future styling advice

[discusmike]

Hi guys,was wondering what i could make out of this young cork bark elm,its just starting to cork down very low,so it cant be very old,i put it into the ground last spring,the base is over two inches,it was recently chopped down due to some reverse taper issues,i want to regrow the rest of the tree and was hoping some of the more experienced members could give me some styling ideas,im going to focus on a new leader this summer and hopefully fattening up the base some more,but need some input on were to take it from there,thanks.How many more growing seasons should i leave it in the ground??

 

[Rick Moquin]

You've done the work that needed to be done, now it is the time to leave it alone to grow unimpeded and re-evaluate next year.

 

[discusmike]

So i guess it would be best to wait,see how things look then make a styling plan.Sounds good Rick,i did not plan on doing anything but fertilizing this year,and maybe pick a good leader,just wondering what i should do further down the road,to make the tree presentable.

 

[Rick Moquin]

Once the tree fills out this year, it will tell you next year what your options are. You don't have any at the present time.

 

[daniel]

You sure that isn't a seiju instead of a corkbark? I have several CBEs and their bark looks nothing like that...conversely, I've seen a lot of seijus that have that look...

Daniel

 

[discusmike]

Dan,i have a corkbark i bought from Brent a few summers back growing next to this elm,the leaves on this elm are a bit smaller,not as small as my yatsabusa thou,i was thinking it was a dwarf corkbark,but maybe she sent me a seiju by accident,she has thousands of diffrent varieties of elms,it could easily happen,i like the mature seiju elm better anyway.It does seem to grow as fast as the elm that i know is a corkbark.

 

[discusmike]

The bark has not really begun to cork or get the look of a seiju or yatsabusa yet because i feel its still to young,the bark does look the same as Brents,i just looked,both trees are young,i guess ill have to wait and see when they mature.

 

[daniel]

Where did you buy this tree? Just curious. I'm looking for a decent source of pre-bonsai material at good prices. (Most places are waaaaaay overpriced, in my estimation. I've heard some are fair, but I don't recall who...)

What's the caliper of the trunk? CBE bark does start out fairly smooth, but by the time the caliper becomes what looks like yours is, it should be "corked out."

 

[discusmike]

Dan,the base is over two inches,it was field grown.I get most of my pre bonsai stock from Martha and Hue Meehan,because there prices are fair and im close enough to drive there and hand pick my trees most of the time.Its actually hard to find a tree because the sheer amount of stock they have is overwhelming.Dont let the website fool you,they have alot of tropicals listed that look like sticks in a pot,call and ask for Martha,let her know your situation and what you want,she might send some pics if its a higher priced pre bonsai,at the time i purchased this tree,i did not know them that well,the tree was mailed to me,i had no idea of what i was going to get,i think i paid 50 or 55$ for this tree,ofcourse it had to be chopped.