sunday fun – cedar elms and the monster crape
Sneak Peek
Fall is a good time to do some pruning and wiring on your deciduous trees. I worked on a couple of Cedar elms today. Then there’s that monster Crape myrtle.
Sunday Fun – Cedar Elms and the Monster Crape
I’ve been rebuilding this Cedar elm that I collected a couple of years ago, since it didn’t want to bud low enough on the trunk for me. This photo is from about a month ago, when I chopped the leader back.
The growth has been good, so why not go ahead and do some styling on it?
With plenty of branches to choose from, it wasn’t hard to come up with this basic design. I don’t expect a lot of growth from this tree between now and dormancy, but next year is going to be an important one in terms of finishing out this tree. I even expect to be able to pot in sometime around June or July. Stay tuned for more.
I’ve posted my work on this Cedar elm since I first started styling it back in 2018. It’s a somewhat odd tree, what with that low branch, but I figured why not do something a little different?
The only problem with this is, as time has gone on I’ve become less and less enamored with that low branch. No doubt it makes for a different style tree, but whenever you break a rule you have to get back more than you give up. I don’t think this one has paid off.
There. Odd low branch is gone. The tree is looking better, but … there’s still something not quite right.
Proportions. I write often about maintaining correct proportions in our bonsai. In the before photo above, the spread of the crown of the tree is out of proportion with the trunk thickness and height. This tree has only a slight taper to it, so in order to trick the brain into thinking it’s a bigger tree than what it is, the branches must be brought in. So after a quick shearing, this is now a much more presentable bonsai.
One last photo for today, the monster Crape myrtle I recently lifted. You can see the shoots just starting to extend. I’m growing pretty confident this one is going to make it.
Let me know what you think about today’s Cedar elm work.
Mr. Smith, with dormancy not far away, do you expect a full flush of new foliage before winter on the cedar elm? Second, would fall be a good time to prune privet which only somewhat drop leaves in the winter? I like the cedar elm. Thank you.
No, Eli, the cedar elm won’t put on but a limited bit of growth at this time. We’re definitely heading into fall, I’m seeing early color here. As for privet, I think you could do some limited pruning now if you’re in the South, but I’d wait till spring if farther north.