Zelkova Serrata - minkes progression thread

[minkes]

Hey! I just want to keep a record here of the progression of my young Zelkova trees. Most of them I’d like to develop in a broom style. Last autumn I found a big Zelkova tree in a nearby botanical park and collected a few small saplings, as well as some seeds. They survived the winter and grew nicely throughout this year.

The seeds germinated well, and later I also tried rooting cuttings from the branches I removed. They rooted very easily. So now I have the best ones protected in my cellar, while the rest are outside to endure our harsh winter. They’ll serve as test material to see how well they handle the cold here.

Enough talking — here are some photos from the process.

This is how it started last year, when I asked on this forum if they could be Zelkovas, which was also later confirmed after I revisited the park with the tag on the parent tree.
Last year post: What is this? Zelkova / Elm?




This spring I potted all of them separety:




This is how they looked about midsummer:






Group photo

 

[stav121]

Exactly the type of thread I like, reminds me of this. Good luck with them - can't wait to see the progress!

 

[minkes]

Now I’ve put them in the cellar, where the temperature stays around 4–8 °C throughout the winter. I tied them with wire, as I saw in a video on YouTube.







And here’s a group photo:

 

[minkes]

Exactly the type of thread I like, reminds me of this. Good luck with them - can't wait to see the progress!

Yeah! That thread is awesome. I love this kind of stuff too. Hopefully I’ll be able to grow some nice broom-style Zelkovas as well — time will tell.

 

[stav121]

Yeah! That thread is awesome. I love this kind of stuff too. Hopefully I’ll be able to grow some nice broom-style Zelkovas as well — time will tell.

I've purchased some seeds as well that are *currently getting stratified*, can't wait for Spring to see if I can get some to sprout to start a similar project!

 

[minkes]

I've purchased some seeds as well that are *currently getting stratified*, can't wait for Spring to see if I can get some to sprout to start a similar project!

It’s a really fun project. Although they still have thin, needle-like trunks, they can develop nice branching in just one or two years, and they grow quickly, so there’s always something to trim. I also got a few (well… maybe a lot) seeds from the park again a week ago.

 

[DMac74]

Have you done any root work on them yet? In my experience they can get some very thick tap roots, so it is good to take care of those early. They are very tough and can take hard root pruning early.

 

[minkes]

Have you done any root work on them yet? In my experience they can get some very thick tap roots, so it is good to take care of those early. They are very tough and can take hard root pruning early.

I will do this spring. Thanks for advice!

 

[Ozz80]

Now I’ve put them in the cellar, where the temperature stays around 4–8 °C throughout the winter. I tied them with wire, as I saw in a video on YouTube.

Thanks for posting this thread, it will be fun to watch the progress of your trees. I am working on a few Zelkova saplings as well. So your thread will be a source for me to learn.

May I ask why you tied them together with wire?

 

[minkes]

Thanks for posting this thread, it will be fun to watch the progress of your trees. I am working on a few Zelkova saplings as well. So your thread will be a source for me to learn.

May I ask why you tied them together with wire?

Wiring this way is only possible while they are young, so yo do not need to wire individual branches and the result is same - to get cute angles and V shape on branches emerging from the trunk. I am learning too so we are on the same boat. This thread is definitely better source to learn than mine:

couple Zelkova seeds​

Also try to search on youtube for: “zelkova bonsai from seed”

 

[Wulfskaar]

Thanks for posting this thread, it will be fun to watch the progress of your trees. I am working on a few Zelkova saplings as well. So your thread will be a source for me to learn.

May I ask why you tied them together with wire?

This comment shows pictures from a book showing this: https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/couple-zelkova-seeds.60307/post-1193176