justBonsai
Omono
I've been watching this winged elm at my local bonsai nursery for over a year. It was at a steal of a price and I kept telling myself if no one bought it the next time I visited, I'd take it. I finally stopped fussing over it and bought the tree.
Its a fairly old tree, at least 50 years or more. I'm a big fan of winged elms for their bark as well as spectacular fall display so I'm happy to have picked one up.
There are many significant structural problems with this tree and I will be rebuilding most branches from scratch. You can see some strong inverse taper in the crown as a result of most of the branches originating from the same site.
Secondly there is inverse taper at the base (currently cut off) that I will easily remedy with a grown layer this growing season.
I thinned out the crown a lot removing branches with strong vertical movement or from any overcrowded node sites. Some branches I probably will let grow freely all next season before a hard cut back.
There is still a lot more I'd like to cut back too but I am wary that the tree will not backbud on old wood. Can anyone experienced with winged elms comment on their back-budding behavior? @Zach Smith
If you look at the left secondary trunk almost all of the branches are originating from the same spot. I'd to rebuild that subtrunk completely but I am concerned that if I cut back hard I'll lose the whole thing.
Same thing with the crown. I'm confident that on younger strong branches backbudding will be easy but if I cut to the trunk will the tree produce new buds or branches out of the old bark? Looking at the main trunk you can see a strong bulge in the upper section. I'd like to remedy this by removing the incriminating branches as well reducing the wood. These trees grow fairly vigorous here so I'm not too concerned about creating large wounds that will not heal over.
All in all I just wanted to get some feedback and more advice before I proceed further. It's an old tree with lots of character but also a lot of neglect. I'd like to respect it but at the same time set it on a sustainable path for a better image in the future.
Its a fairly old tree, at least 50 years or more. I'm a big fan of winged elms for their bark as well as spectacular fall display so I'm happy to have picked one up.
There are many significant structural problems with this tree and I will be rebuilding most branches from scratch. You can see some strong inverse taper in the crown as a result of most of the branches originating from the same site.
Secondly there is inverse taper at the base (currently cut off) that I will easily remedy with a grown layer this growing season.
I thinned out the crown a lot removing branches with strong vertical movement or from any overcrowded node sites. Some branches I probably will let grow freely all next season before a hard cut back.
There is still a lot more I'd like to cut back too but I am wary that the tree will not backbud on old wood. Can anyone experienced with winged elms comment on their back-budding behavior? @Zach Smith
If you look at the left secondary trunk almost all of the branches are originating from the same spot. I'd to rebuild that subtrunk completely but I am concerned that if I cut back hard I'll lose the whole thing.
Same thing with the crown. I'm confident that on younger strong branches backbudding will be easy but if I cut to the trunk will the tree produce new buds or branches out of the old bark? Looking at the main trunk you can see a strong bulge in the upper section. I'd like to remedy this by removing the incriminating branches as well reducing the wood. These trees grow fairly vigorous here so I'm not too concerned about creating large wounds that will not heal over.
All in all I just wanted to get some feedback and more advice before I proceed further. It's an old tree with lots of character but also a lot of neglect. I'd like to respect it but at the same time set it on a sustainable path for a better image in the future.