@BuckeyeOne
This is a nice enough start of a tree that it has caught the eye of
@BobbyLane and a few others, including myself.
@BobbyLane - I just re-watched the Graham Potter video you linked and thought it pretty good. I could see no flaws in his advice. I heartily recommend watching many of the Graham Potter videos. The quality of his information is quite good. He is "not Ryan Neil" which is actually a compliment. We need to walk before we run.
Note, I did not find the other thread on this tree, so I don't know what
@leatherback suggested.
About the "Rules" that you might think Bobby Lane was dismissing as optional. The rules can be extremely helpful if you are not certain what to do. When choosing which branch to keep, which to eliminate, the rules can really help. Bobby is absolutely correct that they are at best "guides" and not hard and fast rules, but ignoring the rules, with out having an artistic reason to ignore the rules often results in an inferior tree. There are a couple old timers on this forum, when you look at their 30 years in training trees, and you don't feel "captivated" often with close examination you can see poorly constructed nebari, branches with excessively long internodes in areas where the internodes should have been getting progressively shorter, thick branches high in the tree, branches from inside of curves, bar branches, and internodes longer than the distance from the soil line to the first branch on the trunk. These "rules" can be broken if artistic design requires it, but if broken haphazardly, with no real purpose, or if ignored entirely, you end up with that tree that makes one wonder; "Wow, they put 30 years or more into developing this thing, and it looks, uninteresting".
So I consider the advice from
@luvinthemountains to be good advice. Its not a "style" or a "design" but it is eliminating a few problems. Bobby Lane is correct, the "rules" are optional, but ignore them at your peril. If you don't have an artistic necessity for ignoring the rule, there is the danger the ignored branch from an inside curve, or the odd, out of place long internode, or the bar branch, will in time continue to distract from the image you are trying to create.
Zelkova are not rare, stock is not overly expensive and it develops quickly. Air layering for propagation sake is not really needed. Air layering to get a better nebari may be essential. Air layering can also shorten the distance from the roots to the first branch. I'm not sure I like the nebari that is visible in this tree, you need to decide if it is "good enough" for your design.
You need to decide what design you would like. As a mental exercise, consider removing absolutely every branch, what line is your main trunk? Do you want the main trunk to divide into sub-trunks, as in the style of an informal broom? The informal broom the trunk divides from 1 to 2 sub-trunks, then the 2 divide to 4 sub-trunks, then the branches develop from there with no "bright distinction" between sub-trunks and main branches. The pattern is 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and so on for ramification. Or do you want a more "traditional informal upright" in that there is a single trunk line, and branches all the way up to the apex? As Bobby Lane suggested, it is your tree, you need to choose.
You are in zone 6a. Probably northern Ohio or eastern Michigan or western New York state. This tree should be dormant if it was being stored outside. You have a month before it should wake up. You have time to sit with a pad of paper and draw out possible designs. Or sit with a photo and a photo editor program. Create a design. Use the trunk and branches you ACTUALLY have. Find the trunk line you like. Consider chopping back drastically. Think about where branches would pop if you cut back to a SINGLE trunk line. Consider how long, what length that single trunk line should be.
Consider the alternate, keeping as much as possible. Consider what the tree would look like 5 years down the road if you kept everything possible.
Then consider various "intermediate" approaches. Then you choose what appeals to you. You have time. Take the time to design this tree to your tastes. Even if you don't come up with a design in the 3 or 4 weeks before growth begins, you can always let it grow a while before beginning the execution of a design. You can even leave it grow a year or two until you have a design. But be deliberate in the direction you choose to go. Make a decision, then stick with it at least long enough to see the effect it has on the tree.
