I’m happy to report that the heat index today was only 100°. The other day they said fall has arrived. I’m thinking somebody’s wrong about this.

Nevertheless, it is water-elm collecting season and here are a few specimens that came home today:

water-elm9-24-16-1I really love the twin-trunk specimens I find from time to time, and this one is no exception. The trunk base is 2″ and it’s 14″ to the chop. The radial roots are terrific. The bark is ready to exfoliate either this fall or next spring. I’m guessing it’s about 50-60 years old.

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This one has an interesting trunk, especially considering that a beaver gnawed off the top. This part of the trunk can be taken off to make the tapering transition look better – or it can be left as a feature. Good roots also. Trunk base is 1.5″ and it’s 10″ to the chop. Age about 30 years.

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Here’s a stout little specimen, with a trunk base of 2″ and chopped at 11″. Nice trunk movement and taper. The roots will need some work, but the trunk character made this one worth bringing home. Age about 45-50 years.

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Occasionally I’ll run across a water-elm that screams literati. This one made that noise as we walked by, so home it came. The base is 1.75″ and it’s 23″ to the chop. I went ahead and put it into this Paul Katich pot, which I think complements the tree very well. The age of the specimen is about 45-50 years.

I’ll know in a couple of weeks if these trees survived collecting. The last group had a 90% survival rate, so I’ve got high hopes.

Water-elm, Planera aquatica, is a great species to work with. If you’re an elm bonsai aficionado, you should have a water-elm in your collection. It’s a monotypic species, meaning it’s the only one of its kind. Pretty neat feature.