Broom style Cork Elm

[Bonsai_paul]

Good day all,

Im looking for some guidance on the future of this little Cork i obtained a few months ago. The trunk is about 1.5" thick.

If it was yours what would your plans be for this little shohin tree.

Thanks

 

[MrWunderful]

First thing I would do is drill out that stump in the middle so some swelling can occur inward. Then I would choose 5-6 branches as main branches and delete all else.

I would then wrap a piece of rubber and a hose clamp around the base of the branches so no more swelling can occur and let the tree grow for a 1-3 years while making sure the nebari is getting developed per the normal deciduous model.

 

[Bonsai_paul]

First thing I would do is drill out that stump in the middle so some swelling can occur inward. Then I would choose 5-6 branches as main branches and delete all else.

I would then wrap a piece of rubber and a hose clamp around the base of the branches so no more swelling can occur and let the tree grow for a 1-3 years while making sure the nebari is getting developed per the normal deciduous model.

Thank you for the feedback, So you mean the remaining branches will be facing upwards ?

Paul

 

[BobbyLane]

i would grow it out
IMG_1039 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

then ruthlessly hack it back
pretty sure youve seen these before
20190609_183844 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20190609_183940 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

on a stump there is no better way.
this is how my zelkova stump will be treated.

 

[Bonsai_paul]

i would grow it out
IMG_1039 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

then ruthlessly hack it back
pretty sure youve seen these before
20190609_183844 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20190609_183940 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

on a stump there is no better way.
this is how my zelkova stump will be treated.

Bobby, So do not touch anything and let it grow wild? I will be repotting into bigger pot in spring.

Paul

 

[BobbyLane]

Bobby, So do not touch anything and let it grow wild? I will be repotting into bigger pot in spring.

Paul

yeh, im doin the exact same with my Zelkova, now that i have enough space to let trees grow out properly, i know the method works because i did it myself

 

[Adair M]

Drill out the core of the chop, fill with soft putty to keep water out. Select branches growing up, wrap with raffia to prevent swelling, let the branches grow.

 

[Bonsai_paul]

yeh, im doin the exact same with my Zelkova, now that i have enough space to let trees grow out properly, i know the method works because i did it myself

I do not fancy drilling etc so i may do what you have said @BobbyLane thanks

 

[BobbyLane]

thats the thing, there is two approaches, drilling the hole through the centre will reduce the area becoming overly thick where all the branches meet.
do no drilling out of the core and just leave it be, will mean you may get some thickening where all the branches meet, if youre ok with this thats fine. personally im usually ok with this, but it helps if you have a good, wide base. if you have a rapidly thickening area where all the branches meet and a poor base, it wont look good.

 

[MrWunderful]

Is your intent a natural style broom? Or a formal broom style?

 

[Adair M]

I do not fancy drilling etc so i may do what you have said @BobbyLane thanks

You don’t have to “drill”, but it really helps if you can hollow out the center. And bind the outer perimeter of the chop. If you don’t, you WILL get a swelling around the top edge of the chop. And it WONT ever look right. And once that swelling occurs, you can’t fix it.

The only way is to prevent it, by wrapping early in the development stage. The tree WILL swell, there’s no way to prevent it. The key is to direct the swelling appropriately. By hollowing out the Interior hardwood of the chop site, you give the tree a place for it to swell that’s actually going to help heal over the chop!

 

[t_fareal]

...If you don’t, you WILL get a swelling around the top edge of the chop. And it WONT ever look right. And once that swelling occurs, you can’t fix it.

What causes the swelling to occur in the first place?

 

[Adair M]

What causes the swelling to occur in the first place?

Callous tissue that forms to cover over the cut. It’s fast growing tissue. The tree doesn’t know exactly where the heartwood is that it needs to cover over before it begins to rot, so the callous tissue, once it gets started, swells in all directions. We do t want it to make a bulge, so that’s why binding the outer perimeter is a good idea.

 

[John P.]

Nice tree.

 

[Bonsai_paul]

Great responses as usual. Thanks all

 

[Matte91]

yeh, im doin the exact same with my Zelkova, now that i have enough space to let trees grow out properly, i know the method works because i did it myself

Do you have a update on this one? Im working on a simular project

 

[BobbyLane]

Do you have a update on this one? Im working on a simular project

I sold it, but if you search my name with zelkova youll see a thread on it.

 

[Matte91]

I sold it, but if you search my name with zelkova youll see a thread on it.

Do you mind giving me a link to the thread? I been through all your threads (i think) and I cant fint it

 

[BobbyLane]

Do you mind giving me a link to the thread? I been through all your threads (i think) and I cant fint it

this one, https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/field-grown-zelkova.29265/

 

[BobbyLane]

to search you search tree name, author name and tick the topic or title box and a few threads came up
kinda sucks tho when people dont put the tree species in the title, often you wont be able to find their work, happens a lot on here.