Newbie + Chinese Elm

shagorino

Hello
About 2 weeks ago I bought my first chinese elm. It will be my first attempt at styling a tree. I have been reading a lot on this forum and I bought the Sunset bonai book and read it through a few times but I still have cold feet. I really like this little tree and dont want to screw it up. I mainly just want to get some opinions and see if I am headed in the right direction. In the picture I attached the top left is the front, top right is the left side, bottom left is back and bottom right is the right side. So far the only things I am pretty sure on are that I found the front and that the highest branch on the right side will need to be wired up as the new leader. I was planning on waiting until the end of winter/early spring to make any changes, at least I believe that is the proper time to do so. Please help a newbie out

Attached Images

blend.jpg (55.2 KB, 133 views)

Advertisement

imyerhukleberry

I was trying to learn to snow ski when I was a boy. An old man gave me some good advice. He said, "If you don't fall, then you are not learning." *L* I suppose some lessons were harder than others...

spoonman

my first real styling took me 3 weeks to decide what to do. when i style a tree it usually takes me a couple weks to decide what to do with it. i look on allt he pics of this site for inspiration. just go for it, chinese elms are so hard to kill.

__________________
"Little laurel trees, your roots can find
No mountain, yet your leaves extend
Beyond your own world into mine
Perennial wands, unfolding in my thought
The budding evergreen of time."
-Kathleen Raine, The Trees in Tubs

TreeBay

It would be helpful to photograph it from a lower perspective.

Please refer to pictures in the ***MUSEUM***


Regards,

Matt

__________________

Want to be a seller on bonsaiAUCTIONS? Get authorized today!

bonsaiTALK: Over 100,005.36 Megabytes Served this Month!

jportock

I'm a newbie to bonsai as well so please take this advice with a grain of salt. Perhaps it is the perspective that is on the tree in the picture but I would cut back to just above those bottom branches and wire the branch on the left up. From what I have read these trees back bud readily and it seems to me that would be a good place to induce taper in relation to the trunk.
Unless you were attempting a literati.

Good luck,
JP

Attached Images

elm.jpg (21.7 KB, 77 views)

__________________
I'm an acorn, small and round, sitting on the cold, hard ground. Everyone walks over me, that is why I'm cracked you see. I'm a nut, I'm a nut, I'm crazy. -author unknown

jportock

I should add that I'm not sure on the timing of something like that. I also do not know if cutting back a little at a time would be better.

Regards,
JP

__________________
I'm an acorn, small and round, sitting on the cold, hard ground. Everyone walks over me, that is why I'm cracked you see. I'm a nut, I'm a nut, I'm crazy. -author unknown