A Small Grouping Of Chinese Elms

Hank Miller

a small grouping I have had for a few years -in the Spring

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eg8c.jpg (45.8 KB, 210 views)

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DavidN

Very nice. Think would look even better in a coloured glazed pot. Possibly a blue or light blue colour.

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TreeBay

Hi Hank,

I like the fact that you have trunks of different diameters and interesting shapes here.

I think your group can be improved by opening up the internal structure of the branches to make them appear more developed. Currently it is arranged in large pads. One thing I like to do with elms during the late spring and early summer is defoliate then prune and thin. It is much easier to do this when the tree is out of leaf, and the prior appearance will be fresh in your mind.

You may not be setting out to create a saikei (tray landscape) but you might also consider the addition of a few interesting, rugged stones to suggest the structure of the rocky earth, or moss for a grassy meadow.

There are some interesting photos at
http://www.venuscomm.com/Penjingcho...mplephotos.html
If you look in particular at the chinese elms you will see what I mean about branch development. When you trim the buds, be sure to leave the terminal bud pointing in a direction that you want the future branch to grow.

It may not look better immediately, but within a month you will start to see improvement in the "treefulness" of your bonsai.

Regards,

Matt

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Adam

This is awesome elm group. I agree with David and think it would look better in a lighter pot.

Adam

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pdbbonsai

This is a beautiful grouping. I hasten to change the pot for the moment only because I would like to see this photographed with a light background first. Is it a dark brown? Its hard for me to tell at this point.

Then, I would be able to respond better to what, if any change to the pot I would make. The others here have great thoughts about lighter colors.
Paul

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David Yedwab

Hank: I truly like the feeing of the trunks. Matt's idea about seeing some of Zhao penjing elms is a good idea for structure of the foliage but, you've got a most important part right. Harmonious and complimentery movement in the trunks.

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Hank Miller

Thanks to everyone for their comments and suggestions. I am in somewhat of a quandry. As many of you may have gleaned I reside in South Africa. I am an American and my wife and I are planning on returning to the States next year. Up until last November I had been planning to ship many of my trees back to the States. This appears to be almost impossible under the new USDA regulations. At least I have not been able to find a way to do this.
As a result I have begun the painful process of selling off my trees. I have been trying to photograph some of them and to put them on the web. The above grouping was moved into an inexpensive local pot and pruned for the market place. Matt, you are absolutely correct in your recommendations for pruning and in many respects it is a shame that I have not done this. The photo does not do justice to this grouping.
Hank