My favorite tree!

[Joe R]

I don't have very many trees right now but this has to be one of my favorites! It was given to me by a member of the bonsai club. She had collected it from her yard and done some work on it. I am currently in the process of bending the trunk to make it a little more interesting!

I plan on bending it back the opposite direction just below the double wrapped wire on the trunk to bring all the branches closer to level!
Let me know what you think!

 

[_#1_]

I think you sucker punched that thing right in the gut!

Looks like a fun project man.

 

[fredman]

WoW you bent that without wrapping it. Surprise it didn't brake.... Yeah man that is a whole lot of fun

 

[Joe R]

WoW you bent that without wrapping it. Surprise it didn't brake.... Yeah man that is a whole lot of fun

Yeah I never thought about wrapping it, I just used that branch bender and did it slowly! It cracked the bark just a little bit but I covered that with cut paste and it seems to be doing well! I can't wait until this sets so I can bed it the other way.

 

[Eric Group]

Hornbeam?

 

[Joe R]

Hornbeam?

I was told it is a siberian elm!

 

[aml1014]

I was told it is a siberian elm!

It is totally a siberian elm, super tough trees. They make up probably a third of my collection.

Aaron

 

[BobbyLane]

IMG_9919 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
You're almost there!

 

[ColinFraser]

Excellent

 

[DougB]

Why has no one discussed the 90 degree bend?
'

 

[ColinFraser]

Why has no one discussed the 90 degree bend?
'

I think some of us did . . . in a perhaps slightly sarcastic way.

 

[Alain]

Why has no one discussed the 90 degree bend?
'

Because it's not 90 degrees...
Let's say 70, well ok, 75...

More seriously he says he will bend it back the other way so I guess the final result is planed to be a very strong S shape tree.
Or a totally straight tree with a very strong little S shape at the bottom...

 

[Joe R]

Why has no one discussed the 90 degree bend?
'

I plan on taking the bender off the trunk a little early so the bend won't be quite so drastic and trying to work it out a little in the future. I hadn't planned on going that far but once I stepped back and looked at it I noticed it too. This is the first tree I've ever done anything more than wiring a few branches on. More of an experiment rather than something I'm trying to win awards with☺

 

[Joe R]

[QUOTE="Alain, post: 356490, member: More seriously he says he will bend it back the other way so I guess the final result is planed to be a very strong S shape tree.
Or a totally straight tree with a very strong little S shape at the bottom... [/QUOTE]
Haha definitely going for a stronger S shape tree and not the little S at the bottom!

 

[rockm]

What's the overall plan for the tree? The bend is nice, but you've got upper branches wired out straight, seems to be a contradiction...

 

[Joe R]

What's the overall plan for the tree? The bend is nice, but you've got upper branches wired out straight, seems to be a contradiction...

Well the branches were wired by the person who gave it to me. She had just wired it when it was upright before she decided to give it away. I'm pretty new to bonsai and I'm just going with the flow. I planned to finish the bends on the trunk then work on thickening out the trunk and style all the branches. I don't really have a particular style in mind and don't know what type of style this tree lends its self to, if it even does. Im not really sure what you mean about the branches or what to do about them so any help would be nice!

 

[Joe R]

It is totally a siberian elm, super tough trees. They make up probably a third of my collection.

Aaron

Got any pictures for some inspiration? These grow crazy everywhere here and I really like them!

 

[fredman]

I'm just going with the flow

That trunk is sure flowing now mate
Did you consider wrapping and wiring with thick wire, to get the flowing theme? You can get all the to and fro 'flows' in at once if you do it that way.....?

 

[rockm]

Well the branches were wired by the person who gave it to me. She had just wired it when it was upright before she decided to give it away. I'm pretty new to bonsai and I'm just going with the flow. I planned to finish the bends on the trunk then work on thickening out the trunk and style all the branches. I don't really have a particular style in mind and don't know what type of style this tree lends its self to, if it even does. Im not really sure what you mean about the branches or what to do about them so any help would be nice!

I wouldn't have bent the trunk so severely. It had a pretty nice start as an informal upright deciduous tree. Straight branches on a trunk that's bent at such a dramatic angle don't "fit" the image. The relatively straight branching indicates a tree that's grown in a less challenging environment, like a meadow or forest. The 80 degree angle suggests a much harsher environment as an origin. The tree gives visually confused signals.

One of the things that is very hard to learn when beginning bonsai is NOT to do something. Observing and getting comfortable with a new tree is a process. I used to do stuff like this too. Ruined some trees. It's a learning process. Now, when I get a tree, I wait at least six months before doing anything drastic to it...

And FWIW, you got very lucky this didn't snap off completely at the beginning of the bend. Angle irons like the one you used are rarely used on deciduous trees, since the wood in deciduous trees is pretty brittle and snaps a lot sooner than the flexible wood in conifers. They also tend to scar the relatively thinner bark of deciduous trees very very easily.

 

[Eric Group]

I was told it is a siberian elm!

I was just asking because you didn't mention the variety... The leaves looked like Hornbeam from the pic... I do not have Siberian Elm. Looks like they are pretty flexible I guess?