Gnarly Ugly Elm

bonnsai

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Your Butt Ugly Elm

I think they are awesome, and when they develop their top foliage they will be great little trees! :)
 

Smoke

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Another prune and new fertilizer for summer.
 

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Smoke

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sequence shots
 

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007

Sapling
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Spectacular. This will be an amazing tree in short time. Keep up the good work.
 

Smoke

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Hmmm, time to start thinking about repotting this baby.

So I have this antique stand. I think it is the right size for the pot I want to use. The only thing I am not sure about is whether or not the tree will fit into the pot I have selected for the tree. The actual size is right but I am not sure the root ball will fit into this pot being only about 1.75 inches tall. The glaze sure is good though.

This is an old signed Yamafusa from Japan.
 

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Alex DeRuiter

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That nebari is amazing...I can't believe I never paid attention to it before (probably because I was still very new to bonsai when I first saw this thread). The glaze on that pot is beautiful...and I love the shape of it. I know your climate is far different from Michigan, but how much do you think you can get away with in terms of cutting roots?
 

Attila Soos

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As long as you dress the top of the soil with moss (100% of the surface), the tree will be fine in the shallow pot.You need that anyway (the moss, that is), if you want to display the tree indoors, on a stand. And since the pot is so shallow that the soil will rise above the edge of the pot, you need the moss to keep the soil from washing out.
Also, I allow the moss to have a thick soil base, when planted on the top of the bonsai medium. That keeps the tree moist enough for a day, during the hot days of summer.
I do this will all my small trees, and never ever lost one due to dehydration.

P.S. You could also use a thin top layer of kanuma, before you put on the moss. Kanuma has very good moisture retention, beside looking nice.
 
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Smoke

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As far as the thick soil on moss, I too have done that for an exhibit but never to just keep the tree around. I find that the mud on the bottom of the moss is a real soil clogger. I usually take the moss off after a show. Maybe I can use spahgnum moss for soil retention.
 

Alex DeRuiter

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Lindsay Farr (I think that's his name. . . .) swears by sphagnum moss for this purpose.
 

Ang3lfir3

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sphagnum works great for keeping those bits from rolling out.... personally I grow my moss in my pots.... but this is the great wet north... its hard NOT to... :p

and I don't know what ur smoking Attila ... :) .... Kanuma is fugly!
 

Smoke

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That nebari is amazing...I can't believe I never paid attention to it before (probably because I was still very new to bonsai when I first saw this thread). The glaze on that pot is beautiful...and I love the shape of it. I know your climate is far different from Michigan, but how much do you think you can get away with in terms of cutting roots?

Cutting roots on a elm here is really easy. You can cut them back quite severly and they respond well, almost seeming energised by the haircut. What I do not know is if the tree will have a claw or not. This is what may keep me from getting this tree from can to pot in one repotting. If it will not work, I will not force it because I know what happens when something is forced. It dies.
 

Smoke

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sphagnum works great for keeping those bits from rolling out.... personally I grow my moss in my pots.... but this is the great wet north... its hard NOT to... :p

and I don't know what ur smoking Attila ... :) .... Kanuma is fugly!

I thanked you not cause the post was informative, but that you used the word fugly. One of my favorites. Right up there with FUBAR. Which is how I do bonsai. Everything I have is FUBAR.
 

Ang3lfir3

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I thanked you not cause the post was informative, but that you used the word fugly. One of my favorites. Right up there with FUBAR. Which is how I do bonsai. Everything I have is FUBAR.

LOL!!!! .... and damnit that post was informative too.... or summin... :p
 

Smoke

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I have the secret killer method for keeping the soil in the pot. I mix a little epoxy together with aquarium gravel and glue a thin layer to the soil surface...voila, no soil runoff!
 

Jason

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Did you learn your killer secret method at the mall? :p I have a deep blue glazed pot I'll sell you.
 
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