CJR Chinese Elm

[Cajunrider]

Chinese elm sapling ran over by a mower and salvaged by yours truly. It's now in a homemade training pot (bottom of a 5 gal plastic paint bucket) filled with NAPA floor dry and a tiny bit of garden soil. It sprouted a whole bunch of branches so I picked one and put some shape on it with some old aluminum ground wire. Redneck bonsai at its infancy.

BTW, in the beginning I didn't plan to do a cascade hence the shallow pot but then...

 

[Anthony]

Hmm. next time I quietly suggest free growth for a
year or two or three .........................
The trunk and roots ..................................
Good Day
Anthony

 

[Cajunrider]

Hmm. next time I quietly suggest free growth for a
year or two or three .........................
The trunk and roots ..................................
Good Day
Anthony

Yes Sir. I have about half a dozen in the ground for free growth. This one I accidentally drove my tractor over it and whacked off the top. Then when my bush hog swung around the skid plate pulled it right off the ground. You can say I brought it right to the brink of death.

While most people ease into bonsai, I drove in with my tractor. I have a lot to learn LOL. Thankfully these elms are abundant around here.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

THat bucket pot is big enough you should be able to bulk up your trunk in a few years. Maybe not as fast as in the ground, but perhaps less risky in a bucket. I used to have a ''saw blade'' on my weed trimmer. I was using it to whack the weeds and weed trees from between the blueberry bushes in the row. Found out the saw blade can take off all 10+ canes of a blueberry so quick you hardly notice if you are not paying attention. Switched to the string head, now if I zone out, I only loose one or two canes from the blueberry bush, that's survivable. (we have a 3 acre plot of blueberries, on the 76 acres we ''loosely'' call a farm. Hunting camp might be the better term)

 

[Cajunrider]

THat bucket pot is big enough you should be able to bulk up your trunk in a few years. Maybe not as fast as in the ground, but perhaps less risky in a bucket. I used to have a ''saw blade'' on my weed trimmer. I was using it to whack the weeds and weed trees from between the blueberry bushes in the row. Found out the saw blade can take off all 10+ canes of a blueberry so quick you hardly notice if you are not paying attention. Switched to the string head, now if I zone out, I only loose one or two canes from the blueberry bush, that's survivable. (we have a 3 acre plot of blueberries, on the 76 acres we ''loosely'' call a farm. Hunting camp might be the better term)

Well then. I'm just going to fertilize it well and let it grow freely. I was hoping to use it as my sacrificial practice tree.

 

[Cajunrider]

Last weekend I pulled up 12 fingerlings (well more like half fingerlings ) from my friend's flower bed, wrapped some aluminum wire on each trunk and twisted them a little. On some of them I cut off the tap roots. Then I stuck them 4 at a time into 3 gal nursery pots. If they survive until spring I will put them in the ground to grow for a few years.

 

[Cajunrider]

Last weekend I pulled up 12 fingerlings (well more like half fingerlings ) from my friend's flower bed, wrapped some aluminum wire on each trunk and twisted them a little. On some of them I cut off the tap roots. Then I stuck them 4 at a time into 3 gal nursery pots. If they survive until spring I will put them in the ground to grow for a few years.

Some of them are showing shoots near the base while the rest of the trunks are still bare but very much alive. It appears they will be ready to be put in the ground or grow box in the spring.

 

[Soldano666]

Looks fun. Being that small you can develop it fast. The pot is big for vigorous growth, let a couple leaders run next year and keep side branching in check. Then pot it up in something smaller and start refining.

 

[Cajunrider]

Chinese elm sapling ran over by a mower and salvaged by yours truly. It's now in a homemade training pot (bottom of a 5 gal plastic paint bucket) filled with NAPA floor dry and a tiny bit of garden soil. It sprouted a whole bunch of branches so I picked one and put some shape on it with some old aluminum ground wire. Redneck bonsai at its infancy.

BTW, in the beginning I didn't plan to do a cascade hence the shallow pot but then...

View attachment 216880

It's doing well this year.