My Elm What directions to take (with photos)

[Gncarv]

Hellow all.
First off all im from Portugal so sorry for my English.

I was given a Chinese Elm Has a gift, because i always liked Bonsai (since Karate Kid) Lol
And i want to take the best care off it.
I am reading all i can get my hands on but i still didnt decide where to go with my bonsai.
Can you give me a help on this?
Tks ppl

Other thing there are new leafs bursting everywhere eaven on the main stem what do i do with them?

~
Tks all the ppl for the help

 

[Alain]

Hi there!

O seu inglês e muito bom.

Ok otherwise with your tree and due to the huge S shape I think you are stuck with and informal upright so in this case I will just try to wire the branches and develop the leaves in order to get nice horizontal (or dipping down) pads and a triangular apex.
something like that...
(no mine, found on the web, hope there is no copyright conflict)

 

[M. Frary]

Is it being kept outdoors? It should be. The buds that grow out of the main trunk can be rubbed off as they appear or left to grow into new branches. Elms are one of the easiest trees if not the easiest tree to use for bonsai culture.

 

[Gncarv]

yes its outdors At the balcony
Ok my doubt is with the branches one off them is preaty out off line one at the right i think is hard to see in the photos.
do i cut it off or should i try to pull it with wires to the side?
Tks

 

[sorce]

I would air layer the apex right above the chop.

That looks to be good start to a nice natural elm.

Practice and learn on the rest of it. Cuttings, wiring, etc.

Sorce

 

[peterbone]

You could air layer it and get 2 or maybe 3 smaller trees out of it, all with a more natural shape and better trunk proportions. I did this recently with an S-curve Elm following the example below. Your lower branch makes a good new leader.

http://adamaskwhy.com/2013/01/22/s-curve-elms/

 

[Alain]

Ok my doubt is with the branches one off them is preaty out off line one at the right i think is hard to see in the photos.
do i cut it off or should i try to pull it with wires to the side?
Tks

You are speaking of the 2nd branch from the bottom on the right?
Yes this one seems pretty off direction.
The problem if you cut it is that you also have to cut the opposite one on the left otherwise your tree will be unbalanced. And if you cut both then you end up with a large portion of the tree with nothing on it.
i would rather try to make this branch back to horizontal (shorten it a little may be). Or all the other ones taking a down slope.
I would also try to do something with the 90 degrees elbow on the top right branch.

 

[Alain]

You could air layer it and get 2 or maybe 3 smaller trees out of it, all with a more natural shape and better trunk proportions. I did this recently with an S-curve Elm following the example below. Your lower branch makes a good new leader.

http://adamaskwhy.com/2013/01/22/s-curve-elms/

Nice idea.
I thought of that too but may be he doesn't want to modify his tree that drastically...

 

[M. Frary]

I didn't want to say it earlier because you might like the tree just as it is. First bonsai and would like to keep it as is to show where you started.
If you want to change and make it look older and more powerful cut it off at just above the first branch just before the buds open in spring. It will explode with growth all over.

 

[Gncarv]

Tks ppl been browsing adamhaskwhy.com and I like the tips that he gives for the s curve bonsai.. I'm really tempted to do that.. The best time of the year is February? I'm tempted to cut near the first branch and do something like a cascade or so..
Tks for the help

 

[M. Frary]

Tks ppl been browsing adamhaskwhy.com and I like the tips that he gives for the s curve bonsai.. I'm really tempted to do that.. The best time of the year is February? I'm tempted to cut near the first branch and do something like a cascade or so..
Tks for the help

Then you read the tip about root cuttings from Adam?

 

[Alain]

Tks ppl been browsing adamhaskwhy.com and I like the tips that he gives for the s curve bonsai.. I'm really tempted to do that.. The best time of the year is February? I'm tempted to cut near the first branch and do something like a cascade or so..
Tks for the help

If you are tempted to cut your tree then may be you could consider to do one or more air-layering before like that you will end up not with 1 but several trees!

 

[Gncarv]

im tempted that is true.
But it was a gift and the person o gave it to me probably will be sad and dont understand.
But atleast i learned somme things with it.
Tks ppl