Could use some ideas on this unknown species I collected last year!

[Daniel son STL]

Hey guys. First off I wanna say I hope everybody is staying safe and is getting through these difficult times and possibly even using bonsai to help. It’s pretty easy to work on trees and stay distant socially, especially with the help one can get from.... bonsai nut!

Which brings me to my current situation. Collected and chopped same time. Been in this container for about 13 months or so and I have no idea what it is. Was about 12ft when I chopped it. All I’ve done is cut branches off that we’re growing from the same spot down to one to prevent unwanted bulging and I fertilized it.



The two roots shooting out parallel with each other are hideous. Would love options on this matter.

Also just an overall plan for the tree is needed as branches are starting to harden off and need to be set in desired place sooner than later.

Some trees have main branches pulled down and out from the trunk.

Some trees have branches growing in a upward direction(almost like small individual trunks) with branches pulled down and out coming off these.
Below is a 30 sec vert to hopefully describe what I mean.


With the black lines representing branches pulled down off the multiple trunks. Guess this would be traditional broom style. That’s all I got.

If anybody knows what it is or has any ideas or options that would be fantastic.

Thanks and stay safe!!!

 

[0soyoung]

Clearly (IMHO ), it just needs to grow, grow, grow this year. At most you might carefully wire the branches near the trunk so that they will have the initial trajectories that you want. But, make sure the foliated ends are pointing upward pretty much like they are now. After this year or next, you will be cutting these back to just those initial pieces coming off the trunk.

I also think you are not likely to ever make use of that lower left shoot, so you ought to think about taking it away. The longer it stays the bigger will be the lump on the nebari.

I have no idea what you've got, but it is likely indigenous to your area. Try the Missouri Arboretum site or Virginia Tech Dendrology web sites for help with the i.d. There are others that may help.

 

[Danteswake]

American Beech?

 

[Daniel son STL]

Agreed. Just looking for styling ideas to keep in the back of my head and maybe get some branches set in the right directions instead of letting them harden off with no movement.

Thanks

 

[Daniel son STL]

American Beech?

I thought beech have really smooth bark. Don’t think they are native in my area but not positive.

Thanks!

 

[BrianBay9]

I think it might be a hackberry, Celtis occidentalis.

 

[Shibui]

A bit hard to see enough detail to be certain but looks like a Celtis from here too.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Celtis, Hackberry. If you’re patient, grow out one of those long shoots into a second section of trunk. If not, check out some @BobbyLane carving.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

sharp in focus photo of the veins of a leaf or two, especially the underside of a leaf would confirm the ID. But, I do think you do have a Hackberry, Celtis occidentalis or Celtis laevigata, I believe Celtis occidentalis is more common around Saint Louis, but just 100 mile south of there Celtis laevigata becomes more common.

Good news, Celtis, virtually all species of the genus, make decent bonsai. Very much like an elm in the way you would train it.

 

[penumbra]

There are some smart people here. I think hackberry is straight on. I have several 2 year seedlings.

 

[sorce]

Watch for them little orange underleaf pests.

They ruin hacks here.

Nice.

Sorce

 

[BobbyLane]

yeh does look like a hackberry.looks a decent candidate for broom, if you do a clean chop to where most of the branches meet.
have a look @jason biggs hackberrys

but then some of the lower branches give an option for a variation.
broom is the quicker option otherwise i would stick in the ground and grow out a leader

 

[Daniel son STL]

Celtis, Hackberry. If you’re patient, grow out one of those long shoots into a second section of trunk. If not, check out some @BobbyLane carving.

I was thinking carving down to the top trunks would be a good approach. Didn’t think about growing an additional leader and apex say 6-7” above original chop. Would be pretty tall, but something to ponder.
Thanks!!

 

[Daniel son STL]

Watch for them little orange underleaf pests.

They ruin hacks here.

Nice.

Sorce

You talkin aphids?
Hate em!

 

[Daniel son STL]

Thanks guys!

 

[sorce]

You talkin aphids?
Hate em!

Not aphids. Some little sliver looking orange things. I had a rubbery elm once that had em and they killed...helped me kill it!

Sorce

 

[TN_Jim]

Aftercare is something..
Did you bare root this hackberry?

Anyway..late summer aphids are or can be a problem, orange white or whatever, I’d be (am) aware...who knows

What ALL (wild) hackberry get everywhere I’ve lived in the southeast is a black on the leaves before they fall in autumn. If this happens I would not be alarmed, almost wonder if some frass/fungi symbiosis of sorts, especially seeing as how this is one of the most prolific trees around here, however; that’s possibly the result of woolly aphids on established long lived trees...
This is a list, but the woolly..UK has some legit sources of info for my greater region.

Common Insect Pests of Hackberry

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

The vein pattern of the leaves definitely confirms that it 100% is Celtis. And I think I'd be 85% confident that it is Celtis occidentalis. It still maybe could be Celtis laevigata, but without a taxonomic key I am not sure I could tell them apart.

Common Hackberry. Named because while the berries are technically edible, they are so dry and mealy that you end up hacking them up rather than swallowing them.

 

[TN_Jim]

The vein pattern of the leaves definitely confirms that it 100% is Celtis. And I think I'd be 85% confident that it is Celtis occidentalis. It still maybe could be Celtis laevigata, but without a taxonomic key I am not sure I could tell them apart.

Common Hackberry. Named because while the berries are technically edible, they are so dry and mealy that you end up hacking them up rather than swallowing them.

These are so hard to tell apart! It’s the leaf fuzz or absence of maybe best..?

Doesn’t say in Tennessee flora key but I think C. laevigatata has a tiny window where fruit is slightly meaty compared to C. occidentalis, maybe like the equivalent of 10-15 seedy fruits to one raisin, occidentalis no doubt akin to a raisin found in an ancient sarcophagus.
Thanksgiving challenge, hackberry pie!!!

 

[BrianBay9]

From a practical standpoint does it really matter which species of American Celtis?