First Ume Pre-Bonsai

Bonds Guy

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I recently got this mume from Bob Mahler. I’m not sure what cultivar, but he told me its a pink flower type. Not gonna lie, I have no idea what I’m going to do in regard to styling. So I’ll take it slow.

4BF50A58-D500-4399-A51B-82CBA26000A6.jpeg94BCF5F6-3944-4129-9DC9-B19EF5360B47.jpeg49C40EBC-5DF0-4CE0-A2B1-B54BC643D064.jpeg532284E5-7226-4114-89FF-6E92B358789B.jpeg

First thing I did was loosen the root ball and place it in a pond basket.

0244D9E4-CE25-4A43-9A6E-6A2CFD7FFEEE.jpegF4D4A744-3944-4DE0-8CE7-BAD3A39A20D4.jpeg059F8E41-C73C-4724-8310-25B9A0157880.jpegD024AF59-2722-49D6-A7B1-38D38D60F079.jpeg

Now I’m trying to choose a front. I’m torn between the 2nd and 3rd pic.

For the rest of the season I’m going to let it grow but keep the shoots on that mid section reduce (or maybe even chop if off) to prevent that inverse taper from getting worse
 

Pitoon

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I recently got this mume from Bob Mahler. I’m not sure what cultivar, but he told me its a pink flower type. Not gonna lie, I have no idea what I’m going to do in regard to styling. So I’ll take it slow.

View attachment 425356View attachment 425355View attachment 425357View attachment 425358

First thing I did was loosen the root ball and place it in a pond basket.

View attachment 425359View attachment 425360View attachment 425361View attachment 425362

Now I’m trying to choose a front. I’m torn between the 2nd and 3rd pic.

For the rest of the season I’m going to let it grow but keep the shoots on that mid section reduce (or maybe even chop if off) to prevent that inverse taper from getting worse
If you put it in a round pot you can have any front you want.
 

River's Edge

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I recently got this mume from Bob Mahler. I’m not sure what cultivar, but he told me its a pink flower type. Not gonna lie, I have no idea what I’m going to do in regard to styling. So I’ll take it slow.

View attachment 425356View attachment 425355View attachment 425357View attachment 425358

First thing I did was loosen the root ball and place it in a pond basket.

View attachment 425359View attachment 425360View attachment 425361View attachment 425362

Now I’m trying to choose a front. I’m torn between the 2nd and 3rd pic.

For the rest of the season I’m going to let it grow but keep the shoots on that mid section reduce (or maybe even chop if off) to prevent that inverse taper from getting worse
Looks really healthy and a good sturdy base to begin with, lots of time to choose a front. For me I would take a couple of steps first that may change the front I would choose.
One step you could consider is finishing the cuts to heal over the sections where stubs have been left. This can be done over time with one or two at a time for best results. For me I enjoy seeing the little changes that help bring along the overall unity while waiting for the things that take longer to accomplish. I also find it easier to style when rougher edges have been smoothed over on the trunk line! I also find that leaving the stubs for too long makes the healing results slower to achieve and increases the chance of fungal infection.
Second step, If you are fortunate enough to get a shoot in a location to grow out the inverse area then be sure to take advantage of it. Or you could consider a graft to thicken that spot for the best long term result.
Just some thoughts to consider, the younger the plant and sooner these steps are taken the more likely they will be of benefit.
Of course you and others may have some better suggestions or ideas to share.
Have fun.
 

Bonds Guy

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First styling

2BB6F1DD-6DAE-482B-9BFE-665B69B342DD.jpeg

The top is too straight to my liking so I’m thinking cutting or air-layering to the blue or red line but I’m leaning more towards the red line
 

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Eckhoffw

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Nice Ume.
Just curious, are you thinking of airlayering because that section of the trunk is too straight? It seems to have decent taper as is, but I understand if you need to create movement lower.
 

Bonds Guy

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Another warm spell has come through and it doesn’t seem to leaving anytime soon so I may have flowers soon. You can already see the petals

AED177E4-2F07-4EA1-9533-E2665FB9EFD0.jpegA08B2171-C3A4-4A7E-871F-518C4594D995.jpeg
 

Pitoon

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Boy is that ever the truth. I love round pots. Many times I change the way I approach the training from a different perspective when I use a round pot.
You can never go wrong with a round pot, as long as the tree fits the pot.
 
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I recently got this mume from Bob Mahler. I’m not sure what cultivar, but he told me its a pink flower type. Not gonna lie, I have no idea what I’m going to do in regard to styling. So I’ll take it slow.

View attachment 425356View attachment 425355View attachment 425357View attachment 425358

First thing I did was loosen the root ball and place it in a pond basket.

View attachment 425359View attachment 425360View attachment 425361View attachment 425362

Now I’m trying to choose a front. I’m torn between the 2nd and 3rd pic.

For the rest of the season I’m going to let it grow but keep the shoots on that mid section reduce (or maybe even chop if off) to prevent that inverse taper from getting worse
That gigantic root might be problematic in the design later.. will be very hard to get others to catch up and loo proportional. Might wanna check over the room system when you go to repot and consider reducing it slowly or chopping it off altogether if there's enough roots elsewhere but that's just my two cents
 

Bonds Guy

Mame
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That gigantic root might be problematic in the design later.. will be very hard to get others to catch up and loo proportional. Might wanna check over the room system when you go to repot and consider reducing it slowly or chopping it off altogether if there's enough roots elsewhere but that's just my two cents
Yeah I agree. I'm planning on reducing it slowly
 
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