Ulmus parv. 'Seiju'

[AlainK]

Hi,

Has anyone "Ulmus parv. 'Seiju'"? I got one for a modest price at our latest local exhibition. It is supposed to be a dwarf form with very small leaves.

The "tree" I got is far from being a bonsai, so if anyone has an experience with that one, please share....

 

[fredtruck]

If you have a copy of Bill Valavanis' book Classical Bonsai Art, he has a good section on elms used for bonsai, including the Seiju.

 

[M. Frary]

They're brittle. Not as brittle as Hokkaido but still very breakable.
They back bud like mad,like most elms.
They are fairly cold hardy. I had one here for 3 years and kept it outside in the winter. It succumbed to voles last winter.
Clip and grow works well but baby bending can and shold be done.
They can be propagated from root cuttings answer regular branch cuttings.
Constant pruning to keep them in control.
They're nice trees and the tiny leaves are a wonder.
Mine was the only elm I've owned that got nice color in the fall. The other Chinese elms tend to stay green then just turn brown and fall off.
I'm looking for another good one.

 

[Jason]

I've had this one for about 5-6 years.

 

[aml1014]

Had this little guy for 2 years now.
Aaron

 

[Jason]

It looked like this when I got it.

 

[AlainK]

They're (...)

Thanks a lot Mike, that's exactly the kind of comment I was expecting. Thanks Aaron, Jason and Fred too, I really appreciate your friendly comments.

 

[Stan Kengai]

Elms like to make large fat white, almost tuberous, roots, which when cut have problems healing and rot. Seiju seems especially susceptible to growing these sort of roots. To minimize this, use a drier soil mix than you would for deciduous trees. I use pumice, scoria (or expanded slate), and sand (for weight). Dwarf elms also seem to be able to take up a good bit of water and fertilizer through their leaves. [I'm sure there will be someone on here that says this is scientifically impossible, but it's true.] Just be sure to water early afternoon or sooner to minimize leaf fungus.

 

[AlainK]

Three years later:

I didn't pay much attention to it, just let it grow. How it looked on Jan. 31st, before pruning :



And after (planning a very small "broom") :



I have another one. It was given to me by a friend who thought he could never make anything worth it, so I took the challenge.

February 2019 :



I have another one that was given to mr by a friend who thought he couldn't do anything with it, so I took the challenge.

February 2019 :



January 31st, before and after :





There's a very straight part after the first two branches on the right. I might use the second branch as a new leader in the future, but for the moment, I'll just see how it reacts...

 

[AlainK]

I gave the second one to a friend.

The first one deserves a "bonsai pot" now I think :

 

[Shibui]

Looking good Alain.
You will have noticed by now that Seiju has a strong, straight growth habit. Plenty of hard pruning is needed to get the desirable ramification and taper.
I still love this variety for bonsai though and have a number of smaller bonsai made with Seiju. I've also seen some really good larger Seiju bonsai at shows down here.

 

[Davidlpf]

The first one deserves a "bonsai pot" now I think :

Maybe is a little too soon for that. If It where mine, I'll let it grow a bit in order to get old bark. If you put it in a small pot, it'll take a long time before mature.

In my experience, they are not so brittle, almost the one year old branches. Clip and grow technique is very suitable for this variety.
This one is 7 year old from a thin sapling (2015)



2022

More photos in his theat click,click

Cheers.

 

[Shibui]

Here are a few of the Seiju elms I've grown here.
This one is mid sized - around 30 cm tall. I've kept it because the trunk has more character than many with that low bend.


The others I've grown are smaller to make best use of the small leaf and short internodes.





Definitely a cultivar worth pursuing for bonsai IMHO

 

[Crazy Diamond]

Whats the diference between Seiju and Hokkaido?

 

[Davidlpf]

Whats the diference between Seiju and Hokkaido?

Ulmus parvifolia 'Seiju' This sport of 'Hokkaido' was introduced by Carl Young of Lodi California. It has all the good qualities of 'Hokkaido' in a larger plant. The leaves (lower picture) are identical except they are about 1/2 inch and the plant may reach about 10 feet if planted out. It has the same deeply fissured corky/warty bark (upper picture) that begins roughening in about 2 years. The wood is stronger and more flexible and can be wired. Grows quickly, about 18 inches a year. This cultivar is best for Shohin through medium sized bonsai. It should be large enough to allow the bark to fully develop, but also can be grown to six inch caliper is a reasonable amount of time.

Source click,click

 

[luvinthemountains]

From Brent Walson @ evergreengardenworks.com:

This sport of 'Hokkaido' was introduced by Carl Young of Lodi California. It has all the good qualities of 'Hokkaido' in a larger plant. The leaves (lower picture) are identical except they are about 1/2 inch and the plant may reach about 10 feet if planted out. It has the same deeply fissured corky/warty bark (upper picture) that begins roughening in about 2 years. The wood is stronger and more flexible and can be wired. Grows quickly, about 18 inches a year. This cultivar is best for Shohin through medium sized bonsai. It should be large enough to allow the bark to fully develop, but also can be grown to six inch caliper is a reasonable amount of time.

 

[luvinthemountains]

Source click,click

For some reason, your post did not show up until after I posted mine!

 

[Davidlpf]

For some reason, your post did not show up until after I posted mine!

 

[Shibui]

Hokkaido as we have it here is a true dwarf. Only grows to around 1 m tall even in the ground. Seiju appears to be a much larger growing variety.
Hokkaido is extremely brittle so almost impossible to wire and bend successfully. Best to use cut and grow to direct growth.
Hokkaido leaves are miniscule - only around 2-4 mm as opposed to Seiju leaf around 6-8 mm.
Both have dark, corky bark but Hokkaido tends to develop lumps on the lower trunk with age. None of my Seiju have done that yet.
Seiju produces long, straight new growth. Hokkaido as a dwarf makes shorter shoots so straightness is less of an issue.
Hokkaido growth is very slow. Allow years to get to 1 cm thick trunk with Hokkaido.
Hokkaido seems to die back occasionally. Every year or 2 one or more branches dies for no reason. Initially very frightening but the remaining growth seems to fill the spaces pretty quick after the dead section is removed.

There are probably other differences but I cannot think of them now.

I find Seiju much more user friendly for bonsai.