Advice for Cork Bark Shohin-in-Training (ulmus parvifolia)

[LeftHandLuke]

I'm inexperienced with shohin-sized trees and could use some advice on what this guy needs in the way of trimming and/or wiring to set him up for next season. I get the feeling that there are some obvious "Bonsai 101" techniques that I'm overlooking but haven't been able to see the forest for the trees, so to speak. Hopefully you can tell what direction I'm headed from the pics. Sorry for not including any size references... It's about seven inches from bench to highest branch. Winter pics were taken this morning. Autumn pic was taken Oct. 18. I let him grow freely last summer and gave him a haircut about halfway through. Now with the branches bare, is there anything that needs addressed? There's a bit of a reverse-taper blob at the top of the trunk where all the branches originate. I think that's inevitable and would be hidden by the canopy. Should the branches be thinned out and/or cropped back? Any other observations? Thanks in advance.

 

[Hack Yeah!]

More of a bump here than actual advice, you'll need to reduce several if not most of those branches... not necessarily the ones I marked but some need to go

Nice start, good luck

 

[LeftHandLuke]

bump

Thanks for the bump and the advice! I see where you're headed with that idea. Totally down with eliminating those that aren't working (that aren't part of the design), but wondering if I should let the others grow freely to thicken up -- while also helping build the base -- or trim them back to a certain degree in order to set the course for where it will be in a season or two. Also, how important is bifurcation at this stage? I have (somewhat) of a better feel for that in larger bonsai, but maybe not so much for this little guy.

 

[LeftHandLuke]

Any chance I can delete a thread that is embarrassingly bereft of responses?

 

[caffeinated]

Don't know anything about deleting, but sometimes good questions and posts just fall through the cracks. I think you have a great opportunity to pick a new leader to create a nice trunkline with great taper and movement, then cut back a bunch of those extraneous branches and develop the trunk fully, unless you're going for somewhat of a wild broom style, which could be interesting too.

 

[John P.]

Don’t do that! It’s a nice tree that can be a really good one.

You don't have to settle for the reverse taper blob.

Depending on what you want from it, I would try to either identify two primary branches and get rid of the rest, or identify a pleasing set of branches for a broom style.

I don’t recall whose trees these are —maybe @BobbyLane ? — but you can see how some carving out of “the blob” can turn the blob issue into something pleasing:



I think you could do something similar with yours.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

There's a bit of a reverse-taper blob at the top of the trunk where all the branches originate.

This will be your biggest challenge. As an informal upright, you should have a clear trunk line with a defined apex... and then all the branches complement and fill in the design. Instead, right now you have a trunk that ends in a ball of branches - more like a topiary than a bonsai. Worse yet, the longer you keep the ball of branches, the more swelling you will get at the trunk where all the branches originate, and the longer it will take to resolve down the road.

Because it is an elm, it is very easy to fix. I would simply choose your trunk line from one of the branches, and remove ALL the others. Then let the single branch you selected run free for a season while wiring all the new growth that pops along the trunk so that it doesn't grow wild. By this time next year you should be well on your way, though it will take a number of years for the inverse taper to resolve itself - and will need to be driven by overall thickening of the tree's trunk. However with balanced branching, the thickening you get on the trunk will also be balanced, so the problem will be resolving itself over time, instead of worsening.

 

[LeftHandLuke]

I would simply choose your trunk line from one of the branches, and remove ALL the others.

Mind blown. The truth was staring me in the face the whole time. Here are pics of where I landed. I left some sacs in place that will hopefully help fill in some of the taper. Thank you!

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Be bold... keep going. Remove at least the bottom two branches. Then let the top grow freely. You want the tree to know where the trunk is Because this is an elm, you will get back-budding everywhere, from which to develop your new branches. You won't kill your tree

 

[BobbyLane]

How did you get on with this one?

 

[LeftHandLuke]

This one is doing well. Will post an updated pic when I get a moment. @Bonsai Nut 's advice rang true. I'm getting to know elms much better and appreciating that vigor much more. Thanks for asking.