Zelkova

[cmeg1]

Potted another air-layer today.


Was able to bring my trees back into the open today.Hopefully no more cold.
This is the last tree I needed to pot up for the season.
This is another fine air-layer.
Roots all the way around.Should be great in the coming seasons.
Of course I did not get quite the perfect angle in the pot.

 

[Djtommy]

they all have very nice roots.
great work.

 

[barrosinc]

just got myself one... will be reading this thread a lot

 

[Djtommy]

Do you have pictures of the clump style ones you are making?
I got myself a few small ones and also thinking of making them a clump

 

[cmeg1]

Do you have pictures of the clump style ones you are making?
I got myself a few small ones and also thinking of making them a clump

They are just wips now in grow boxes.Will repeatedly chop almost to zero and form a clump.Could take 5-7 years or as long as you want.Maybe less though.
They have not been chopped even once yet.
I will probably chop practically all the way down when they are about 3/4"thick.
Then just repeat over and over and use cut paste and a bit of carving maybe.
Seen it in Bonsai Focus on containerized stock.

Thanks for the compliment too!

 

[cmeg1]

Zelkova 11


Took a better photo of this tree.
I darkened the image a bit and the bark and twigs are dry too.
After this starts growing I will trim to a nice silhouette ,some twigs jut out a bit here and there.
Going to order some copper wire tomorrow for the zelkovas.This tree is so twiggy,it is hard to wire all the branches
Maybe the thin copper wire will help here and there and also some directional pruning of the twigs throughout the season.
It needs it.
I feel this could be a much better tree.

Anyway,thanks for looking

 

[Adair M]

Zelkova 11


Took a better photo of this tree.
I darkened the image a bit and the bark and twigs are dry too.
After this starts growing I will trim to a nice silhouette ,some twigs jut out a bit here and there.
Going to order some copper wire tomorrow for the zelkovas.This tree is so twiggy,it is hard to wire all the branches
Maybe the thin copper wire will help here and there and also some directional pruning of the twigs throughout the season.
It needs it.
I feel this could be a much better tree.

Anyway,thanks for looking
View attachment 101096

Have you had a chance to watch Colin's tutorial on wiring?

 

[Adair M]

You want to place the wire on like this:



That's an example of Kimura's wiring. See how the pink wire is anchored at the crotch? Start there, with the middle of the wire, wire one leg of the crotch a turn or two, then wire the other. Go back and finish the first leg. Don't try to wire it all out, just a turn or two, go do the other side, then come back and finish the first.

Then the yellow is done the same way. Plan it out so the wires don't cross.

Then the green, then the white.

The black wire was put on first. It goes around the trunk. One end up this branch, and the other end went around another branch that we can't see in the picture.

 

[markyscott]

You've got some great Zelcova cmeg1. You've done a very nice job with them and I really like the root work that you've done. Whether or not you switch to copper wire, you can get away with a lot less wire and have a lot more visually pleasing and effective wiring if you exercise and practice the techniques that Colin teaches in his wiring class on Craftsy. It's a great resource and it's totally free. Give it a go - I think you'll be pleased with the results. Don't let messy wiring get in the way of the visual impact of your very nice little trees.

 

[cmeg1]

@Adair M .Darn ,that's right.I will definately put that on my to do list this Wednesday or Thursday.
And that Kimura picture,AWESOME STUFF
Thanks for spelling it out for me.



@markyscott .Awesome! Thanks for the help and compliment.Definately going to watch the video on my day off.

 

[markyscott]

@Adair M .Darn ,that's right.I will definately put that on my to do list this Wednesday or Thursday.
And that Kimura picture,AWESOME STUFF
Thanks for spelling it out for me.



@markyscott .Awesome! Thanks for the help and compliment.Definately going to watch the video on my day off.

Be prepared - it's a school. There is homework.

 

[Adair M]

Ok, it's time to take off that wire, and do it again!

 

[cmeg1]

Ok, it's time to take off that wire, and do it again!

I am actually a little nervous about re-wiring now.All the tiny buds are opening.I think I will let these branches completely set and then re-wire.That way will need to do the greenwood anyway.

 

[John P.]

So glad I found this thread. In fact, I just joined the forum because of it.

I have a nice group of seed-grown, straight-trunked Zelkova stock that I've been growing for a few years. I figure another season with a lot of ferts and at least one of them will have the necessary trunk width to perform a chop after this season. I tourniquetted my largest one last year, and it has given me the flare I was looking for.

Because they're seed grown, my largest one doesn't have even, radial nebari so I'm going to borrow your layering technique with a colander. I am amazed at your results with this method. I have a lot of pumice on hand, so I may try a mixture of it with spaghnum moss.

Thanks for the inspiration!

(My tree experiments can be found here: https://frankenbonsai.wordpress.com)

 

[cmeg1]

So glad I found this thread. In fact, I just joined the forum because of it.

I have a nice group of seed-grown, straight-trunked Zelkova stock that I've been growing for a few years. I figure another season with a lot of ferts and at least one of them will have the necessary trunk width to perform a chop after this season. I tourniquetted my largest one last year, and it has given me the flare I was looking for.

Because they're seed grown, my largest one doesn't have even, radial nebari so I'm going to borrow your layering technique with a colander. I am amazed at your results with this method. I have a lot of pumice on hand, so I may try a mixture of it with spaghnum moss.

Thanks for the inspiration!

(My tree experiments can be found here: https://frankenbonsai.wordpress.com)

Thanks,John.
Yea that layering is pretty cool!

 

[cmeg1]

@Adair M ,@markyscott .Thanks! I watched the craftsy on wiring.Safe to say I definately needed that Got my Jim Gremel wire too.
I will remove my ugly wire a little later,probably around the time I wire the green shoots.
So,may as well post a photo.
Can you tell I am hiding flaws with the weird angle? Or no,I just chose a new front

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

So how many broom zelkovas do you have going now @cmeg1 ?

 

[cmeg1]

So how many broom zelkovas do you have going now @cmeg1 ?

It's funny,I been doing this for a few years now and I only have 5 total.
The one above and 4 of the air layers.
The one above is three years,the layers only a year.
Can't guarantee all the layers will be keepers.
I was just outside looking at one that is quite nice ,and also looking at a 3/4" perfectly straight whip in the ground that is getting layered this season.
I will post the one I am real happy with tomorrow,as I feel it will really shape up nicely.

 

[0soyoung]

It's funny,I been doing this for a few years now and I only have 5 total.

shocker!
I thought you had many, many more, @cmeg1 .
Are you into magic or political campaign management?

 

[sorce]

I never thought the plural "brooms" was 5 either.

Sorce