Ickyguy's corkbark elm

[IckyGuyBonsai]

I was gifted this tree a couple years ago. I repotted, getting rid of a lot of the circling roots, gave a minor trim, and left it alone before driving it across the country in the heat of the summer.
After being originally kept frost free in zone 6, I went ahead and overwintered it outside with everything else in my nice, new, balmy zone 8.

It's been pushing hard all spring and just got a quick thinning to let some air and light through there as well as making a couple bigger cuts to get rid of some of the random thicker branching
Now I'll let it grow out some more and see about throwing a bit of wire on. I'm looking to repot next year to get rid of the last of some weird circling roots and possible a slight tip to the left.

So that's it for now, enjoy!

 

[IckyGuyBonsai]

This Yatsubusa is still going strong. I thinned it out a bit more since posting, but this guy is going to sit until next spring when it'll get a repot. It's also going to need a hard cutback at that point

Or air layering maybe? I've been eyeing this trunkline recently, but I'm not really liking the topiary pompom look to it. I have plenty of time to spin this guy around and tilt him around every which way before I'll have to make some big decisions one way or the other.

Here's another option

Feel free to throw out what you'd do if it were your tree!

 

[TrevorLarsen]

I would go with the second shorter option but that is just me.

 

[Scrogdor]

I like the shorter version, or as is.

 

[Apex37]

My vote would be to leave as is, or air layer here for a twin trunk and have a semi-cascade left over. I’d wait to air layer till next year though.

 

[pandacular]

The second option would allow you to air layer two trees off of it! I like that design better than the taller virt, but I also like it as is.

 

[MHBonsai]

Search for the smallest tree…that’s my vote!

 

[Bonsai Nut]

You will want to fix that encircling root.

 

[IckyGuyBonsai]

encircling root

That's on the spring repotting agenda, didn't get to this tree this season.

As for styling, it may very well end up just getting a hard cutback to reset things and I'll start rebuilding branching. I don't hate the design as it is now (with some TLC) but there's some structural problems around that will need to be taken care of before this tree gets to where I want it.

One way or another some new trees will come out of whatever happens in spring, be it cuttings, root cuttings, or air layers.

 

[IckyGuyBonsai]

Fall update: as per usual this guy is just now getting touches of fall color after a lot of my trees have already shed their leaves.

 

[pandacular]

Do you happen to know the cultivar of this elm? It looks somewhat like my 'Seiju' but with bigger leaves

 

[IckyGuyBonsai]

Do you happen to know the cultivar of this elm? It looks somewhat like my 'Seiju' but with bigger leaves

A Yatsubusa Elm as far as I can tell. Nice corky bark and definitely bigger leaves than seiju.

 

[IckyGuyBonsai]

bigger leaves than seiju

Here's a comparison with a seiju I've got around

 

[John P.]

Yep, that’s about right.

 

[IckyGuyBonsai]

This one got some new shoes the other day. My elms are usually among the first to start showing bud movement and wanted to get in at those encircling roots before missing my window like last year.

Swapped out pots just to have a shallower rectangle on hand for other trees and won't hurt to give this guy a little depth to grow into. I got rid of a single offending crossing branch and left the rest as is to see what it gives me this season.

Some better pictures to come eventually, I've been busy with work and haven't been great about taking many good pictures recently, but here's the trunk base as it is nowadays. I've wanted to put a bit more slant to it for awhile and I'm liking this angle more.

 

[IckyGuyBonsai]

First flush cutback, some of the lower branches were being shaded out. Left a couple runners on some weaker sections, but gave it an all around cutback to get rid of some unnecessary beaches, and open it up. Could use a small wire or two to pull down some branches on the right side, but mostly just directionally pruned it this go around