JoeR
Masterpiece
Nice trunk, you need to take some branches back more though and reduce the over all number of current branches.
Ulmus parvifolia 'Seiju'
- Thread starter AlainK
- Start date
Mike Corazzi
Masterpiece
I have 3 new ones in a shallow pot like an orchard. First experience with Seiju. Not sure I'm gonna like it.
I've been picking new buds out of the crotches of the limbs for a couple days. The smaller twigs seem to have died and gotten dry and snappish for no apparent reason as it isn't uniform with all 3 of the trees.
Guess I'll have to see if I can live with em.
The catlin elm is seemingly thriving. Not sure about these Seijus.
I've been picking new buds out of the crotches of the limbs for a couple days. The smaller twigs seem to have died and gotten dry and snappish for no apparent reason as it isn't uniform with all 3 of the trees.
Guess I'll have to see if I can live with em.
The catlin elm is seemingly thriving. Not sure about these Seijus.
It was a beautiful tree before, and I'm sure it will be again. But wow...I could have never summoned the courage to chop it back like that. I guess I have that newbie syndrome of being too timid and conservative.I have had this one for a bit less than a decade
and last fall, I decided that I will start over with it. View attachment 228324
And I have two smaller air layers from it. View attachment 228326 View attachment 228325
Nice old bark, small leaves. Ought to make nice bonsai, but ...
0soyoung
Imperial Masterpiece
It became what it was largely because of my lack of courage long ago (8 yrs or so, I forget). I thought it looked good from this side and the opposite, but both had the fundamental problem of "a branch poking into your face". No other view was worth a damn. I learned about a number of design 'tricks' and a few things about working with Suiju in the process, but there was no next level for this tree. This was it. Sigh. alas ....
It is both the good and bad of bonsai. It takes a long time to get to something. Often the adventure is just a random walk and you wind up with something you never imagined or strove for. If after a while you no longer like it, if you regret certain decisions you made years ago, there are two choices: 1. get rid of it or 2. start over with it. The bad is maybe all that time. The good is that it can still be made into something. One cannot do that with a chunk of stone, a wad of clay, ...
Yes, I get what you are saying. But yeah...lot of time involved. I'm awaiting delivery of a 'small sumo' seiju from Brent at evergreen garden works, so I've been watching this thread a bit. New here, been lurking, reading threads, seeing who's who, etc. Once I get the tree (supposed to come today) will post pics and most likely be asking questions. Need to work on ramification primarily according to Brent.
Maloghurst
Chumono
Whew, what you vision for this one so far?
No vision. It's finished except for developing ramification. Will be putting in octagonal pot and calling it a day. It's a small sumo.
Will have a look at that root structure, see what might need done there. Raise the soil level. Other than that, work on ramification, as I said.
Wow. That tree is a masterpiece. Mr. Valavanis is on the next level.
Shibui
Imperial Masterpiece
Bonsai is only 'finished' when you drop it into the bin. Always need to consider improvement and possible restyling. This tree appears to only have had basic commercial pruning and probably not any real styling. It may look Ok to a beginner but you should always consider possible improvements.
Fair enough. I agree with all that. So how would you improve it?
Mike Hennigan
Chumono
II have to admit the “drop it in a pot and call it a day” comment did make me chuckle ?. Like @Shibui said, the tree is definitely not “finished”. It’s a fantastic tree, but there are still some structural pruning decisions to be made and it could use some wire. There are some long straight pieces with no ramification or taper you have to decide what to do with. These elms grow like crazy and you’ll have to be really on top of refinement pruning to make sure you don’t have more then two shoots emerging from a node. They can very easily throw multiple shoots out of a node, creating a knuckle of reverse taper (like an ugly bulge).
Last edited:
coh
Imperial Masterpiece
Ha! I was looking at that elm and talking to Brent about it, but never pulled the trigger. Saw that it had sold, glad that someone on the forum grabbed it.
Will be interested to see how it develops.
Maloghurst
Chumono
I think most people would call this tree a pre-bonsai stock.
First, this tree is not a sumo and probably could never become one. Sumo style bonsai are about as wide as they are tall.
So I would cut back and redefine the branching to be closer and denser to the trunk. Especially if you want a powerful image similar to a sumo. Right now it looks like an oak style but the ramification needs to start much closer to the trunk.
Hard to say where the best front is etc without seeing it in person but if your first pic is the front then maybe something like this. Broom style.
If you just want to keep as is and develop ramification then you would still need to cut back your top branding closer to trunk and develop taper and secondary branching close in.
Well, I am fairly new, so with regards to calling it a 'small sumo', I was merely quoting the seller, who it appears is a highly respected individual on this forum, and in the bonsai community. I make no claims to being a bonsai style expert, or any other type of expert in the field of bonsai.
I appreciate your input, and especially appreciate your drawing diagram. It is helpful, and I'll take all the help I can get. I'm the type of guy that when someone says..."jeez dude, what do you want me to do, draw you a fucking picture??? " I politely say, "yes, please." My personality type is more of a "preserver/maintainer", and less of a "creator/artist". So I definitely will take all constructive suggestions into consideration. Thanks.
The picture you put up with the diagram, I believe that to be the front IMO. Thanks
coh
Imperial Masterpiece
I was actually thinking (if I purchased that elm) that I'd maintain roughly the current height but refine/adjust the canopy. What held me back from purchasing was I couldn't get a good
feel for the trunk structure from the photos on Brent's site. I think I made a virt of what I was thinking, if I have it somewhere would you want me to post it?
feel for the trunk structure from the photos on Brent's site. I think I made a virt of what I was thinking, if I have it somewhere would you want me to post it?
