. And I don't know if I could look at something that ugly for two/three years

I had the comment from my teacher that I seem to have a soft spot for projects. So when I went there a few weeks back, I did not bring any trees needing work. When he asked me why I broughts them I told him: To show you I also have trees that are not projects!

Indeed, I do not mind long-term projects. On the one hand because I am cheap; I do not want to pay 1000 USD for a tree. Yet I want to have great trees. But also, I am taking classes to eventually start teaching. Therefor I feel I need to go through the whole process with many species and styles. That would help me to assist other people better long-term.

 

[leatherback]

Today near 2 ft extensions were cut off. Slowly does it with this one for me.