Gnarly Ugly Elm

Smoke

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Sometimes you see a tree, or what could be a tree, and think...."Hell, that thing is so damn ugly I have to have it."


Well Now I have it, but what to do with it? It's current dimensions are 14" tall and the trunk is fairly gnarly at just under 3" across at the base. Pretty chunky and stout. It has many stubs that have died and some radical shari that can be connected since there is nothing alive in between.

I think with the right touch this could be a real killer tree. What say you?
 

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misfit11

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Looks like it could be decent material to me. I'd be inclined to make the second pic your front. Make some of those stubs into Uros and you're on your way to a nice tree. Thanks for posting.
 

treekutter

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It is a setup! I know Al has a plan for it already.I look foward to seeing it in the future.
 

Smoke

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It is a setup! I know Al has a plan for it already.I look foward to seeing it in the future.

Think it will be ready by March 18th?


Thanks for the vote of confidence Steve
 

milehigh_7

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Can't wait to see what you do or have done with it... been waiting for the other shoe to drop myself ;)
 

Si Nguyen

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That's a good find Smoke! Interesting trunk line, but maybe you need to chop it further down. This could make a really nice shohin. I like the second pic as the new front.
 

Smoke

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Did some work on the trunk and was able to find a surprise.

Upon jerking this thing out of the pot it was discovered that the best part was covered up. While the trunk shows best with the dead wood, I had no really good roots in that area. So, I scored the trunk all the way across in front and buried it just up to that point still revealing the wonderful flare.

Pruning and some basic wireing and then carving out the large bulbous area where I removed a large part of the apex. The trunk suffered from little taper at the top. With this area reduced I think it will be better overall.

Now I just wait it out over the summer and do it all over again next year.
 

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Smoke

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Before and after showing the buried part.
 

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Alex DeRuiter

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Wow! That's a wonderful transformation. Is there a bit of reverse taper, or is it just the picture? Even still, if that's the case, it looks really nice. I love the base.
 

Smoke

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Wow! That's a wonderful transformation. Is there a bit of reverse taper, or is it just the picture? Even still, if that's the case, it looks really nice. I love the base.

Well, prior to me uncovering the nice flare, it really had some reverse issues. Now that I have somewhat of a nice flare most of that has gone away. The problem with the tree was that it had been run over by a car. A nursery owner was asked to remove it. It was dug out and planted in the ground for a couple years. The tree responded really well and began growing tissue around all the deadwood part of the tree. This is how some of the reverse taper started. Now it will be controlled in a pot, and by leaving the large stub and small branches at the bottom right of the last picture, I hope to build up that area and smooth out the taper. It should do that for me with water and fertilizer and sun, while letting it grow long unpruned and keeping the top in check.

It will be better by fall I am sure.
 
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Smoke

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Update...today
 

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october

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I really like this tree..When I used to keep sub tropicals/tropical... elms, specifically chinese elms were my favorite.
 

Bill S

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humana humana humana, that would be humates, Al you should change your name to Allstate.
 

Bonsai Basho

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Nice Elm

Hi Smoke, looks just like some I have collected this year. Gnarly, ugly and perfect!
 
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