Siberian Elm Styling Help

[JPhillips]

I'm going to wait a year or two before I begin styling but I'm having trouble finding direction in this tree so I am shamelessly asking for a virtual from anyone who this tree speaks to.

This is what I'm thinking will be the front

I'll take some more shots from other angles tomorrow

Thanks in advance,
Jake Phillips

 

[Poink88]

I would have chopped that down to half the current height. Don't stress and think about styling for now...just wait and see what sprout/branches you get.

Good luck!

 

[lordy]

I would have chopped that down to half the current height. Don't stress and think about styling for now...just wait and see what sprout/branches you get.

Good luck!

but just leave a bit of taper if you can. Why reinvent the wheel?

 

[JPhillips]

Here are some more shots.


I'm thinking of either air-layering or just chopping back to where it loses its taper (about even with the top of the sand bag in the third picture.

(For some reason the pictures come out sideways when I post them no matter how they are oriented on my computer . I'll try to fix this so nobody hurts their neck trying to look at the pictures!)

Thanks Dario and Lordy!
-Jake Phillips

 

[JPhillips]

Here it is after some work with the good folks at the Nebraska Bonsai Society. It's the wrong time to wire but that branch wouldn't come down if I had given it another year of growth.


What do you think? Should I still chop it? I know there aren't a whole lot of literati elms out there but I think there's potential.

 

[bougie nights]

I think you probably wouldn't go wrong if you chop lower to get a more powerful base and some taper. Perhaps you could chop at the point that coincides with the third course of bricks in the background. That should give you a lot of buds to work with.
On the other hand, I like slender, graceful trunks as well, so you could leave it be and study on it for the season. If you opt to do that, then I would unwire that branch because it may swell faster than expected and the wire will cut in. You could hold it down with a guy wire and 'cage wire' it (wrap it loosely with wire) in order to set the curve.
As a naturalist, I used to detest Siberian elms because they are non-native and have the tendency to be invasive, but I have mellowed over the years and appreciate their sprawling, almost oak-like habit as they mature.

 

[JPhillips]

bougie nights- Thanks for the advice! The folks at my bonsai club said the same thing about watching the wire very closely, especially on the the branch that received the heaviest bending. I've been watching it every day so far and I think the wire is almost ready to come off. I'll probably go with a guy wire to hold it down until fall when it's actually time to wire.
I harbor similar feelings toward siberian elm as it is rampantly invasive in these parts and I consider myself to be a naturalist/ecologist/etc. I always scold my friends for not cutting them down when they're in their yard, and yet I'm actively cultivating a couple for bonsai. Hypocrite, I know.
Thanks again,
Jake Phillips

 

[catfish chapstick]

I like it kept tall. I also like that branch you wired. Nice form in my eyes even tho most would chop lower. No reason to waste the movement it has. Update when it throws out branches.

 

[JPhillips]

Here's my elm as of today, time to start looking for a new pot for spring.

 

[catfish chapstick]

Looking good. It will develop a lot quicker and stronger if you keep it in a big pot while you grow out the primary branch structure for the next year or two. Did you collect this?

 

[JPhillips]

I collected this and one other elm at a vacant lot where a local company has been dumping their concrete for some time. I collected these from pockets in the concrete just like in the mountains (something you don't see often in Nebraska).
You're right about a big pot, maybe something not quite as ugly as its current container. I may end up cutting the long cascading branch back to give it more movement and taper but that's something to contemplate over the winter. The position of the back branch is also starting to bother me so well see.

 

[Tieball]

I'd cut it

I ground grow American Elms for bonsai and am just not a fan of literati for elms...so I would have cut it back considerably. I like their natural stately appearance...even with all their flaws that can happen. If you had cut it back it would have naturally sent out branches in every direction around the trunk. I don't believe there would be a shortage of branch choices. With it cut, like you have right now...it may actually send out new shoots from old wood when ever you trim back your existing branches also. The beauty of Elms.