Reject Chinese Elm

Thomas J.

Chumono
Messages
595
Reaction score
1,443
Location
DFW area
USDA Zone
7
I bought this ch elm 14 yrs ago for $25 when it was considered a reject by the seller. It was in the corner with some other rejects but caught my eye for some reason. The foliage was quite sparse at the time and didn't have a whole lot going for it. Many of you might have seen this elm posted from time to time but with a different front. I'm now using the back as the front and will do so from now on as I feel that the design is exactly what I'm looking for. :)
 

Attachments

  • celm11a.jpg
    celm11a.jpg
    58.2 KB · Views: 358
Last edited:

davetree

Omono
Messages
1,556
Reaction score
848
Location
St. Paul Minnesota
USDA Zone
4
I like this tree a lot, can you fit it into a smaller pot ? The current pot looks to be a bit large.
 

Dwight

Chumono
Messages
599
Reaction score
7
Location
El Paso , TX
Seller blew that one didn't he ! Of course one could ask why it took 14 yrs for you to fix it but I won't.
 
Last edited:

Thomas J.

Chumono
Messages
595
Reaction score
1,443
Location
DFW area
USDA Zone
7
Of course one could ask why it took 24 yrs for you to fix it but I won't.


24 years? :confused: I haven't even been doing bonsai for that length of time.
 

Thomas J.

Chumono
Messages
595
Reaction score
1,443
Location
DFW area
USDA Zone
7
Now that we've got that straightened out I'll answer your question even though you won't ask.
The pic below shows the tree at purchase. Notice the crown with hardly any branches. A chinese elm takes a minimum of 5 yrs. to get something good out of it, I just gave it a little more and got something better out of it.:p
 

Attachments

  • scan0001.jpg
    scan0001.jpg
    64.4 KB · Views: 199

Si Nguyen

Omono
Messages
1,048
Reaction score
218
Location
Lake Forest, CA
Awesome tree! Good job developing it from such humble beginning!
I agree with Davetree too. The pot appears a bit too wide and heavy looking for such a tall and elegant tree. The volume of the foliage appears smaller than the volume of the pot.
Thanks for showing it.
 

Thomas J.

Chumono
Messages
595
Reaction score
1,443
Location
DFW area
USDA Zone
7
Doctoring up the picture a little and making the pot a bit narrower and a bit shallower would be the ideal thing I know. The problem is finding one that's either not too shallow or to small in diameter. I did in fact have this tree in just such a pot but to me it was just the opposite of what I have now, and I tend to like the pot I'm presently using over that one a lot more. I will need to do some searching around to see if there's anything else that would meet my needs.
 

Attachments

  • pot.jpg
    pot.jpg
    43.1 KB · Views: 114

sfhellwig

Mame
Messages
189
Reaction score
1
Location
Pittsburg, KS
USDA Zone
6a
Very nice tree. Looks very dense and whether it is or not it provides a very solid outline. Not always what we're looking for but it works nicely here. What is the texture of the trunk? It looks like there was some sort of damage and then smoothed off. Surely that is not natural bark texture?
 

Thomas J.

Chumono
Messages
595
Reaction score
1,443
Location
DFW area
USDA Zone
7
Looks very dense and whether it is or not it provides a very solid outline. Not always what we're looking for but it works nicely here.

This tree was not styled after your usual Japanese style with the airy open branches, but rather the Chinese style with their tight compact leaves. A lot of people don't like this style because they say it resembles the pom pom look. I fell in love with the Chinese Penjing style the moment I saw my first pic of one.

Yes there was damage to the trunk as the trunk started to rot out about 3 or 4 yrs after I got it. I was somehow able to stop the rot progression and after that I peeled the dead bark back and partially hollowed the trunk. :)
 
Messages
730
Reaction score
170
Location
Kentucky, USA
This tree was not styled after your usual Japanese style with the airy open branches, but rather the Chinese style with their tight compact leaves. A lot of people don't like this style because they say it resembles the pom pom look. I fell in love with the Chinese Penjing style the moment I saw my first pic of one.

personally i like the "chinese" aesthetic. sometimes i think it lends to the tree looking more like a tree and less like a bonsai. i think it works well for this one.
 

painter

Mame
Messages
209
Reaction score
14
Location
central jersey
USDA Zone
6
do you have a picture without leaves? those branches look wonderfully wild.
p
 

Thomas J.

Chumono
Messages
595
Reaction score
1,443
Location
DFW area
USDA Zone
7
do you have a picture without leaves? those branches look wonderfully wild.


This is one tree I wish would lose its leaves more often. For the last few years, which is how old this picture is, the tree has not lost its leaves in a full manner, only partially during the spring. The branches are nice and tight as you can see here.:D
 

Attachments

  • elm 1-05#2(44).jpg
    elm 1-05#2(44).jpg
    33.1 KB · Views: 72

Bonsai Nut

Nuttier than your average Nut
Messages
12,420
Reaction score
27,840
Location
Charlotte area, North Carolina
USDA Zone
8a
Here's a quick virt of what I think when I look at this tree. Maybe you will like it :)

celm11rev.jpg
 

tanlu

Shohin
Messages
287
Reaction score
13
Location
Washington, DC
USDA Zone
7a
This is a beautiful tree and I'm also a fan of the penjing style. While I LOVE what the Japanese did to refine bonsai, often find some Japanese styled bonsai artificial looking. This tree, on the other hand, looks like you plucked it out of a forest and placed it into a pot.

Perhaps if it were slightly higher in the pot to display the nebari more along with some moss.

T
 

jk_lewis

Masterpiece
Messages
3,817
Reaction score
1,160
Location
Western NC
USDA Zone
7-8
Bonsai nut has made this much more tree-like and less sculptural. I'd only add to it that a less pointy top might make it also a bit more elm-like.
 

Attachments

  • jun.jpg
    jun.jpg
    50.2 KB · Views: 35
Top Bottom