Should I Trunk Chop this Elm?

[one_bonsai]

I was thinking of trunk chopping here to start building better taper:

 

[0soyoung]

The trunk is straight as an arrow below your red line - good for broom, not good for much of anything else.
If you are making a broom, I would chop about half way between your red line and the present soil level.
Of course, you could also layer it instead of chopping = options.

 

[one_bonsai]

I'm looking at something like this as a goal:

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I'm looking at something like this as a goal:

If this is your goal, how does chopping it at your red line get you closer?

 

[just.wing.it]

I think you should keep most of what you have.
If it was mine, I'd focus on the roots and nebari.
I'd screw it to a tile or board at next repotting time....start that basal flare going. (aka: Ebihara Method)

 

[Bonsai Nut]

If this is your goal, how does chopping it at your red line get you closer?

I agree with Brian. If you prune it where you have marked, it isn't going to give you taper - rather you will end up with a shorter tree that still has a stovepipe straight lower trunk. Worse, you may find that when your pruning scar starts to heal, you are left with a knob and inverse taper where the trunk makes its first bend. I don't think it is that bad as it is - if you developed the base of the tree. Or else if you want to drastically prune it, you need to cut closer to the base.

 

[coh]

You could layer off the top at the base of the curve which would give you the start of a curved trunk like in the "goal" picture, then chop the remaining trunk further down as others have suggested. Then you'd have 2 different style trees to work with.

 

[Paulpash]

Rather than chop it needs to grow. If your goal is a mid height informal upright plant it at an angle. I'd maybe work the nebari first before planting out in the ground if you don't want to ground layer further down the road. Chop it when the trunk girth is around a third of the eventual end goal - probably double what you have now?

 

[one_bonsai]

If I cut it below the red line, couldn't I grow a new leader to introduce more taper and movement?

 

[0soyoung]

If I cut it below the red line, couldn't I grow a new leader to introduce more taper and movement?

yes, you could.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

If I cut it below the red line, couldn't I grow a new leader to introduce more taper and movement?

Have you taken a look at the roots? Does it have good surface roots and spread radially like spokes of a wheel? If it has bad roots, you may actually want to do a ground layer to develop better roots first.

The first thing that I thought when I saw the photo of your "future vision" tree was - bad roots that weren't fixed when the tree was young.

 

[Kudo]

If I cut it below the red line, couldn't I grow a new leader to introduce more taper and movement?

Yes, but as Bonsai Nut pointed out on his post, if you cut in the red line, the trunk bellow it will still remain a straight pole without taper and movement. Unless you plan to create a very big bonsai in the future.

 

[one_bonsai]

Have you taken a look at the roots? Does it have good surface roots and spread radially like spokes of a wheel? If it has bad roots, you may actually want to do a ground layer to develop better roots first.

The first thing that I thought when I saw the photo of your "future vision" tree was - bad roots that weren't fixed when the tree was young.

 

[one_bonsai]

Yes, but as Bonsai Nut pointed out on his post, if you cut in the red line, the trunk bellow it will still remain a straight pole without taper and movement. Unless you plan to create a very big bonsai in the future.

Would it still result in a better trunk overall?

 

[one_bonsai]

You could layer off the top at the base of the curve which would give you the start of a curved trunk.....

About where the green line is?:

 

[coh]

About where the green line is?:

View attachment 221346

Possibly - there appears to be a partly healed scar just above the green line so I'm not sure if that might affect the rooting potential in that area. Maybe just above the scar.

 

[Kudo]

Would it still result in a better trunk overall?

If you let it grow wild for a (very) long time and the correct techniques are applied, I think so. I attached a poor drawing (sorry for my bad paint made draw) of the future possibility for developing the trunk considering cutting on the red line. However it will be a long road to have something good.

Your best bet to achieve a tree like the photo you posted is to air layer the curved part of the trunk as the other folks have told you.