Hello all, I got a Chinese Elm for Christmas

[Bonsai Babby]

Hello everyone.

I am new to bonsai, in that I have never kept one successfully. I did try to grow a red leaf Japanese maple from the seed once, and it sprouted and grew four leaves before dying. I suspect the lack of sunlight on my balcony was the main problem.

I was given a Chinese Elm for Christmas this year. I still live in the same place where the balcony has limited sunlight, but from what I read this tree is fairly forgiving, so I am hoping it will fare better than the ill-fated maple.

Here is a picture of my new tree. I just got it and stuck it out there in the bag and all, forgive the mess. I will probably be removing the nice man sitting on the rocks when I re-pot it. Now, my first impression is that I would like to have the trunk curve a bit. I have been reading a little about trunk bending, is it too late for this one?

I am going to order some wire and snipping tools, and keep reading on what else I will need for this guy. I look forward to being a part of this community. The internet is great, it enables people from around the whole world to connect and share advice and experience.

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

Straight trunk and a bit of taper at the base. No big scarring at the trunk. Might make a cool broom. Depending on your ability to water and climate you might repot in a more draining mix right before buds open in spring. I would advice to wait with pruning until the first flush is hardened in early summer and cutting back hard to remove some of the thick branches. Avoid having more than 2 branches at every junction. There is a lot to read about Chinese elms. They are great. Don't pinch for the first 10 years.

 

[Tieball]

Just my thoughts
Before you go investing in a lot of wire and tools.....learn the horticulture part of growing your tree first. Keep the tree alive....that’s your first and best goal. Keep it alive...before tools and such. I agree with your approach...do lots of research and photo reviews.

Others may comment on the light and watering needs of a Chinese Elm in your climate. Did you photograph the tree in the daylight out on your balcony? Is that the bright level of light the tree will get?

Initially a simple pair of garden pruning shears can go a long way. I started with heavy duty kitchen scissors and a garden shear. After getting a handle on growing...and keeping a tree alive...then, I slowly started to invest in a limited number of tools. I only started to buy what I needed...not what everyone else had.

I don’t think you’re going to get much bending. You may hear....let that stick grow and then chop it off to begin getting some bends.

One of the problems you’ll need to address and sort out is that middle growth. It looks like there are 6 or 7 branches growing right next to each other...that’s quite a branch cluster. You might photograph the tree from a few different views so comments can help address any immediate-need faults to attend to while you let it grow and stabilize. Comments may help you with branch selection....what to keep...and what to eliminate.

You can always.....and this is a good choice...commit to having a small tree. Forget the big trunk. Prune for a tree image that you like, and, just plain keep it healthy. You’ll still need to deal with that branch cluster though. And eventually, once your growing confidence has this experience you can obtain a tree with a thicker more-curving trunk....and keep them both growing healthy.

San Diego. Beautiful city....but I mostly am drawn to the Pacific...the waves...beaches....boardwalks.....outdoors everything.

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy!

Order from @bonsaibp !



Sorce

 

[Bonsai Babby]

Hello everyone thank you for the replies.

First of all, there is a knot about 2/3 up the trunk with a ton of branches coming out. And then the portion that extends upwards from the knot barely has any branches and I don't know if it is alive, or what I should do with it. I am going to do nothing for now, besides keep it alive, until I learn more.

Dirk, you said do not pinch for 10 years... what is pinching? I suppose I will learn about that when I get a bonsai book.

Tieball, that picture was taken in the evening with the flash on my phone. tonight I will take some more photos from each angle. I do not like that bunch of branches. Almost all of the branches on the tree are coming out of that one spot.

 

[Bonsai Babby]

Ok, here are more pictures of my bonsai.

Do you recommend this book? It is the most popular on Amazon for bonzai https://www.amazon.com/Bonsai-Essential-Tips-Harry-Tomlinson/dp/0789496879/

Anyway, here are the pictures of all sides and top-down view:

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

Pinching is removing all new growth except 2 or 3 leaves when the tree starts to push in spring. It does weaken the tree but it creates finer branching. Often books recommend this but you only do it when your tree is full power and show ready. And even then I wouldn't do it. Lots to read before spring.

 

[M. Frary]

Pinching is removing all new growth except 2 or 3 leaves when the tree starts to push in spring. It does weaken the tree but it creates finer branching. Often books recommend this but you only do it when your tree is full power and show ready. And even then I wouldn't do it. Lots to read before spring.

Are you talking about cutting back to 2 nodes or are you talking about some sort of defoliation?

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I still live in the same place where the balcony has limited sunlight

@Bonsai Babby Welcome to the site! Can you take a picture of your balcony showing how much light you get? Do you know what direction your balcony faces?

Don't worry about the leaves at this point. Your elm is going into winter dormancy and looks just like all my elms look right now (up here in Orange County). Just make sure to keep it outdoors so it remains in dormancy. It should start to bud out with new growth in late February or first week of March.

Since this is your first tree, I would focus on just trying to keep it alive (versus trying aggressive styling on it) at least for a couple of years. Just pruning the tree in the early spring will clean up some problems and dramatically improve what it looks like.

 

[just.wing.it]

Welcome to the Nut House!

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

Are you talking about cutting back to 2 nodes or are you talking about some sort of defoliation?

In the development phase: let the branches grow and let them accumulate energy. When the base starts to turn woody (you will see that the buds are ready), cut them back to 2 or tree leaves (often there is no bud at the first leave). This will result in a strong tree with lots of backbudding and good ramification (wire in fall or spring or after cutback). First years cut back once per growing season, this will set thick primary branches, don't forget to ad movement. Depending on your climate in the following years you can cut back 3, 4 or more times per growing season, but then you don't wait until hardening (most often 7 or 8 leaves have emerged by that time). Backbudding will be less, tree will grow weaker and will produce fine twigs. From that time on it is balancing how weak you want the tree before you start losing branches. This way you have a tree with aged branches to begin and you can get finer and finer ramification that looks natural. Don't try to put ramification on the tree before you have the structure set. Pinching is removing the really soft growth once there are 3 or 4 leaves. It is often advised but is something you do in the preparation for a show so there is natural and short growth. It has nothing to do with building up a tree.

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

Branches don't look to be on the best location in the last photo's. Depending on your level of confidence i would recommend some basic rootwork and putting it in a good medium. Letting things grow for a year and in spring 2019 cut back the stem to an appropriate height. From the resulting backbudding you can select your primary branches for a nice broom.

 

[bonsaibp]

Check out the San Diego Bonsai Club - one of the best in the state. They'll help you out with all your bonsai needs. https://www.sandiegobonsaiclub.com/

 

[Bonsai Babby]

Thanks bonsaibp, I have seen the bonsai club having meetings here in Balboa Park before. I will have to consider joining, I will definitely get lots of good information there.

@Bonsai Nut My balcony is not very good. It has a wide overhang and it faces pretty much exactly northeast, and it is inside a courtyard so the sunlight that comes in is just for a few hours a day. We do have some plants growing out there, but they are indoor plants that don't really need too much sun. I will have to see how the bonsai grows out there.

I will take a sun picture this weekend. Usually I am at work during the time that the sun is hitting the balcony.

 

[Bonsai Babby]

I have been keeping an eye on my bonsai today. It looks like during this time of year it does not ever get any direct sunlight. This is bad news, I think.

I can bring it to my office, the window faces due east. The problem is the light will be coming in from a lateral angle. My plants I have in the office right now all grow sideways. Will that happen to my bonsai too?

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Yep, just like houseplants, bonsai will grow toward the light. Remember a single pane of glass cuts out or reflects a minimum of 30% of the light that hits the glass. Most modern windows are double pane, some are gas filled with an IR blocking gas. This means most likely 60% of sunlight hitting the glass is not getting through. Your balcony is probably a better choice than your office. Even on the balcony, you should turn the tree around every week or two to get even light to all sides of the tree.

Chinese elms are somewhat shade tolerant. While in winter dormancy, need less light. Your balcony might work out fine. Don't try to grow pines or junipers on your balcony, but elms, maples and many deciduous trees will do okay. Elms will give you tighter growth in full sun, but northeast is a good spring and summertime exposure. And you avoid the hottest sun of the day. A west exposure could be its own problem with excess heat unless you are coastal enough or high elevation enough that triple digit heat is not a problem. Keep it on the balcony, it should be fine.

As to your photos, I think I would go with the Broom Style. Read up on it and see if you like the idea. On a different tree you can go for ''curvy styles''. Chinese elm is sort of a vegetable silly putty, you can style them into any shape you want and generally the tree will cooperate. This is not true of all species.

You don't really pick a front for your tree right away. Wait until the tree is fairly far along in development. Most trees have more than one possible front, some get restyled and turned around several times in their development. But it is good practice to identify possible fronts. Use a chopstick, or plant tag or golf tee to mark the edge of the pot for each front. Contemplate these choice and reevaluate several times over the years as you develop the tree. I place my markers so that if I turn the pot to line up the marker with the middle of the trunk, I'll be looking at the proposed front. Some pre-bonsai in my garden have several different markers, this is okay.

For your tree I like image 3QTCWX8 as a possible front for a broom style. For what it is worth. I'm sure with time this might change. Right now don't start pruning. First just keep it growing. Read and learn. Pick up several more trees, so you will have something that you can work on while waiting.
Leo

 

[Bonsai Babby]

Hello Everyone!!

I have an update on my bonsai. All the leaves fell off, and this morning I noticed it sprouted some new leaves! I think that is a good sign. Here is a picture:

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

Does it lives outside, or did he sprout in warm living room?

 

[Bonsai Babby]

Does it lives outside, or did he sprout in warm living room?

He lives outside, but it has been warm here this week, in the mid 80s... it won't get much below 60 again until December.

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

Everything set for a repot?