Chinese Elm First Steps: The Leader

[Michael_Marinelli]

Hi all.

I dug up a few chinese elms from my woods a few months ago. They are doing pretty well.

This one in particular I’m excited about because it has a nice taper and gentle movement. It doesn’t have the biggest trunk in the world but it’s still a decent thickness:


When it grows out a bit more, I’m going to start looking at next steps in styling. I’m looking to create an informal upright style.

I’m just not quite sure what direction I should wire my new leader. Should I use the shoot on the right side of the upper trunk or the left side as my new leader? Should I cut back the top more (and if so, should I cut the slant in the opposite direction)? What direction should I wire it to maintain the best flow? I’m still relatively new to the hobby so imagining what my tree will look like 5 years from now is a little difficult for me.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Shibui]

Classic informal upright styling has the trunk moving left and right (as well as front to back for depth)
The stronger leader is taking the existing trunk further to the left.
The smaller one below will take the trunk back to the right which would be more classic BUT the trunk movement is so subtle that moving right there is likely to make the trunk appear almost straight.
With just a quick assessment and only having a single 2D view of the tree I would probably go with the stronger left leader to give a bit more trunk movement before sweeping back to the right, back or maybe forwards?

To me it is far too early to be making styling decisions on a tree that has only just been dug. I understand the urges to do something or at least plan but better bonsai come from patience.
For now the chosen leader needs to grow strong to help roots recover, heal the cut and taper the new leader into the existing thicker trunk. It can take 2 or 3 years to achieve that and I suspect you have been a bit premature in putting this in a bonsai pot as that will restrict growth and slow down this post chop phase.

I would not even bother wiring whichever leader you choose to keep. Wiring and bending rarely makes convincing curves. I get better results from pruning to change direction. Pruning will also help with all important taper.

 

[Michael_Marinelli]

Classic informal upright styling has the trunk moving left and right (as well as front to back for depth)
The stronger leader is taking the existing trunk further to the left.
The smaller one below will take the trunk back to the right which would be more classic BUT the trunk movement is so subtle that moving right there is likely to make the trunk appear almost straight.
With just a quick assessment and only having a single 2D view of the tree I would probably go with the stronger left leader to give a bit more trunk movement before sweeping back to the right, back or maybe forwards?

To me it is far too early to be making styling decisions on a tree that has only just been dug. I understand the urges to do something or at least plan but better bonsai come from patience.
For now the chosen leader needs to grow strong to help roots recover, heal the cut and taper the new leader into the existing thicker trunk. It can take 2 or 3 years to achieve that and I suspect you have been a bit premature in putting this in a bonsai pot as that will restrict growth and slow down this post chop phase.

I would not even bother wiring whichever leader you choose to keep. Wiring and bending rarely makes convincing curves. I get better results from pruning to change direction. Pruning will also help with all important taper.

Okay. Thank you for your help.

I have some more questions… Upon my research, classic informal upright styles involve branches that protrude on the outside of each curve of the trunk. The issue here with my tree is that I only have two curves in my trunk (including the future leader) both of which curve to the left. How would I manage going about the placement of branches on this tree? Can I have branches oh the inside of the curves?

 

[Shibui]

Better not to have branches right at the inside of a curve but part way along usually looks OK.
Don't get too caught up in style guidelines. They only give us guidance. Do whatever is needed to get a nice looking result.
Remember depth too so back branches are important.

Branch spacing will depend on the ultimate height of the tree. Initially we tend to have more branches than necessary but as they all develop and ramify they'll get too crowded and some usually need to be removed completely for the final design. Less branches than looks good initially will probably be OK later.