Just for Mike, I thought I would add another one for the day 🙂 🙂

I was asked to trim a bonsai for a guy about 16 years ago and I took cuttings. I have no idea what it was. It was known as a Chinese Hackberry but I have yet to see a picture of one remotely similar to it. I planted a few of them in open ground for 8 years and they thrived. Now that I’ve a few of them in training at last, I’m hoping to figure out what they are.

The wood is hard and even a small tree feels heavy!!  The bark is a dark grey and the cambium layer is very thin, similar to a beech. The leaves are ovate and have a slight silver furry feel to the back of them. It’s very prone to throwing up suckers from the base. Here’s a few photos of new growth today. The tree isn’t great and I have a better one, but it’s not open yet.

Any Ideas???