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bonsaiTALK Master Chief
Join Date: Mar-2004
Country: England
Posts: 1,477
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New Chinese Elm
Hi all,
Today I took receipt of my new Chinese Elm that I got as a gift for toiling in my sisters bathroom redecorating it. There are a lot of imperfections on it, but it has a lot of character too and so thought I'd take the time to point out the flaws and problems for newer members to see.
The first picture shows the tree from the front. It stands 52cm tall, and is quite a chunky fellow, with the root flare/base being wider than my hand. Its quite gnarly and the bark looks quite old against the green lichen that's grown on it.
Now the first thing to note is the soil. You can see its got a lot of fine organic matter in it that has compacted over time. This doesn't allow for fast drainage. The soil stays too wet for too long. As roots need water AND air, they start to suffocate and eventually die and rot. Subsequently, I pulled a few big roots out that were completely rotten.
Another thing to point out here is that the tree is sitting on a few big clumps of clay. This is done by the exporter/grower so that the tree does not dry out during transportation from the far east, as trees like this are grown on mass in places like Korea, China, Taiwan etc, etc. The problem with this, is again keeping the roots too wet for too long. I will need to repot this tree in the Spring and completely wash all the clay and poor quality soil off the root mass, replacing it with a fast draining soil.
The tree also has some reverse taper which will need correcting through either carving or encouraging the lower portion of the tree to fatten. There is also a big chop scar on the top, near to the new leader. This will need to be carved down about 5mm from its present location, and the bark cut open to encourage it to heal over. In the Spring this tree will be repotted and placed into a much bigger growing container to quickly develop some new heavy branches. Until then its being kept out of the rain, purely to allow the soil to dry out more and control the watering.
Any comments or questions welcomed.
All the best,
Aaron
__________________
Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. - Muriel Strode
Vulpes pilum mutat, non mores!
"A fox may change its skin but never its character"
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