by Zach Smith | Aug 24, 2019 | Care, Collecting, Elms, Potting, Pruning, Water Elm
Today was probably the last of our Water-elm collecting trips for 2019. We once again got some nice material. Here are a handful of examples. I just love this raft-style specimen. Nice, tight trunks. I’ve already got a plan in mind for this one, so hopefully it survives collecting.
This one is a lovely, graceful upright specimen. The trunk has great taper and subtle movement, and the basal flare really adds to the character. The trunk is 2″ on this specimen, and it’s chopped at 19″.
Another raft. The root base is very cool on this specimen, and you can’t beat the variety of trunk sizes.
Here’s another single-trunk specimen we got today. Nice taper and movement. The base is a little smaller than the one above, 1.75″.
Last but not least. This is a pretty cool triple-trunk specimen. Chopped at about 10″ in height, I see a mini-forest about 14″ when finished. Let me know what you think.
by Zach Smith | Aug 17, 2019 | Care, Collecting, Elms, Potting, Pruning, Water Elm
Our second Water-elm hunt of the season happened today. This is the biggest specimen that came home with us (trunk base over 3″). Here’s one view of the tree before it got re-chopped top and bottom.
I’m not sure which front is going to be best. What do you think?
I’ve been trying to find a nice raft-style specimen for a few years now. I think this is a good candidate.
And finally for today, this is a smaller specimen but isn’t the character just terrific. Not to mention that it’s going to be an exposed root bonsai once the buried roots are visible again. Let me know what you think of these.
by Zach Smith | Aug 10, 2019 | Care, Collecting, Elms, Potting, Water Elm
Today began our Water-elm collecting season. Each of these trees you see has been under about 20 feet of water since winter. Now it’s time for their growing season, which will only last a few months. The short growing season is why these trees, though they may not have huge trunks, are actually pretty old. This planting is actually three separate trees that seem to go together well. I’m looking forward to working on this group a little later this year, and more so in 2020.
This is a nice twin trunk. I really like the left-hand trunk, and it’s going to be my model for building the right-hand trunk. This one has a 2.5″ base, and is only about 10″ to the taller chop. It should make quite a shohin specimen.
And now a tall-tree twin-trunk. This is going to be a great Water-elm bonsai, in just a couple of years.
This one is two separate trees, but they go together. ‘Nuff said.
And another tall-tree twin-trunk.
And last but not least for today, a single-trunk specimen. This one has great movement and taper. Let me know what you think of these specimens. If you haven’t tried Water-elm yet, you should seriously consider the species.
by Zach Smith | Aug 4, 2019 | Care, Elms, Pruning, Styling, Water Elm, Wiring
I potted this Water-elm earlier in the season. It came home last August, and recovered very well. Since Water-elms love the summer heat, I know I can do some development work now.
It’s common to have to make choices as you develop your trees. In this case, I have a situation where there is a large chop on the trunk that was necessary post-collection, and I have what was originally another upright branch that had to be cut back. I can’t remove the stub from this original branch, or I risk losing the entire right-hand trunk. So the better-developed branch has to go.
This is an example of giving up something now for something better later on. You’ll do this a lot as you continue on your bonsai journey.
The young branch that’s left needed to be wired and positioned.
Next came the lowest branch on the left-hand trunk. I’ve also done a very rough trim to shape on the tree overall. This should be part of your development plan for every deciduous tree you work on (excluding American beech, but that’s another story).
This is also a good time to start carving some of the chops that were made when this tree first came home.
The stub where the young branch emerges on the right-hand trunk also needs an initial carving now. As the branch thickens, it’ll make the transition look very natural. And that’s all for today. I’d love to know what you think about how this specimen is progressing. Leave me a comment below.
by Zach Smith | Jul 7, 2019 | Care, Elms, Water Elm
I potted up this Water-elm that we’d collected last July back in February. It’s a pretty cool little twin-trunk, featuring dead wood on both trunks as well as a “flying root” on the right side. You wouldn’t ordinarily want a root like that, but I thought it added to the character of the tree rather than detracting from it. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was going to be proven right.
I’ve been planning for a while to do some additional carving on the dead wood, then to treat everything with lime sulfur. That was one of the chores I tended to on this long weekend. In this photo you can see most of the result. This tree is definitely getting better.
How’s this for a surprise! I was digging around at the base of the right-hand trunk, and discovered that there was a hollow filled with mud that I hadn’t managed to clean out last summer when the tree first came home. The more I dug, the farther I went – until I came out the back! It’s a see-through trunk. So I cleaned it up and then treated everything with lime sulfur. And I think the flying root is now indispensable to the character of this bonsai. The tree just wouldn’t be the same without it.
Here’s a shot from the back. I think this Water-elm bonsai says a lot in a small package. Do you agree?
by Zach Smith | Jun 17, 2019 | Care, Elms, Pruning, Styling, Water Elm, Wiring
Subject: Water-elm Date: 8/4/18 Stage: Big stick in pot Input: Lift, chop, wash, trim, dust, pot, pray Issues: None, if it lives
Date: 3/17/19 Stage: Big stick with twiggy shoots Input: Select branches, wire and position branches, remove branches that serve no purpose, put into bonsai pot (it’s not too soon, is it?) Issues: Leader is so slight it’s hardly as thick as the wire wrapped around it; are we too soon in the shallow pot?
Date: 5/27/19 Stage: Looking more bonsai-like, but how many years is this going to take? Input: Unwiring and rewiring, trim what needs trimming, leave alone what doesn’t need trimming Issues: Though the tree is in the right spot in the pot, the left-hand side is heavy and it throws off the tree’s balance.
Date: 6/17/19 Stage: Mixed bag of well-developed branches with some ramification and undeveloped branches that need to run; apex in running-wild phase to get thicker Input: unwiring and rewiring, trimming the left-hand branches to reduce heaviness on that side Issues: More apical growth needed, number one right-hand branch needs to catch up to the rest of the tree
In the last photo for today, you can see how I’ve shifted the balance of the tree rightward. You can’t always make this sort of correction when you want to; that’s where patience pays off. The final step in getting the balance of this tree right is going to be accomplished once the lowest right-hand branch fills out. It’s one of those subtle things that will often make your bonsai really stand out. Let me know what you think.
