New addition to the collection

[geeyawn]

I passed my nursing board exam and received this as a present! I hope i can keep this nice and healthy for a long time. I guess i'm starting a new life with this tree.

I figure i want to get those branches full of leaves to have a nice looking pad, and overall keep it healthy. I was told this is a Chinese Elm, so if there are any tips and suggestions of any kind, I am all ears.

The front i like is the one with a shady picture (the one different from the rest), but the only thing that bothers me is the branch that is going downwards almost blocking the branch going to the left. I was thinking maybe raising it up a little? Some help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[JudyB]

Congrats on passing your board exams!
Chinese elms are good starter trees, they are pretty durable. I would keep an eye on watering, the soil looks pretty organic in the photos. You should use this tree to learn how to wire, and prune, and all sorts of things. As you get into the hobby further, you will find that you gravitate toward less manipulated shapes like this S shaped trunk. And into more natural looking shapes. You may even wind up chopping this back and turning it into a whole different tree. There was a thread sometime back about what to do with S shaped trunks, you could search for it.

 

[geeyawn]

Congrats on passing your board exams!
Chinese elms are good starter trees, they are pretty durable. I would keep an eye on watering, the soil looks pretty organic in the photos. You should use this tree to learn how to wire, and prune, and all sorts of things. As you get into the hobby further, you will find that you gravitate toward less manipulated shapes like this S shaped trunk. And into more natural looking shapes. You may even wind up chopping this back and turning it into a whole different tree. There was a thread sometime back about what to do with S shaped trunks, you could search for it.

Thanks Judy! It's exciting starting my career.

Yeah, the soil is pretty organic. I'm guessing i should just water whenever the top of the soil looks dry? I will for sure wait until spring to repot. The roots are pretty long now as they are encircling the pot. As for the S shaped trunk, I'm okay with it for now, but you are right about wanting a more natural looking tree. Time to do more research

Other suggestions are welcome!

 

[Tieball]

Passing

You passed the board exam...that was tough...fantastic accomplishment. Hopefully this tree won't be as tough....not to demanding anyway. Lots of multiple choice with the tree. Have a terrific time...relax, unwind and enjoy a journey through bonsai. Bonsainut is a great place to find answers, to ask questions, to see terrific trees, to see that others also have trees that aren't perfect yet too and to get ahold of a lot of valuable information and advice.

 

[JudyB]

Watering is the one most important skills to learn with bonsai. And one of the surprisingly hardest to master. And when you have heavy organics in the soil, it can be even more difficult.
If you take a wooden skewer, and shove it down into the soil, about halfway between the trunk and the pot, leave it there, then pull it out and check it every day. When the skewer is almost dry, then it's time to water. You'll need a can with an upfacing rose, so that the water comes out gently, like rain. Water until it's coming out of the bottom of the pot, wait 5 minutes and then water again. This will help the soil actually absorb the water, instead of just having it runoff. If the water becomes compacted, and will not accept the water, you might have to do submerging watering. You can fill your sink with water up above the pot rim, and when the bubbles stop coming out of the pot, then you can let it drain. Not a great way to water, but if the soil is poor, sometimes it's the only way to do it.
More people probably overwater than underwater, so make sure that the stick is not wet...

BTW, welcome to the forum, it's a great place to learn, but if you have a club in your area, you might want to look into joining that as well.
Cheers.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Whatever you do, don't believe it when you read that these are indoor trees

 

[geeyawn]

Whatever you do, don't believe it when you read that these are indoor trees

haha got it. i have always believed that trees should be outside, and keeping bonsai indoors is a bad superstition in my culture