Hello All,
This is a Field Elm, Ulmus Minor (not an English Elm, the English Elm is a cultivar of Ulmus Minor Atinia), bought recently from Kaizen Bonsai. BobbyLane in fact pointed it out, it was a really good price for the tree and I was really pleased with it when it arrived. I'm unsure if Bobby realises it was me that bought it, I may or may not have purposely not told him ...
I'll do my usual shpeal talking about it, after the pics, everyone wants pics, not talk...
Before (not much to see, its a good healthy bush, this was when bought):
DSC_2192 by Conor Dashwood, on Flickr
DSC_2189 by Conor Dashwood, on Flickr
[09-07-20]
After:
DSC_2209 Ulmus Minor Front by Conor Dashwood, on Flickr
DSC_2211 by Conor Dashwood, on Flickr
DSC_2216 by Conor Dashwood, on Flickr
(The wiring was well done, I'll have no one tell me otherwise, but yeah I see the gaps, it was difficult... will still do the job!)
DSC_2218 - Ulmus Minor Close up bark by Conor Dashwood, on Flickr
DSC_2220 by Conor Dashwood, on Flickr
DSC_2224 by Conor Dashwood, on Flickr
[10-07-20]
I don't think I have spent so many hours on one tree before. It was awesome.. Really enjoyed it, also full of nerves. I enjoyed wiring, and it went well. Considering how careful and gentle I had to be with the bark in places + leaves, young shoots. It went well. It will be better when pruned in Winter and wired again. I think it will look killer in winter, once developed a bit more.
Good bits:
- I like the bolt upright trunk and deadwood/wound, really great feature, one of the big reasons I bought it. I love it.
- It looks like it was pruned, perhaps by Graham Potter at some point as it had a good few well developed branches in places. The crown is 2-3 stages ahead in development, than the rest of the tree. It was adequately cut back hard to try and balance the energy in the tree.
- Nice base on it, few large roots which add character and stability to the image. Old looking. But could be better.
- Trunk is a good size and girth.
- Has that great bark at the top, and middle has plating of bark, which is delicate. The bark underneath looks mature and good too, I am not too concerned about it falling off, it will look good both ways.
Things I was working on and looking out for:
- Putting movement in to the branches and wiring tips up, where possible. Movement of the branch was prioritised over the tip pointing up. The tip is temporary, the 2-3 year old branch is much more permanent.
- Internal twigging. Some branches you may notice are somewhat bare in places and it may seem like I should have cut back harder. The species back buds very well, and I have cut those branches back enough that I believe I should see back budding and get branches where I need them.
- Wanting the branches to be wild and untamed, to an extent. Some branches may look too long for the tree? That's fine. This is not a perfect image of a pine tree/triangle. What I am starting to believe, which is good for me, is imperfections are a good thing.. Depending on what your aim is with the tree.
- A number of guy wires to pull the branches down, add to the image of maturity. Guy wiring branches down will be, I think, a constant practice on this tree for a few years. I need to pull them down but also allow the tips to raise up, something I tried to do.
Overall, I am really happy with this tree and really enjoyed working on it and wiring it.
In winter, I'll have the chance to adjust wire more easily and get a better vision for the tree and what needs to change.
I have an image of this tree in my head and I know exactly where its going and how I want it to look.
Would love any good or bad bits from people, suggestions for future. I have the image in my head of what I want, but I'm open to ideas.
This is a Field Elm, Ulmus Minor (not an English Elm, the English Elm is a cultivar of Ulmus Minor Atinia), bought recently from Kaizen Bonsai. BobbyLane in fact pointed it out, it was a really good price for the tree and I was really pleased with it when it arrived. I'm unsure if Bobby realises it was me that bought it, I may or may not have purposely not told him ...
I'll do my usual shpeal talking about it, after the pics, everyone wants pics, not talk...
Before (not much to see, its a good healthy bush, this was when bought):
DSC_2192 by Conor Dashwood, on FlickrDSC_2189 by Conor Dashwood, on Flickr[09-07-20]
After:
DSC_2209 Ulmus Minor Front by Conor Dashwood, on FlickrDSC_2211 by Conor Dashwood, on FlickrDSC_2216 by Conor Dashwood, on Flickr(The wiring was well done, I'll have no one tell me otherwise, but yeah I see the gaps, it was difficult... will still do the job!)
DSC_2218 - Ulmus Minor Close up bark by Conor Dashwood, on FlickrDSC_2220 by Conor Dashwood, on FlickrDSC_2224 by Conor Dashwood, on Flickr[10-07-20]
I don't think I have spent so many hours on one tree before. It was awesome.. Really enjoyed it, also full of nerves. I enjoyed wiring, and it went well. Considering how careful and gentle I had to be with the bark in places + leaves, young shoots. It went well. It will be better when pruned in Winter and wired again. I think it will look killer in winter, once developed a bit more.
Good bits:
- I like the bolt upright trunk and deadwood/wound, really great feature, one of the big reasons I bought it. I love it.
- It looks like it was pruned, perhaps by Graham Potter at some point as it had a good few well developed branches in places. The crown is 2-3 stages ahead in development, than the rest of the tree. It was adequately cut back hard to try and balance the energy in the tree.
- Nice base on it, few large roots which add character and stability to the image. Old looking. But could be better.
- Trunk is a good size and girth.
- Has that great bark at the top, and middle has plating of bark, which is delicate. The bark underneath looks mature and good too, I am not too concerned about it falling off, it will look good both ways.
Things I was working on and looking out for:
- Putting movement in to the branches and wiring tips up, where possible. Movement of the branch was prioritised over the tip pointing up. The tip is temporary, the 2-3 year old branch is much more permanent.
- Internal twigging. Some branches you may notice are somewhat bare in places and it may seem like I should have cut back harder. The species back buds very well, and I have cut those branches back enough that I believe I should see back budding and get branches where I need them.
- Wanting the branches to be wild and untamed, to an extent. Some branches may look too long for the tree? That's fine. This is not a perfect image of a pine tree/triangle. What I am starting to believe, which is good for me, is imperfections are a good thing.. Depending on what your aim is with the tree.
- A number of guy wires to pull the branches down, add to the image of maturity. Guy wiring branches down will be, I think, a constant practice on this tree for a few years. I need to pull them down but also allow the tips to raise up, something I tried to do.
Overall, I am really happy with this tree and really enjoyed working on it and wiring it.
In winter, I'll have the chance to adjust wire more easily and get a better vision for the tree and what needs to change.
I have an image of this tree in my head and I know exactly where its going and how I want it to look.
Would love any good or bad bits from people, suggestions for future. I have the image in my head of what I want, but I'm open to ideas.
