Hokkaido Elm Best Practices?

[milehigh_7]

Looking for the best practices to successfully propagate Hokkaido Elm. Obviously somebody has it down because they are not super hard to find. Detailed info would be appreciated.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Hokkaido Elm doesn't make great bonsai...brittle, temperamental, and impossible to wire. Seiju is a sport of Hokkaido, and is much better-suited, FWIW. Take woody cuttings in the spring, use rooting hormone, and expect 10%-20% rate. Many elms propagate better from root cuttings, might try that. OR, just skip forward 20 years and check out some of Brent's "new releases":

http://www.evergreengardenworks.com/graphics/9650-008-1.jpg
http://www.evergreengardenworks.com/specimen.htm

 

[matievski]

Very easy to root them right on branches by air layering with sphagnum moss and plastic.
I had 9 rooted successfully out of 10, during winter months (December till February). Just have to remember to spray them all the time to keep moss wet all the time. Kept mother tree in winter greenhouse with citrus plants together. It did not defoliate during the winter in warm temperature.

Or you can just dig up some elm tree any where and graft HOKKAIDO on it.
I found it relatively easy to do:





Its own branch was grafted on opposite side as well, and it is dominating all the time so it needs to be pruned all the time, but I keep it for photosynthesis purposes for now to feed the root system. All non Hokkaido branches will be removed later on.

Grafted Hokkaido almost died after successful grafting because of some mold,
,but then grew back from just one bud.

 

[edprocoat]

I have found that the Hokkaido elm does not bend literally at all, just a minor bend and it snaps, but they have a great looking trunk even when immature and the tiny leaves are super.

ed

 

[penumbra]

Hokkaido Elm doesn't make great bonsai...brittle, temperamental, and impossible to wire. Seiju is a sport of Hokkaido, and is much better-suited, FWIW. Take woody cuttings in the spring, use rooting hormone, and expect 10%-20% rate. Many elms propagate better from root cuttings, might try that. OR, just skip forward 20 years and check out some of Brent's "new releases":

http://www.evergreengardenworks.com/graphics/9650-008-1.jpg
http://www.evergreengardenworks.com/specimen.htm

I don't agree. There are many ways to alter a tree without wiring the branches.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I don't agree. There are many ways to alter a tree without wiring the branches.

You must feel pretty strongly about that to disagree with an almost 8-year old comment, never mind the context. So since you’re here doing it, how about you show us your success in Bonsai without wiring branches?

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Hokkaido is snappy snap. Even if you are trying to grow it via a cut and grow method, it is very weak and will die back regularly on previously strong trunks and branches. Because it is weak, a year's growth on any branch might be 1", and if you try to bend or redirect it, it will snap off. There is a reason why you don't see world class hokkaido bonsai... and it isn't because people haven't tried.

Even Seiju is weak, in my opinion, though not nearly as bad as hokkaido.