Yet another elm project

[AaronThomas]

HAHAHAH! Well... just when I thought things were looking the way I was hoping they would for this project....
So I slowly started to remove the root wrap today and to my horror... the main roots on what I wanted to be the frontside of the rock really thickened up... and not so sure in a good way. Looks like poop.... LITERALLY! Think the roots on the backside laid down fairly well... just not excited about that side of the rock. There are a few more roots I need to uncover so keeping fingers crossed they look natural...(as natural as elm roots growing on a rock can look).
I ended up carving the chop to a bit more of an angle... Hope I didn't make a mistake by leaving that branch on the tree. I cut it back but the only new growth is coming from that one spot where that branch was. Still hoping for something on the downside of the tree but think I should have chopped below the branch. Thread graft in the future?

 

[Colorado]

Wow! Those roots really did beef up. I think it looks cool though, for whatever that’s worth!

I have one of these going with a JRP ... not holding my breath for a successful outcome but I’m giving it a shot! Root over rock is harder than it looks...

 

[AaronThomas]

Wow! Those roots really did beef up

Oh man did they...
I have one other elm ror project and the roots did not explode nearly as much as these did.

Thanks! They are starting to grow on me... just not what I expected I guess.
I really do enjoy the rock projects... think it’s part artistic vision in laying out the roots and picking out the right rock and tree but mostly it’s nature doing what it’s going to do!

Would love to see your project... not enough ror project pics out there!

 

[Colorado]

I’ll certainly post pics next repot - not much to see now since I just started it in Feb. I went with a slightly different technique because I situated the roots on the rock and then buried the whole thing. I have no idea if it’ll work all that well but we’ll see ?

 

[AaronThomas]

different technique

Lol did you wrap the roots?

 

[AaronThomas]

UPDATE:
So its been about 4 months from when I chopped my root over rock elm.
Was hoping to get some branches on the other side of the the chop but i'm happy with what is happening so far. Some super growth has pop up... think ill be happy with the 4 main new branches that have emerged from the top of the chop.
Had a bit of a mishap a couple of months ago where the middle branch broke at the base.... I wired it and glued it and it took. Unfortunately there is a nasty tumor looking scar that has formed at the base. (kinda gross looking actually).
Can I carve that scar at some point?
Already looking forward to next spring to put in a proper pot and trimming the new growth.

 

[JPfagus]

Wow thanks for documenting this RoR elm project. I'm only a year into my bonsai journey and seeing the progress you achieved in only 3 years is very exciting to me. I hope the tree is still doing good

 

[just.wing.it]

How about an Autumn update?

 

[AaronThomas]

Wow thanks for documenting this RoR elm project. I'm only a year into my bonsai journey and seeing the progress you achieved in only 3 years is very exciting to me. I hope the tree is still doing good

Hey there… It definitely is a wonderful journey to take! Very excited with the progression of this composition.

 

[AaronThomas]

How about an Autumn update?

Hey J.W.I
Will take some pics when I get home.
Starting to do it’s dormancy thing… This is one of my few Elms that drops all of its leaves each season.
Going to be an exciting spring for this one.
Big plans as far as repotting… Then a pretty drastic cut back to start shaping.
Can’t wait!!!!
Only thing stressing me out is that I can’t seem to find a pot to suit the tree.
Was thinking a 12” or 14” oval.... Can’t make up my mind.

 

[AaronThomas]

How about an Autumn update?

Here are a few pics of the tree today. The callus is rolling over the cut quite nicely… And there are a number of new branches that have thickened up nicely at the top of the chop.

I’m not too happy with the intended front side of the composition. The roots have thickened up in a not very attractive way. Beefy… And almost repulsive looking As you can see in the last pic.
I’m glad I took care to drape the roots on the opposite side. Very happy with the way those have formed over the rock.

 

[AlainK]

 

[AaronThomas]

Hey!!! So here's another quick update on my ROR Elm.
Well the time is finally here to repot the composition from its bucket to a more presentable pot.
Defiantly a couple of things I would have done differently but over all I'm really happy with the out come thus far...
For one thing I wish I would have planted the composition over a tile...roots were super thick and needed a ton of work. Luckily the pot I found has a nice depth to it so leaving roots a bit long was not an issue. The other thing I wish I hadn't done was epoxied wire to the bottom of the rock. I was trying to think ahead of a way to anchor the tree to the pot but with the amount of roots I didn't have an issue.. In theory a great idea but turned out to be a pain in the butt untangling roots. After all that I ended up just cutting the copper.
I know I bitched and bitched about the intended side developing a super thick root that I thought looked like crap... but now that all the tape is off and I can see the entire tree.. I think I'm digging it.
I posted pics of both sides... what do ya'll think?

 

[AaronThomas]

Now that I have done some root work and repotted my ROR elm... I have been looking at how I may start to style the tree. At first I was hoping to go for something along the lines of what Harry Harrington did in his ROR tutorial on his site. But now that years have gone by... Im thinking of something a bit fuller.... something along the lines of being broomish.
Any thoughts or suggestions on how far I should chop back down the road would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

 

[jason biggs]

maybe thread graft a branch through towards the front. it looks to me like there is no growth on the bottom part of your original chop...
This tree is sure growing vigorously - good job so far

 

[Forsoothe!]

Nice work!

 

[AaronThomas]

maybe thread graft a branch through towards the front. it looks to me like there is no growth on the bottom part of your original chop...
This tree is sure growing vigorously - good job so far

Thanks Jason... Yeah... Nothing has grown below the chop. Good idea implementing a thread graft on that side.

 

[AaronThomas]

Nice work!

Thank you!

 

[AaronThomas]

***LATE SPRING 2020 UPDATE***

Here is a quick update on my ROR Elm project.

Mid April I decided to prune back the tree... there was a ton of new growth and felt it was safe to do even though I repotted and did some major root work on February 1.
I retied two of the main roots down to the rock in mid March to try and get them a bit tighter to rocks surface... it appears to be working nicely. Will keep tied down for another season or so just for added support.

This pic was taken on April 18th right after the reduction...
I left a few branches with leaves on because I always stress about making drastic cuts... good way for me to determine that tree is still alive!


By April 26th it started pushing new buds in almost all the right places.


Two weeks from initial cuts.
Super happy with how things are looking!