New to me Zelkova

[baron]

I recently purchased an old Japanese imported tree that was neglected for a few years (pot bound, fine branches died off,....)
Hopefully I can restore it to its former glory.

Upon pickup it was removed from its container and placed in a big basket (with pumice) so it's very much due for a repot in spring.
Just wondering now wether it would be best placed in a training pot with some extra room to recover for a year or two or immediately in a nicely fitting glazed pot so it can develop some patina to match the tree.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

This is the wrong time of year to replant deciduous. I would keep it in its current container, since the tree is dormant and not doing much of anything for the next few months. The container and soil are only there to protect the tree roots until next spring.

The tree has some funky main branches, and has been poorly pruned with some swollen knobby branch junctures. Those will need to go before you can work on fine branching.

The big elephant in the room is "how are the roots"? When you see a tree like this in a weakened state with poor branch care, I immediately wonder when the roots were last worked. Don't rush to repot this tree into a bonsai pot if the roots are in poor shape. In that event, I would leave it in the current container, but make sure to clean out the rootball in the spring (repotting it back into the current container).

 

[baron]

Oh, yes ofc! I said I was gonna do it in spring
It's been a while...What I've seen so far. Hence why I was thinking about the big pot to let it regain strength.

 

[MrWunderful]

I think with a strong root prune and hard chop back you will be in good shape.
Judging on how healthy the foliage was this year, i would probably remove 85% of those roots if it had a high quantity of coarse growth.

 

[AlainK]

Judging on how healthy the foliage was this year, i would probably remove 85% of those roots if it had a high quantity of coarse growth.

I agree : Zelkova cuttings can be taken before budbreak, in late February, and even earlier.

I once pruned one I have in my garden (a very big one, some 20 feet tall), and I planted a branch as thick as my thumb in a pot that used to have some annual flowers in, and forgot about it. We only had a few days of very light frost. Weeks later, I found it again. To my surprise it had leaves - and roots !

So, yes, I'm pretty sure drastic root pruning will work if done at the right time.

 

[BobbyLane]

I think eventually i would chop at red line and go broom of some sort. straight trunk, decent nebari, will make a nice broom imo.

 

[baron]

Little update, no chop yet....

 

[Adair M]

Unfortunately, at some point in the past, someone used guywires to try to pull some branches down, in an effort to make horizontal branches. Unfortunately, Zelkova don’t really grow that way, and they naturally grow as broom style trees. Those U shaped branches will forever remain an eyesore, until you remove them.

And then, there’s that one really heavy branch that starts about halfway up. Again, it’s really too heavy, and looks out of proportion.

Your tree needs a hard cut back, and some faulty branches need to be removed. And new branches will have to be grown from scratch. Zelkova can do that. You want to have a strong root system to support strong growth of a new canopy. Good luck!