Keep or Toss?

[j evans]

I collected this elm this summer as I was wanting something with a thicker trunk. I chopped it and trimmed the roots to fit a large pot. I left the one branch to try to thicken the base. My thoughts were to create a hollowed out type trunk, stressed tree etc. Now cleaning up for winter and losing ambition I am wondering if it is keeping. I am soliciting thoughts and ideas. The trunk is about 3.5 inches across.

 

[Rob_phillips]

Why dont you just chuck it in the garden next spring and forget about it then go back to it in the summer or a year later and see if you have any more ideas then.
Basically just sit on it for a while

 

[Bonsai toto]

I collected this elm this summer as I was wanting something with a thicker trunk. I chopped it and trimmed the roots to fit a large pot. I left the one branch to try to thicken the base. My thoughts were to create a hollowed out type trunk, stressed tree etc. Now cleaning up for winter and losing ambition I am wondering if it is keeping. I am soliciting thoughts and ideas. The trunk is about 3.5 inches across.View attachment 161089 View attachment 161090

Or, cut that branch shorter than big one to become 2nd trunk(or main *strong-big branch with a good movement ). with that, you will have a good reasonable taper to begin with.
1st pic is a good view as front to start with. good material you have there.
cheers
toto.

 

[Mellow Mullet]

Keep it. Elms grow so fast, you can change what you don't like about it easy.

John

 

[sorce]

Yeah....

Bro .....

I put this one in the ground with a cinch for a new Nebari. Bloody took off.
https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/water-commision-elm.19469/

If There is one tree...

That has unlimited potential in any living form...

It is an elm.

Gimme a twig!

A seed a root...

A trunk with bark?

Mother fffff....

!

Shiiiiiiiit!

Nimbus two thousand!

Sorce

 

[discusmike]

Put back in ground,cut n grow

 

[Mellow Mullet]

If it were mine, this is what I would do.









You don't need to stick it in the ground, the pot that you have it in is big enough. I have one that has been it a three gallon pot all of its like and it is three inches in diameter and ten feet tall, I plan to start training it as a broom ah - la @markyscott.

Some time along the way you will probably have to address the roots, take a picture of them when you repot and post here.

It is a nice piece of material, I would not toss it as elms grow like crazy and you can make something of it with a little time and work.

Sorry for the crude drawings, I am working midnights and it is busy so I did not have a lot of time and I had to photograph and post them with my blackberry.

Hope it helps,

John

 

[0soyoung]

Sorry for the crude drawings

I cannot let this pass.
Your sketching skills are well above average, John.
I commend your high standards, but there is nothing to apologize for (well, maybe, 'I'm sorry that I can routinely dash off sketches like this in a matter of seconds').

 

[j evans]

John - thank you so much for not only your opinion but the drawings to help explain. Osoyoung is right, your sketches are outstanding. I was only looking for a quick "note " to see what you thought but instead got a wealth of easy to understand information. Thank you so much.

Jamie

 

[Mellow Mullet]

I cannot let this pass.
Your sketching skills are well above average, John.
I commend your high standards, but there is nothing to apologize for (well, maybe, 'I'm sorry that I can routinely dash off sketches like this in a matter of seconds').

Thank you, osoyoung, for the compliment. I was frustrated that they actually expected me to work, at work, go figure (it is usually not so hectic on nights, on the weekend). So my drawings were rushed, and I had forgotten my sketch pad and mechanical pencils, I had to use cheap copy paper and a wooden pencil.

Thanks again, John.

 

[Mellow Mullet]

John - thank you so much for not only your opinion but the drawings to help explain. Osoyoung is right, your sketches are outstanding. I was only looking for a quick "note " to see what you thought but instead got a wealth of easy to understand information. Thank you so much.

Jamie

You are welcome, Jamie and thanks to you, too. I always find it easier to explain with a pencil.

You have a great piece of material there, the base is nice and fat. It will take a few years but I think you can make something very nice out of it and as you go a long the way, you might even find something else in the tree that I did not see. But I think that it would be great to own one that you started out at "ground zero" with and made it into something.

If you want the original drawings, PM me your address and I can drop then into the mail to you.

John

 

[milehigh_7]

If it were mine, this is what I would do.


...

Pretty what I was thinking.

 

[Potawatomi13]

If it were mine, this is what I would do.


View attachment 163851


View attachment 163850

View attachment 163852

You don't need to stick it in the ground, the pot that you have it in is big enough. I have one that has been it a three gallon pot all of its like and it is three inches in diameter and ten feet tall, I plan to start training it as a broom ah - la @markyscott.

Some time along the way you will probably have to address the roots, take a picture of them when you repot and post here.

It is a nice piece of material, I would not toss it as elms grow like crazy and you can make something of it with a little time and work.

Sorry for the crude drawings, I am working midnights and it is busy so I did not have a lot of time and I had to photograph and post them with my blackberry.

Hope it helps,

John

Great art work! ! Color me envy Green.

 

[defra]

Keep it for sure!
Id stick with mellow mullet his sketch
Nice work!

 

[j evans]

After thinking about it overnight, now I don't have any excuses for producing a poor tree. Thanks again John

 

[j evans]

John did you see my pm? Thanks

Jamie

 

[Mellow Mullet]

John did you see my pm? Thanks

Jamie

I did, working midnights, so I did not have time to respond.

 

[j evans]

Need to get you some better hours. Course then you do have all the daylight you want for other things. Just didn't want you to think I wasn't interested.

 

[music~maker]

Yeah, what the others said ... you'd be crazy to toss this with a base like that and such a clear path to the next phase of trunk development.

Mellow Mullet had it spot on with those drawings.

And I love the double humble brag.

Sorry for the crude drawings, I am working midnights and it is busy so I did not have a lot of time

So my drawings were rushed, and I had forgotten my sketch pad and mechanical pencils, I had to use cheap copy paper and a wooden pencil.

Usually, I'd say "it's a poor craftsman who blames his tools", but in this case, it's the humble, masterful one who somehow manages to apologize for being able to use inferior tools to create textbook-quality diagrams. =)

It's a long-term project, but you are definitely set up well for it with what you have here. I might let it grow out for another season before really hacking at it, but that's just me. I like things to be nice and strong before I make big cuts. There's not really any downside to waiting I can think of other than having to wait, especially if you don't let any one thing get too out of control. But it is an elm, so probably OK either way.

This definitely has long-term potential.

 

[AZbonsai]

I would toss the tree and frame mullets picture instead.