How do I start a Siberian Elm from the ground?

[Iryn3]

I am trying to get into bonsai but have almost no experience. My parents house has a small Siberian Elm which is about 9 years old, but hasn’t grown due to deer eating the top off of it after it was first planted. I want to try taking it out of the ground and making a bonsai with it, but I don’t know when I should do this. It’s currently June so should I wait until next spring to pull it out and start any work on it or is it ok to pull it out now and just limit the pruning til it’s been in a pot for a while? If anyone has anything to help me get started that would be great, thanks!

 

[rockm]

I am trying to get into bonsai but have almost no experience. My parents house has a small Siberian Elm which is about 9 years old, but hasn’t grown due to deer eating the top off of it after it was first planted. I want to try taking it out of the ground and making a bonsai with it, but I don’t know when I should do this. It’s currently June so should I wait until next spring to pull it out and start any work on it or is it ok to pull it out now and just limit the pruning til it’s been in a pot for a while? If anyone has anything to help me get started that would be great, thanks!
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Next spring before leaf buds open will be the best time to collect it.

It’s an elm. Elms are extremely tough and can take quite a bit. First off you don’t need a big rootball or even a rootball. I have collected elms simply by sawing around the root spread in the ground about a foot out from the trunk. I use a battery powered reciprocating saw (from Home Depot). After sawing all the roots around and under the tree, I Then pull the tree out of the ground. I saw off the tops too if needed. It doesn’t look like yours needs that. But thin out large and tangled branching in the canopy and seal large cuts (DO NOT SEAL CUTS ON THE ROOTS)

I bareroot all field soil at collection time as well. Leaving field soil on the roots complicated recovery. I replant in a container that is about an inch or less larger that the root mass (fwiw the larger the soil volume used the wetter the soil in the container will stay which is not a good thing. New roots don’t like soggy soil).

Use regular bonsai soil not potting soil ground soil or anything like that. You want soil that drains well

Put the tree in a place that has open shade and off the ground about two feet at least. Keep the tree out of frost/freezing in early spring. Bring it inside if those threaten. Monitor soil moisture water only as need. Don’t worry about rain. If you’re using well draining soil it’s not at issue
You should see leaves emerge in a month or so.
Good luck. That’s a nice candidate for bonsai

FWIW if you get impatient and dig it now it will likely die. Stay patient would be a shame to kill it for no reason

 

[Shibui]

Better time of year will depend where you are in the world. As a guide, most deciduous seem to survive transplant better when moved in the weeks before the leaves open but actual timing for that will depend on how far north or south you are and also varies with which side of any continent.
Elms are so tough some can be transplanted during the growing season but not all survive that. Better to be patient if possible.

My experience is similar to above. No need to wash roots clean but shake or rake out most of the field soil when transplanting as garden/field soil causes problems in pots.
Elms are very resilient so roots can be shortened substantially. Remember that you'll eventually need to get the tree into a bonsai pot so long roots and deep roots are not good and will eventually have to be removed. Best time to do that appears to be at initial transplant.

Not sure what structure is under all those leaves but looks to me like the deer have done you a favour.

 

[RoadManDenDron]

As this appears to be the one of its kind available to you

And has good bark and is obviously a tree you want to have

I suggest working on the structure while it's in the ground to take advantage of all the roots it currently has to power growth

Maybe even chop and grow some taper into the trunk

This could take a couple of years.

During this time I would encourage you to practice digging and aftercare on material you are not as concerned about to gain experience of what is involved