Chinese Elm - what would you do?

Jur

Please help with styling of this elm chinese.
It was purchased due to it’s thick trunk. After purchase the elm was repotted in the bigger pot without disturbing the roots at the wrong time.
Actually now it is not “outstanding” – uninteresting movement (the spiral is not bonsai style ), there is no taper, branches appear from the same place on the trunk and do not reflect the movement of the trunk.
There is the small reverse taper on the second bend but it is possible to remove it. It has some nebari to work on.
So I suppose I have two choices:
1. To do trunk chop (airlayering the top part), but I shall not understand, where is better and what I shall receive.
2. The advice that I have received at a local forum – to cut off all the branches and to choose from new appeared. But it will not solve a problem with a taper.
What would you suggest to do?
Height - 35 sm, diameter of a trunk at the basis 3,5 cm.

Attached Images

	ulm-ch-_01_1.jpg (37.6 KB, 46 views)
	ulm-ch-_02.jpg (33.4 KB, 46 views)
	ulm-ch-_03.jpg (45.2 KB, 33 views)

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weeijk

Hi Jur,

I agree with you, about the reverse taper and your idea of airlayering.
I would first airlayer at the redline, where I would remove the first 2 branches.
How you want to airlayer is up to you, there are 2 ways. The ringway or the tourniquet way. Type in airlayer in search and lots of treads will appear.

After you've cut of this part, 1 branch is left to let the bottom part recover.
Then, 1 or 2 years later, when a lot of new branches have appeared, I would cut again at the blue line. Then you will be left with a nice shohin, which you can style as a broom.

Hope it'll work and that you'll keep us posted,

cheers Wessel

Attached Images

ulm-ch-_01_1.jpg (47.1 KB, 40 views)

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