Zelkova

nover18

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Unfortunately, this one is dead. Not because of the work you see here. That worked extremely well. It was the next year. I pulled it up, trimmed back the roots and replanted it. Then, we had a late spring freeze, and like a dummy, I left it outside. It froze.

It was really a wonderful little tree.

Cmeg1, the key to success with this technique is to securely fasten the trunk to the board. I use coarse sheet rock screws. You literally have to do a reverse trunk chop! Only you're doing it with the roots. The bottom of the trunk should be flat. Make it look as if the tree was an air layer!

If there's a little section of the circumference of the trunk where there are no roots, no worries. Once you get the trunk attached, or maybe as you're tightening it down, slip some damp spaghnum moss under that edge of the trunk. Roots will come.

This is the technique to use on deciduous trees. You can, and should, repot deciduous trees every year. The colander technique is for conifers where you leave the root ball undisturbed for 3 or 4 years.
Adair, are you saying that this elm is screwed into that piece of wood from the bottom leaving only a few of those surface roots? Have any other photos of the process?
 

Adair M

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That's right. I did another, bigger,

Before work. Well, most of the work. I had run the sickle across the front, then remembered I wanted to photograph it.

image.jpeg

After root work. Boon told me I should have reduced the roots more. It's placed on the plywood. You can barely see it. It's yellow, my turntable is black.

image.jpeg

The two screws as viewed from the bottom.

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The tree placed in the pot. The screws are "guiding" the roots to go where I want them. Boon said I should have used nails. The chopsticks are there to make the roots "undulate" as they extend away from the trunk.

image.jpeg

I put a layer of soil under the plywood, then tied the plywood into the pot, then back filled with bonsai soil.
 

Jacos

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Wow Cmeg1, I just read through this hole thread for the first time.

Its very intresting, I learned a lot about Zelkove I did not know.

I am sure your trees will become beauties, in fact they already are...

Just one thing I do not understand, or maybe looked (read) over it.
But why the wrapping of the twigs against the stem?
What is the exact function of this technique?

Anyway, great work (and also look likes lots of fun)
 

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cmeg1

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Wow Cmeg1, I just read through this hole thread for the first time.

Its very intresting, I learned a lot about Zelkove I did not know.

I am sure your trees will become beauties, in fact they already are...

Just one thing I do not understand, or maybe looked (read) over it.
But why the wrapping of the twigs against the stem?
What is the exact function of this technique?

Anyway, great work (and also look likes lots of fun)
Thanks Jacos.
I've seen this wrap up method quite a lot for young Zelkova for the winter.
Generally done in the trees first winter when branches are thin enough to go in that shape.They stay wrapped up all winter ,so all branches will be in tight V shape and not L shape.
You then un-wrap it the following spring and have trees like the ones in the second picture below.
Thanks,again.
 

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cmeg1

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Zelkova#11 future.
If you can see past my horrid wire,here is my tree after today.If wiring was done better I probably would of broke branches.
I am not giving up on this tree.When it finally starts getting dense and twiggy on the end of the canopy it will improve the image overall.I did not wire every last tertiary branch.
I pulled a great tree from the Internet to justify the direction I want my tree to go and eventually surpass the present stage of the interior branch chaos that is happening.
This internet photo I found is a great example of branch chaos that eventually fixed itself.
There,I feel better now:cool:

I can't wait to get all my trees in small grow boxes and akadama in spring and let the roots breathe more with the increased aeration and hopefully improve their health overall.
The tree is a little over 2.5 years.
 

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Jeremy

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This thread is inspiring. I purchased a big Zelkova earlier in the year, I have grown a large sacrifice branch at the top of the tree and have just air-layered it, looking forward to trying out one of these brooms:cool:
 

cmeg1

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This thread is inspiring. I purchased a big Zelkova earlier in the year, I have grown a large sacrifice branch at the top of the tree and have just air-layered it, looking forward to trying out one of these brooms:cool:
Thanks,Jeremy.
Good for you with the Zelkova,and hope the layer is good.
 

Jeremy

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Thanks,Jeremy.
Good for you with the Zelkova,and hope the layer is good.
Hopefully have my own thread going at some stage. The layer had bridged after only a few days so I recut and scraped and wrapped a piece of wire at the top. Looking forward to seeing the roots on your layers again, superb start to a nebari!
 

Jacos

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Hello cmeg,

Great result after only 2,5 years!

I think you had better only used 'guy wires' to pull the branches down in position.
If you want to go towards the tree you pulled from the internet you need to put it back into the ground or at the least in a big growing box.
And use the 'hedge methode' to ticken the trunk.

Most likely you will have a suitable trunk in a year or 4-5. And than you wil need to cut back the branches very hard because they will have become to thick
And then you to build the canopy all over again.
So I see no point in wiring the tree in this stage of development.

But this is only my opinion...anyway you have enough Zelkova to try out different methodes.

Success :)
 

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That is a badass image.

I like it.

Sorce
 

cmeg1

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Hello cmeg,

Great result after only 2,5 years!

I think you had better only used 'guy wires' to pull the branches down in position.
If you want to go towards the tree you pulled from the internet you need to put it back into the ground or at the least in a big growing box.
And use the 'hedge methode' to ticken the trunk.

Most likely you will have a suitable trunk in a year or 4-5. And than you wil need to cut back the branches very hard because they will have become to thick
And then you to build the canopy all over again.
So I see no point in wiring the tree in this stage of development.

But this is only my opinion...anyway you have enough Zelkova to try out different methodes.

Success :)
Thanks,Jacos.
Yea,this tree is actually surviving my indecision on what size tree I was actually aiming for.I am finding now I like training them instantly and keeping slow growth.There is no need to load on nitrogen if I want a fairly small tree in a pot I am coming to realize.
I am getting together the image of what I want to create now.
I posted the web photo because I could tell that the branches were once in disorder,but ramification eventually rounded the tree out.
 

cmeg1

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Almost Spring!
My pots this year do not leave too much to the imagination,but they are going to have to do.Eight of them cost 55.00
Maybe I could of looked into plastic,but there you go.
2/3 Akadama 1/3 pumice this year.
I do like how the pots are deep to retain moisture with probably no surface cover.I left gaps in the seems too for bottom and side drainage,but I am going to drill some holes.
Also going to see how zero nitrogen fertilization does with Zelkova this year too.They will be fed organic P and K with every watering.Maybe a dose of chemical nitrogen at start of growing season.
 

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Jacos

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The boxes looks nice enough ..a big 'upgrade' to the ugly plastic sieves ;)

Zero N will likely not work.

What will happen: You will see the oldest leaves turn yellow because the plant will extract N from the old leaves to give to the youngest leaves.
Anyway if you see this happening, you can correct with chemical nitrogen, with almost immediate response of the plant.
Very low N will work.

Question: What do you mean by organic P & K ?
 

cmeg1

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The boxes looks nice enough ..a big 'upgrade' to the ugly plastic sieves ;)

Zero N will likely not work.

What will happen: You will see the oldest leaves turn yellow because the plant will extract N from the old leaves to give to the youngest leaves.
Anyway if you see this happening, you can correct with chemical nitrogen, with almost immediate response of the plant.
Very low N will work.

Question: What do you mean by organic P & K ?
Hi,Jacos.Organic p and k is phosphorous and potassium.The second and third letters on the fertilizer bottle.I am going to use a 0-3-1 organic liquid with every watering.
The suggestion to feed zero nitrogen is straight out of Kinbon bonsai magazine Japan.They suggest 0-10-10 fertilizer and some seaweed.Only give chemical nitrogen a couple doses in spring.
I am going for it.
Thanks for the heads up though.Much appreciated.
 

Jacos

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O I know what P & K stands for, no problem there.

I just don't now what 'organic' Phosphor and 'organic' Kali is ??
Anyway there is no problem since the organic seaweed will slowly release Nitogen in your soil.
 

sorce

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I figure a dose of nitrogen in the beginning is going to lengthen those first couple nodes that we want to cut back to...

Wouldn't you want those to be without N.
So they are tight....then give em N all year....?

It just seems backwards.

Thoughts?

Sorce
 

Jacos

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Correct remark Sorce.

If you on wants to practice the feeding advice of this Kinbon bonsai magazine you should do it correct.
Give a cheminal (or inorganic) fertiliser NPK 0,10,10 And add (organic)seaweed for the micro elements (Co, Ca, Zn ect..) plus the slow release of small amounts of N.

BTW Zero N is impossible, a tree always needs a minimum of some (small) amounts N.
Thats why the Jap magazine proposes to give seaweed.
 
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