First collected tree

RNbonsai

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I knew I wanted to do it, and decided why not now. I figured it was growing well so it’d be ok
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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I've collected a modest number of trees. Fewer than 200 over three decades, but more than one or two. I have often said "I wish I had cut it lower". Also "neatness counts".

At the time it was collected was the time to cut lower. For the health of the tree, once collected & potted up, one really needs to do no further work on it until the new root system has formed and lignified enough to survive the wiggle and jostle that cutting again would cause. I would have cut again, but most likely next year.

Good news is that hackberry and elms are tough, it will likely be okay.
 

rockm

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I knew I wanted to do it, and decided why not now. I figured it was growing well so it’d be ok

All of this is going to sound harsh. It is.
But, You said:

"My goal now is to spend more time learning how to keep em healthy and growing"


You're making all of the big mistakes beginners make when collecting trees. They get anxious to move ahead with plans immediately. they make assumptions that aren't based on much more than a hunch.

It's not a great way to go, but well... Impulses right after you dig a tree are usually wrong, unless you've been collecting trees for a long time. "Wanting" is not a real reason to do things. "Why not now?" is probably a great thing to put on the gravestones of dead collected trees.

"It's growing so well" is another mistake.

As has been stated before, some trees (and I've had it happen with extremely vigourous older Cedar elm) push a lot of new growth just after collection, especially older trees like this one. That growth stops about three to five weeks in. Then the tree sits. At this point, beginners will think everything is just fine. It's not, necessarily. That pause means the tree's initial push of growth was fueled not by new roots, but by simple inertia of the tree using reserves.

Sometimes, that pause leads to a withering of the new foliage and then death of that foliage, then death of the tree. I've had it happen. I've learned from long-time collectors such as Zach Smith, that bagging the trunk with plastic can get newly collected trees past this problem.

Collected trees are best left alone for at least the following year, two is better...

By roughly sawing off the top after you let the tree sit, you may have damaged developing roots. Also, ragged chops like that can dry out the trunk left behind. big cuts need to be sealed. Sealing that ragged wound is going to be difficult.

Doing stuff because you feel like it and not because the tree needs it, is a slippery slope to a lot of dead trees.

This is a pretty decent tree to work on. It's worth taking the time and thought to give it (and you) a fighting chance to really develop it into a nice bonsai and not have it wind up on the burn pile...
 
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RNbonsai

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Hopefully I didn't do to much to it and hurt any roots or prep it to dry out. Thanks for saying it looks like a decent tree. Ill leave it be now, I took the advice to chop thinking itd be ok. hopefully it will, ill update eventually either way.
 

RNbonsai

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Still growing well, hopefully it continues. Haven’t done anything else to it since the viscous chop job. 2 pics from a week or two ago and two from today.
 

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Shibui

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It is looking very positive. The saw/hack job is not usually a death sentence. Root pruning/transplant is more of an issue. I give deciduous trees a few months to show signs of decline, most evergreens take longer - up to 6 months after normal growth and showing good new growth before I'm confident of success.
This one is deciduous and currently has very healthy growth so I'd say you have a survivor but I normally defer any pruning to allow the new leaves to feed the roots. Wait until after mid summer before doing any further work on this one and only then if it is still growing well.
Just relax, keep looking after it, feed regularly and watch it grow.
 

rockm

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good advice above. You're probably in the clear with this one. That extension growth is a good sign. HOWEVER, I would allow ALL of that growth--with the exception of those suckers at soil level--to grow all summer. You're DONE working on this tree for the year. Let it strengthen and think about thinning it out NEXT spring. That would be my approach. Others who have collected might have different opinions. Since this is your first collected tree, I'd err on the side of caution.
 

RNbonsai

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I’m following that guide this time, the only touching I’ll be doing is with water. I’m just hoping it keeps doing well
 

RNbonsai

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That’s the top I cut off, and I assume still living off of stored energy? I’m curious to see how long Till that dies.
 

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RNbonsai

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From the leafs it is an elm right? anyone know more specifically?
 

RNbonsai

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Tree still growing well
 

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RNbonsai

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Thanks rockm. I thought it was an elm (didn’t know the cedar part) but was basing it off google-it’s nice to know.

Have they done well? How do the look now?

And Ali- what’s the hunter referring to?
 
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