Crazy Diamond
Omono
Yeah I also vote for layer the top and correct the inverse taper
Introducing a New Elm......say Hello Corky.....
- Thread starter just.wing.it
- Start date
Hartinez
Masterpiece
being honest here mike. I see the same thing, and Ive got to believe its constantly staring you in the face also. An air layer separating the top from the bottom is the only thing that will save this tree. That inverse taper is about as bad an example as I’ve ever seen and i dont think time will fix that. If you layer successfully I do believe though, you’ve got two pretty great chunky elms in there as MHbonsai suggested.
just.wing.it
Deadwood Head
Yeah, I do see it too....
I guess I'm a little hesitant because my last elm died after separation of the air layer, which seemed weird to me....especially the lower part dieing.
But yeah, maybe this is the year to try again.
Hartinez
Masterpiece
A couple ways to look at it I suppose. Losing the layer would totally suck and be a bit demoralizing. BUT. Let’s say the top does fail, well the root base and bottom of the tree you’ve built is also pretty dam great. If the top fails you’ve still got a great tree and could be looked at as just a big chop. And if the top layer is successful. Then you’ve got siblings and this thread and your benches just gets even better.
Tidal Bonsai
Omono
This may be a quirk of the species, because I had a similar issue on my Corticosa. The inverse taper wasn’t as pronounced as yours, but I was very happy with the results of the air layer!
Make sure there is a whole mess of new roots BEFORE separating, and prune the top AFTER separation to take pressure off of the new root system. Leave in shade for awhile and you should be good to go!
The base you have is still great as well, don’t scrap it!
Crazy Diamond
Omono
They layer very good, in japan its pretty comon layering the top of cork bark elms to make shohin and minibonsai
