Large Seiju Elm Stock

JonW

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Trees I have to bring into my unheated well house for winter, I tend to keep smaller. Trees that I can just leave on the ground for winter, I allow to be larger. Bending and lifting are not my thing. (curse of being a fat man).

I'm in zone 5b, and I winter the normal form of Chinese elm simply on the ground. No added protection from our typical -17 F for a night or two in winter. So given you are in zone 6, the 'Seiju' should be hardy without necessarily having to bring it into a shelter for winter. Just mulch it in on the ground. Which mean winter storage issues should not limit the size you choose.

My natural inclination is to use as much of the tree as possible when I design a tree, I'm not getting any younger, so drastic chops to just a stub don't excite me. Though with 'Seiju', it grows fast enough that you can rebuild something nice in as little as 5 to 10 years.
I don't even have a good space to mulch it in. Definitely was planning on the rebuilding route, but at that, I agree with not being more drastic then necessary.
 
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coh

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Sorry, I was at work, and then tried to make my own and failed to find a software. My apologies for not replying when I finally got back on for a third time. I truly do appreciate your input! It is in the direction I'm considering but not exactly the same as I think I would have gone. Helpful to see your thoughts
I'd like to see what you have in mind. I have a very old version of photoshop (from like 2003 or so) that I use for virts. I think you can also do basic stuff with some of the editing programs that come with windows and there are also a number of free editing programs available on line that are similar to photoshop.
 

JonW

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I'd like to see what you have in mind. I have a very old version of photoshop (from like 2003 or so) that I use for virts. I think you can also do basic stuff with some of the editing programs that come with windows and there are also a number of free editing programs available on line that are similar to photoshop.
Yeah I started to and then everything disappeared so I gave up. Between starting a business recently and having a 15 month old, I only get short snippets of time for hobbies.

I was going to leave the right trunk taller and grow a leader arching over the let left branch that would become the leader of the secondary trunk.

My other idea is cutting the left side trunk the way you did in your virt, and completely removing the second trunk on the right. Then making the side from the second picture the front. It would be a single trunk, informal upright with more taper. All the cuts works be in the back, but it might not take advantage of some of the more unique aspects of the tree as is.
 

Hartinez

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Yep, exactly. I'm not sure where the negativity or need to be flippant comes from with the "need to learn how to shop statement." It was a grower I talked to and trusted, but I couldn't lay eyes on the tree before I bought it. He was excited that I am a fan of deciduous because he is too, and thought this tree would be a great start for something like the pics that @BobbyLane linked to above - even his deciduous trees, people tend to buy the ones that they can style like a pine. I knew it was a 2-inch trunk, and had no idea it would be quite this massive, but the intent was buying a trunk and working the material over a number of years. I don't have much space to plant material in ground for the future, so it was perfect for what I'm looking for - I feel fortunate to have it. I'm getting an equal size Hawthorn tomorrow for $30 as part of a workshop with my local bonsai club. Happy to have a big tree to reduce rather than the stick-in-a-pot plants that I'm hardly going to touch for 5 years.
Comments like that are just par for the course with forsoothe. This can be a great tree in not too long of time. It’ll respond so well to a chop no doubt. Here is a thread on mine that is similar to yours and may give inspo.
 

JonW

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Comments like that are just par for the course with forsoothe. This can be a great tree in not too long of time. It’ll respond so well to a chop no doubt. Here is a thread on mine that is similar to yours and may give inspo.
Yeah, great tree and thread. I actually asked Brent if that was normal for a yatsubusa because I would have bought one. He said you got a steal because he was out of stock, normally he'd train a tree like that into a specimen
 

Hartinez

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Yeah, great tree and thread. I actually asked Brent if that was normal for a yatsubusa because I would have bought one. He said you got a steal because he was out of stock, normally he'd train a tree like that into a specimen
Thanks for saying. I kinda figured on that one, I couldn’t believe the movement In the first 5-6”.
 

JonW

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Thanks for saying. I kinda figured on that one, I couldn’t believe the movement In the first 5-6”.
Yeah I have a few starter plants from Brent and they are nice, but not like your elm!
 
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