Chinese Elm Pruning

AdamS

Hi all. Being extremely new still to the wonderful world of bonsai, I have ran into a bit of trouble when it comes to pruning. My chinese elm is growing very fast and has literally hundreds of new shoots and branches appearing all the time. Problem is I am unsure of when and how the best way to prune it is. Do I just cut off new shoots as soon as they get to the length that I want them or do I leave them outgrow the tree and then cut them back so they will be thicker? Also I notice when looking at other pics of bonsai that virtually all branches are either facing upwards or away from the branch they are growing off. Now with mine it has a lot of new branches growing back towards the trunkline rather than away from it. Do I just cut these off at the base as soon as they appear or is there another way to get around this?
Please help as my tree is beginning to look a little shabby !!!!
Regards
Adam

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Treebeard

Hi Adam,

I'll try to answer one of your questions...

The twigs and branches growing back towards the trunk should generally be removed, as should any that cross over each other. Basically, anything that 'looks' wrong probably is.

I will leave your other questions to other members better qualified to answer them...

Regards,

TB

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David Chauvin

Adam,

If you subscribe to Bonsai Today Online (was The Bonsai Enthusiast) there is a terrific article on pruning chinese elm. (Chinese Elm Branch Formation
and Ramification by Andy Rutledge)

It's the best I've seen on this species, with lots of illustrations. It's in the archive section.

David

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Tony

If it literally has hundreds of new shoots and branches appearing all the time, most will probably need to be pruned off completely. Otherwise your tree will end up looking like a bush. What you want to do is get a picture in your mind, or better yet draw a sketch of what you want the tree to look like and what you are trying to accomplish. Basically remove branches that can't be used in your design.

Branches that are growing from the wrong place will need to be cut off. Branches that are growing from the right place but in the wrong direction will either need to be wired into place or pruned back and regrown using the clip and grow method. [it's usually a combination of both] I'm not quite sure what stage of development your tree is at. If you are trying to get a branch to ramify or fork into two branches then let it extend to 5-6 leaves beyond the point you intend to prune [or more if you are trying to thicken the branch] then prune it back to where you want the new branches to start. If you want it to fork, always leave at least two leaves on the branch, you'll get new branches from the two leaf nodes. If you are only changing direction of the existing branch then you can cut it back to one leaf. In that case you'll get one new branch to extend from the leaf node.

Tony

AdamS

Cheers for the replies. Yer looking like a bush was something I was afraid of because it is filling out a little bit too much in some areas. Ill have a good look at it today and see if I can visulise what I want and dont want and then have a go at pruning it. Wish me luck peeps!!!
Regards
Adam

pdbbonsai

Your questions reminded me of a thread from a while back. You may have seen this already but I find it is about as easy a read you can find pertaining to pruning the Ulmus.

The photos are detailed as well.

Link to ripsgreentree thread is HERE

Hope it helps

Paul

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