by Zach Smith | Oct 20, 2018 | Care, Elms, Pruning, Styling, Water Elm, Wiring
This may be the strongest of the Water-elms I brought home this year. The shoots grew so fast that I even had to pinch a couple of them so they wouldn’t get out of hand. At 1/8″ thick at the base already, there’s no way I can delay getting some wire on this tree.
Now, you’ll notice that this tree has produced all of its recovery growth in the top third of the tree (excluding some diehard shoots that cropped up near the base – not useful for the design I have in mind). This may seem daunting, but the good news is the slender and curving trunk of this specimen makes it ideally suited to a quasi-literati form. In this case “quasi” means the tree does not strictly meet the definition of what is commonly established as the literati style. It has gentle but obvious taper, and commonly the literati style will have little to no taper. Regardless, I’m confident I can make something really nice out of this raw material.
Just to give you an idea of scale, the trunk base of this tree is 2.5″ above the root crown. It was chopped at 22″. And the nebari is awesome!
Here you can see what I mean when I say these shoots are super strong. If I don’t get wire on them now, they’ll be even stiffer in spring.
It’s always best to work your trees from the bottom up. Here I’ve wired my lowest branch. In order to make up for the fact that my first branch is very high on the tree, I’ll need to pull this branch down. That also, incidentally, will add drama to the style.
First branch done, pulled down some more, and now I tackled the second branch.
Sometimes as you work your way up the tree the design gets easier, but this is not always the case. Since this tree has so many branches in such close proximity, finding a space for each one is a bit of a challenge. And the thing is, I need just about every one of those branches!
Now I’m getting closer to the finish line. The apical branch is easy. I decided to keep an original branch that came with the tree, but it needed some movement so it got wired and shaped. Things still look a little wild, but I’m almost there.
I’ve turned the tree so it’s easier to see that branch in back that was shooting straight up. There’s a spot for it, I just had to wire and put it there.
The final step for today was to trim the branches back to what will ultimately be the tree’s silhouette. For tall, slender specimens, you must be careful not to let them grow out too far as this makes the tree look juvenile. In order to maintain the illusion of age, height and size, tall slender trees need a tight silhouette.
I may or may not slip-pot this tree soon. Root growth should continue well into November, even though we’re starting to cool off. If I do slip-pot, I’ll post a follow-up blog.
Let me know what you think of Water-elm #40. Leave me a comment below.
by Zach Smith | Oct 19, 2018 | Care, Elms, Styling, Water Elm
There is an ongoing debate in the bonsai world with regard to styling deciduous trees. It boils down to this: some artists feel that it’s not okay to style a deciduous tree in the so-called “pine tree style.” What’s the pine tree style? Well, that’s the classic bonsai shape, curving trunk and branches arranged in a spiral staircase pattern from bottom to top, with the top of the tree being pointed almost like a Christmas tree. Some pines in nature grow this way, but frankly most don’t. Regardless, the pine tree shape is anathema to many bonsai artists when used on deciduous trees.
I reject this whole line of thinking. Since most mature pines don’t meet the standard, and since most junipers are grown in the stylized pine tree style, as opposed to their natural shape, I say we can grow our deciduous trees any way we want. Bonsai, after all, is a representation of a mature tree in nature, not a tree in nature. It’s supposed to evoke a sense of a mature tree in nature. And in that regard, we find that the classic bonsai shape works very well.
A good client of mine has been looking for a nice Water-elm, and he opted for this specimen which has really awesome potential. As it is with many trees, however, you have to know where to look if you’re planning a classic shape. To be specific, you have to be able to find the best trunk line. One reason I collected this tree is that I knew exactly where that trunk line was. Can you see it?
For those of you who didn’t spot the trunk line right away, don’t worry, it gets easier the more trees you work with. The one key principle to keep in mind when studying material in order to find that perfect trunk line is this: movement and taper. (Is that two principles? Since they go hand in hand, and one without the other doesn’t work so well, I’m calling it just one.)
I’ve made it easy to see the trunk line I was planning by using green lines to follow the tree from soil to future apex. Notice that I’ve satisfied both parts of the trunk line principle, movement and taper. I can achieve this result by making two main chops, and those are shown in red. At the back of the tree is a secondary trunk, as thick as the primary trunk and straight as can be. That won’t work with the classic style, so it’s going to get chopped off. Then there’s the main trunk. While it has good taper, it’s awfully straight. I wouldn’t have any choice but to chop it back, but fortunately I have a smaller upright part-way up and I can make that second chop. Once this is done, “all” that will be left of this tree is the trunk line and a few small shoots. I’ll get more shoots, of course, once these chops are done in spring, and from those I’ll create my branch structure.
Here’s another view of the tree, and you can see that unusable trunk in back that’s got to go. Now, when you find yourself in these situations, you have to make the chops bearing in mind the potential for damaging your tree. If I don’t make this chop just right, I’ll either have a big hump in back of the tree that won’t look natural, or I’ll risk killing the trunk below it all the way to the soil. My goal is to make this chop in such a way that I get rebudding below the chop. If this happens, I’ll know that I won’t have to worry about dieback.
Here’s another view of the tree, from a different angle. I wanted you to see the trunk line and chops. Again, I get movement and taper by making these two main chops.
Now, you may be wondering about that final leg of the trunk as it makes its way to what will be the new apex of the tree. Don’t worry, I also have a smaller branch coming off this part of the trunk line that is smaller in diameter. I can cut back to it, or even chop the leader back and regrow the final apex. I’ll know better in spring when the work begins.
And finally, a quick sketch of where I think this tree can go. Notice that there are branches where both of the main chops will be made. These are critical to the design, and will allow us to achieve a classically styled Water-elm bonsai. I don’t know about you, but I won’t have any problem whatsoever with this approach.
Let me know what you think. Do you have a lot of practice finding your trunk lines? Have you gotten good at it. Leave me a comment below.
by Zach Smith | Oct 14, 2018 | Care, Elms, Pruning, Styling, Water Elm, Wiring
Here’s another case where slip-potting Water-elms as they grow out vigorously does not impact their recovery in the least. You can see the growth just kept on. So now that we’re in another good period for encouraging growth by pruning, I thought it was the perfect time to do the initial styling of this bonsai to be.
I started on the right-hand tree (this view is from the back). Working my way up from the base, you can see here that I’ve wired the two lowest branches. These are important in giving visual depth to the planting.
From the front view. I have now done the initial shaping and placement of the two low branches. The higher one came with the tree, so I merely put it where it will provide the most advantageous rearward foliage.
Here’s the right-hand tree fully wired, with branches positioned. A good start.
In this view from the rear of the planting, I’ve wired the new branch emerging from the rear of the main tree. Placing this branch and its eventual crop of foliage will be a bit of a challenge, since I have competition from the left-hand tree. But that’s a problem to be solved down the road. For now, it’s sufficient to put some shape in this branch and let it continue to grow and thicken.
Another view from the front. The main tree is starting to take shape.
Now I’m working my way up the main tree. Some of the branching that came with the tree is desirable to keep, at least for now, so I’m selecting branches, wiring and shaping with this in mind.
Now I’ve finished wiring out the main tree. The branches are placed in suitable spots. As they push new growth, it’ll become desirable to move from wiring to grow and clip. Water-elm is one of the best species for this technique.
Last but not least is the left-hand tree. Here’s a closeup showing the structure of the tree, which like the others is just terrific. And with this flush of shoots, designing the tree is really a piece of cake.
A few minutes, some wire, some shaping, and some trimming later, this tree has its initial design.
This is all that needs doing for today. Each tree has been shaped according to its natural design, and the three trees make a wonderful composition when taken as a whole. By this time next year, the tree will have at least tertiary ramification and will have reached a showable state.
Let me know what you think of today’s work. Leave me a comment below.
by Zach Smith | Oct 13, 2018 | Care, Elms, Pruning, Styling, Water Elm, Wiring
Water-elm #35 was slip-potted this past weekend. I put off styling and especially trimming because the lunar cycle wasn’t favorable to pruning for growth. It also gave me the opportunity to gauge how well the slip-potting went. I can tell you, the tree did not skip a beat.
This is an exciting clump-style bonsai to be. The trunks have just enough “wildness” in them to not look contrived. At the same time, the interplay works. About the only thing I don’t really like in this clump is the direction of the smallest trunk at the back of the tree. But that can certainly be fixed.
In this photo you can see the fix on that back trunk. A piece of 4 mm wire and a little bending, and I’ve got that trunk right where it needs to be. Now its movement is in harmony with the rest of the trunks.
I’ve also done the styling on the front fork of the main trunk, and the right-hand fork of the trunk to the right of the main trunk. The tree is starting to take shape.
Now I’ve moved over to the left-most trunk. (By the way, this trunk appears to be emerging from the main trunk but it’s not. There’s a stub behind the main trunk of an earlier trunk that died back. The small trunk is an off-shoot of that one.)
You may be wondering which trunk of a clump-style tree needs to be worked first, which second and so on. There’s really no hard and fast rule. I usually apply the certainty approach: I work on the trunk and branch-set, with the overall composition in mind, that I’m most certain about. Tougher styling issues come later on. Often the tougher styling issues become a lot easier once you get to work on what you’re most confident in.
Now I’ve moved to the back fork of the main trunk. One key principle with your main trunk is that it’s going to have branches and foliage higher than any other. The work you do has to be done with this in mind. So in working the back fork, I know this foliage will be at the very apex of the bonsai.
By far the most challenging of the trunks of this bonsai is the one pushing up through that forked trunk in front of it. It’s really snugged in close to the forked trunk – in fact, it touches it. So the challenge with it is to place the branches where they can get sunlight. It wasn’t particularly hard once I got to this point with the tree; as I said, by working from a point of most certainty to least, by the time I got here the right branch placement was relatively obvious.
Now, I do have an issue I’ll need to address in spring. That left-hand fork of the Y-shaped trunk to the right of the main trunk is very tall. In order for the foliage to survive, horticulturally speaking, it’s got to have its share of sunlight. But with other trunks crowding it, a fact that is not going to change, it must stay tall. That makes for an awkward situation, since the trunk heights in forests and multi-trunk specimens range from highest-thickest to lowest-thinnest. There’s just no way to make this happen with respect to this fork of the Y, so I have to decide whether it’s worth breaking the rule. I don’t have to decide today, but I will have to decide next year.
After a little tweaking of branch positions, this is the final shot of the day for this Water-elm bonsai. Hasn’t it come a long way since I first showed it to you?
I’m really looking forward to starting the refinement process on this bonsai in 2019. Water-elms grow fast, so I expect to have at least tertiary ramification by next summer. This is going to be an outstanding Water-elm bonsai.
Let me know what you think of this specimen. Leave me a comment below.
by Zach Smith | Sep 29, 2018 | Care, Elms, Potting, Styling, Water Elm
I posted Water-Elm #53 Video #1 on September 9th. Since that time, the trees have grown out very well, so much so that today I decided I could risk slip-potting them. There’s always a risk in doing this, but I’ve found over the years that the risk is very low. So check out the video below.
I was convinced this composition would turn out well. What I didn’t expect was just how outstanding it was going to be. This is probably the best work I’ve done all year.
Let me know what you think. I’d love any comments you might wish to share.
Here’s the result. The interplay among the trunks is just amazing. I can’t wait to really get into the detail work this coming spring.
This pot, by the way, is an exquisite handmade piece by Lary Howard.
Let me know what you think. I’d love any comments you might wish to share.
by Zach Smith | Sep 23, 2018 | Care, Elms, Pruning, Styling, Water Elm, Wiring
This is Water-elm #39, the day it came home and was potted up. I published Video #1 once the tree had started pushing new growth. It grew so rapidly that today it was time to do an initial styling.
Here’s the step by step process I used to create the initial design of this tree. I think the result is terrific. I’d love to hear any comments you may have on it.
