Where to chop

[Tulsabonsigh]

Where to chop?? I’m thinking here. Opinions?? I’ve learned I can chop at any height and broom from there. This is Siberian elm

 

[Tulsabonsigh]

 

[Tulsabonsigh]

Thoughts?

 

[Shibui]

How far down are the roots?
You need to think about the future height of your tree. Bonsai look good when branching starts about 1/3 the height of the completed tree. Both your cuts seem a long way up. How high would that make your tree?

Elms bud well. I would expect buds to come from the lower cut. Use some of them for right branches. Cut the existing trunk just a little higher and make new branches from the buds that grow there.

 

[Tulsabonsigh]

thats Great advice! Thanks !

 

[Tulsabonsigh]

How far down are the roots?
You need to think about the future height of your tree. Bonsai look good when branching starts about 1/3 the height of the completed tree. Both your cuts seem a long way up. How high would that make your tree?

Elms bud well. I would expect buds to come from the lower cut. Use some of them for right branches. Cut the existing trunk just a little higher and make new branches from the buds that grow there.

What do you think of these two thicker lines being the chops. It would make trunk taper more and shorter tree? Or just chop the top thicker line ?

 

[Maloghurst]

What do you think of these two thicker lines being the chops. It would make trunk taper more and shorter tree? Or just chop the top thicker line ?
View attachment 286934

I would just cut the thin line and let it recover for awhile. The proposed other cuts would leave way too much bare wood in my opinion and not help you to your goal. If you are set on a broom and you feel confident that you will get lot of sprouts from the cut site then I would cut a straight horizontal line about an inch above the top root scar. But I don’t know if it would survive.

 

[Shibui]

You mentioned you see broom style here. There is no real need for trunk taper in broom until after the first fork so I don't see any point in recutting the large cut.
I've made the left trunk a little longer because I like some asymmetry, even in broom style forks look good when they are not all at the same level.


Cut at blue line. When new shoots grow keep 2 or 3 growing from each cut - green lines. They will be the primary branches for your broom canopy. The usual process is allow the initial branches to grow long to gain some thickness then chop again a little higher to get further branching. Repeat until you have the required canopy.

Please note that I have never grown Siberian elm but I understand they are very easy to grow and respond well to chopping like this.

For a shorter broom tree the red line above would probably be a suitable start. There are nearly always alternatives in bonsai.

 

[TN_Jim]

Where to chop?? I’m thinking here. Opinions?? I’ve learned I can chop at any height and broom from there. This is Siberian elm View attachment 286905View attachment 286906

Is this the one from the side of the road -if so, why start new thread? Looks like ya already started choppin’...
Did it give you trouble coming out of that rocky embankment?

 

[TN_Jim]

Aah..saw this in the other thread. Not hating on a broom, but from this angle I would not broom because of the potential for informal up...not bad movement, taper, trunkline here...

 

[sorce]

In the future.

You need all that top to get that next segment the right thickness.

Sorce

 

[Tulsabonsigh]

Is this the one from the side of the road -if so, why start new thread? Looks like ya already started choppin’...
Did it give you trouble coming out of that rocky embankment?

thanks for asking! I feel down that son of a butch 4 times androlled once!!! I’m my work dress clothes!

 

[n8]

Did you pot this up and chainsaw it in the parking lot? If so, fuck yeah.

 

[TN_Jim]

Did you pot this up and chainsaw it in the parking lot? If so, fuck yeah.