Keeping A Chinese Elm Small

AdamS

Hi there. Can someone please Explain the best way to keep a tree small. The chinese elm pictured here (the one on the right) I would like to try to keep at the same kind of size as it is now. Is there any particular technique to doing this or is it just a matter of keep pruning it to this size? Any help here would be much appreciated.
Regards
Adam

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elm1.jpg (33.7 KB, 141 views)

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Carl_Bergstrom

Ah...a non-trivial subject, and one that I'm only learning myself.

The basic idea is to replace current branches or branchlets with new ones, rather than just pruning to shape, so as to maintain the branch proportions.

But that's far easier said than done. How do you do it? I'm not really competent to explain here (nor could I do so without writing a whole illustrated article). Instead, let me suggest this: I've seen a number of excellent articles on the subject in various issues of Bonsai Today. Similar discussions may exist in the bonsai books as well, though I don't recall one off the top of my head.

Best Regards,
OId Mister

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Bonsainut

Adam,
you did get right to the bottom line didn't you. Elms are easy.
First off remember that the leaves are alternate. Where ever you make a cut you are going to have a branchlet come out the direction the last leaf is pointing. It if easy to fill up an area that is void in your broom by selective cutting.

Three ways all work.

1. Continuous pinching. That means when a branch grows out of bounds of your intended canopy, you snip it immediately. The draw back is that a twiggy canopy develops to the detriment of the interior of the tree.

2. Grow and clip. This is where you let the branches grow out a ways then cut back to one or two nodes (leaves). The drawback is the strong get stronger the weak get, well you know.

3. Grow and defoliate. This is where you let the new growth elongate until mid summer. Then you totally defoliate (remove leaves) on all branches. You can then decide where the most vigorous branches are and cut them shorter (back to a side branchlet). You can also find and remove twigs that aren't going in directions you like because you can SEE into the tree! Drawback is this is a ton of work on an established tree. But...

You get,


-Smaller leaves
-More orderly growth
-Better looking tree, because of the fresh leaves.

Part two, Yearly root trimming on shohin(small trees) and Easy on the nitrogen after tree is well established.

Go get em!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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good growing!

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Carp

i bought this tree from a nursury , i fell in love with it sttraight away, i pretty much keep it the way it is by letting the new branches get 2 or 3 leaves and then snip or just snip the new branch off from where it starts , seems to work for me but then i've only had the tree for 2 years ( it's 7 years old), so i guess time will tell.
regards.

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mountain ash(chinese elm, rowan(1996)- feb2003.1 copy.jpg (51.0 KB, 119 views)

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