Chinese Elm post-trunk chop advice...

[Vinnie Charity]

After my Chinese Elm was trunk-chopped it started growing nicely, even after this Spring's rough start (ie. snowing in March/April).



I'm going for a broom style here and as you can see, there are branches growing almost all the way around the cut point.



My question is...

1. Should I nick the cambium late winter to get new branches to grow in the bare spots AND continue to let all of the other branches thicken?

2. Cut them all, saving the thickest, and train that one as the new leader?

Thoughts?

 

[Vin]

Man! That looks like some kind of Chinese torture wiring job. Yes, prune back everything around the chop after selecting your leader (be sure to seal the cuts). I wouldn't be to concerned about nicking the cambium at this point but if you do I would wait until early spring after the last frost. Also, this tree could also use quite a bit of root work in the Spring. It has a nice base for a broom style tree.

 

[BunjaeKorea]

Man! That looks like some kind of Chinese torture wiring job. Yes, prune back everything around the chop after selecting your leader (be sure to seal the cuts). I wouldn't be to concerned about nicking the cambium at this point but if you do I would wait until early spring after the last frost. Also, this tree could also use quite a bit of root work in the Spring. It has a nice base for a broom style tree.

Agree with you about torture and the fact this tree has some great potential.... just follow Vin's advice .....then let it grow....let it grow

 

[Vinnie Charity]

Yeah, the wiring has all been removed now, I wanted to keep the branches apart as much as possible. I'm going to wait until late winter and chop all but one of the branches at the top of the cut. Also, as that branch thickens, should I carve away the deadwood in the stump or will it grow out?

Thanks for the advice everyone...
-Vin

 

[Vin]

For a broom style there are several ways to prepare a trunk. @Brian Van Fleet has a Hawthorn, if I remember correctly, that he removed some material through the center of the chop and basically created two growing points to form the upper canopy. Ultimately, you'll want the wound to heal over and form a callus.

 

[Vinnie Charity]

For a broom style there are several ways to prepare a trunk. @Brian Van Fleet has a Hawthorn, if I remember correctly, that he removed some material through the center of the chop and basically created two growing points to form the upper canopy. Ultimately, you'll want the wound to heal over and form a callus.

My thoughts exactly, and the exposed wood is as dry as a bone and hard as a rock. I'm thinking of cutting it again and applying wound sealant. I got this tree as a stump from a friend and it wasn't sealed after the cut.

As for the roots, I'm going to repot it next year and deal with that mess of roots. The roots are radial, they are just a mess. There's a beautiful trunk buried in there somewhere...

 

[Vin]

My thoughts exactly, and the exposed wood is as dry as a bone and hard as a rock. I'm thinking of cutting it again and applying wound sealant. I got this tree as a stump from a friend and it wasn't sealed after the cut.

As for the roots, I'm going to repot it next year and deal with that mess of roots. The roots are radial, they are just a mess. There's a beautiful trunk buried in there somewhere...

Sounds like you're on the right path.

 

[Vin]

https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/the-5-to-10-year-progression-thread.35597/post-597199 Here is Brian's Hawthorn. Notice the cut at the chop.

 

[Vinnie Charity]

https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/the-5-to-10-year-progression-thread.35597/post-597199 Here is Brian's Hawthorn. Notice the cut at the chop.

Seeing this post makes me wonder if I should leave more than one leader and just carve into the stump. I'm back and forth on this, hence my initial post...

 

[Vin]

Seeing this post makes me wonder if I should leave more than one leader and just carve into the stump. I'm back and forth on this, hence my initial post...

Welcome to the wonderful world of bonsai and the never ending possibilities.

 

[Vinnie Charity]

Maybe I'll take option C and just let all of the branches thicken...(sigh)

 

[VAFisher]

Maybe I'll take option C and just let all of the branches thicken...(sigh)

Vinnie, this thread by @markyscott is definitely worth a read. It seems particularly relevant for your tree.

https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/chuhin-broom-elm.22848/

 

[BrianBay9]

If you want to keep some of those exposed roots I'd suggest covering them with soil, particularly over the winter.

 

[Vinnie Charity]

Vinnie, this thread by @markyscott is definitely worth a read. It seems particularly relevant for your tree.

https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/chuhin-broom-elm.22848/

Thanks VAFisher, I'll check it out right now...

 

[Vinnie Charity]

If you want to keep some of those exposed roots I'd suggest covering them with soil, particularly over the winter.

You know @BrianBay9, I really want to remove them slowly over the course of a few years, I'm not a fan of how they look...

 

[Mike Hennigan]

You know @BrianBay9, I really want to remove them slowly over the course of a few years, I'm not a fan of how they look...

I was also wondering why all your surface roots are exposed. Remove them all? Do you have another ring of roots underneath these? Well the roots aren’t going to improve by giving you more branching while they are above the soil like that.

Since it’s an elm, I don’t think you have to remove the the unwanted roots all that slowly. You can cut them all back very hard in the spring to get them growing the way you’d like. You can cut off the majority of the roots in one go, as long as you can provide the correct after care. Elms are tough. There’s no need to waste a few years to slowly correct the roots.

 

[Vinnie Charity]

The tree was a stump with the ugly surface roots when I acquired the tree. I'll cut them all off next spring when I repot the tree @Mike Hennigan. I've heard that elms are tough so I'll hit it hard...

 

[drew33998]

Dont cut them off. Cover them back up. If you have thick roots with no taper then cut back to a pair of smaller roots or just a smaller root.

 

[ConorDash]

@BobbyLane @M. Frary
check that thing out lol.

Things a monster.. the mature bark, surface roots..
Personally, that kinda trunk and those monster roots, I’d throw Bonsai out the window and go fairy tale on it.. use those big chunky gnarly bits as features, and not chop it all off..

Bear in mind, it’s a Chinese elm. You’ll never have to worry about inducing buds or shoots, it’ll explode with growth. They are so tough. It looks like a really fun project.
Also, they bud at chop sites.
I’ve a small elm (from Bobby in fact), no idea when it was chopped but at least 3-4+ years ago, I’ve had it for 3, and every time I prune it (which is perhaps 4+ times a year), it sends out loads of tiny green buds and leaves from its chop site and they all get rubbed out. Every. Single. Time.

 

[Vinnie Charity]

So far it's a tough tree, Some of the huge surface roots are actually covering up the beautiful nebari this tree has. I'll make the decision next year when I repot. I really wish branches couple grow from the center of the stump, but oh well.

I'm going to focus on thickening the branches that are there by letting the tree grow wild, we will see what happens...