Seiju Elm Pre-Bonsai

[Baldemotions]

I recieved this little Seiju Elm from Dasu Bonsai.
It has about a 1" base.

Any advise about this tree I will take it.

 

[Ryan820]

I'm curious as to how you want it to go.... Looks like a nice trunk on the bottom...maybe a smaller design is in order...the leaves are certainly small enough for it.

 

[Baldemotions]

I was thinking something between 6 and 10 inches tall. Chopping off the right reverse taper in image 1 and use the left as the trunk.

Or go a bit lower ro get one more little trunk section.

 

[Stan Kengai]

I was thinking something between 6 and 10 inches tall. Chopping off the right reverse taper in image 1 and use the left as the trunk.

Or go a bit lower ro get one more little trunk section.

You're on the right track here. Go ahead and remove the side branch (leave a stub, good branch location), and grow out the main trunk this year to let that second trunk section catch up (in girth) to the first section. Then chop the trunk next winter, maybe a little shorter than you have shown.

 

[Ryan820]

I would leave a stump on the right branch as well for a future lower branch, too.

These elms seem to be quite susceptible to reverse taper.... Has anyone else noticed?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Some tips:

Branches are somewhat brittle. I wouldn't bother wiring much beyond primary and secondary branches.

You can double the thickness of the trunk if you let it grow all year this year.

If you see any decline in health, it could be due to not enough sun. They take as much full sun as you can give it. Mine sat among my JBP here in Bham and thrived.

Reverse taper often happens just above the soil level. For mine, it was because moss grew up the trunk, causing the bark to get soft and fall away.

Once you get the trunk the size you want, it will keep you plenty busy with a near-constant need to prune back new growth. Mostly, the reason I sold mine is because I got tired of keeping up with it!

Have fun!

 

[M. Frary]

They do tend to bulge up don't they. I think it comes with repeated cutting branches back. So when you chop on this only do it once where you think your lowest cut should be. It is an elm so it is a trooper. Meaning you can do a lot to it and not worry too much about hurting it. You might be able to use the branches you remove for cuttings too. I really like mine just because it does keep me busy. And the spring and fall colors are beautiful. Here is a picture of mine in fall colors. She gets layered in half this year.
They cork up nicely too. And Brian is right . Try and keep the moss off of the trunk to save the bark.

 

[Dirty Nails]

Since we are showing our seiju's here is one I got last fall. It shows that same reverse taper from the side (2) but not so much from the front.

 

[Baldemotions]

Maybe the bulging is just a character trait we need to use.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

This was mine before I sold it a few years ago.

 

[edprocoat]

The Seiju seems to bulge more than the others, followed by the Catlin Elm. The difference being the Catlin grows much faster and more branching and you can wire them. The Seiju break very easy when bending, no warning, just a slight bend on even thin branches and they snap off. It seems like the branches on the Seiju never seem to catch up with the trunk thickness.

ed

 

[Baldemotions]

Well this is what I did with this tree. I am assuming that I will probably need to leave the top on to thicken things up a bit.
I didn't leave a stub because I am sure there will be a new bud there.

 

[davetree]

I would have left it in the big pot for faster growth. Fast growth will give you the excellent bark these trees have. I wouldn't cut anything more off and just make it grow. But that's just me. You can still make a nice small tree out of it.

 

[Baldemotions]

This little pot is wider then the last. Just not as deep. Hard to tell from the photos though. All the roots were able to fit into this pot with room to grow with no root pruning.
The roots in the big pot were pretty shallow already.

Not saying it was the best idea, but it is what I had on hand that was bigger.