I collected this unique water-elm, Planera aquatica, last August. Well, it’s just a phenomenal tree! It pushed a few buds in the fall, but then the season caught up with it and it stopped growing. I had spotted some nice roots extending across one of the pot’s drain holes, so I was very confident the tree was going to make it. Here’s a shot from April of this year, and you can see the new shoots just getting started.

Well, a month works wonders for a strong tree. This past weekend it was time to do the initial styling, before the new shoots got too stiff to bend. In order to memorialize the work, I shot a video (I’m not the best videographer in the world, mind you). It’s only 25 minutes in length, but I think you might find it instructive. If you’ve worked much with deciduous material, especially collected trees, the styling path you take tends to be the same from bare trunk to finished bonsai. Here’s the first step of the process for this tree.

Just click on the play button below. I hope you enjoy the show.