Nov 29 2012

Parent and Layer Update

An update on the parent plant and the layer I took on a Cork Bark Chinese Elm in 2011.

This is the parent now achieved from a stump in a year. A few bits need to be cut back to balance out the growth but not bad for a year. Might even get a suitable instead of this Sh1te one 🙂

This was it in September 2011

And this is the layer a year on.

Post about the layering

Aug 22 2012

Elm Stump

I air layered the top off this cork bark elm back in May 2011 and it was removed in August 2011.

This is what I wanted to do with the stump.

This is the new buds appearing in September 2011

This is what it looks like now in just under a year.

And after another trim.

Jul 7 2012

Elm Update

This is the post about some work carried out on a shohin Cork Bark Elm

This is the Elm now after 3 weeks growth.

May 21 2012

Cork Bark Forest Case Study Updated

I did a little trimming on this Cork Bark Elm Forest on Saturday. Full selection of photos can be seen under the Case Studies Tab, or just click the photo below.

May 13 2012

The Other Elm

This is the other Shohin Cork Bark Elm that I’ve been working on. Strong growth this Spring and it was time for a trim back to produce further ramification on the right parts of the tree.

The moss is a real pain in the Arse on this one!

This is another little Chinese Elm that was salvaged for a few quid from a local store. I really am a sucker for a sad case. It’s now a lot smaller that it started out and it needed another trim.

May 12 2012

Tale of Two Leaders

I got this little Shohin Corkbark Elm from Willowbog Bonsai last year. It was repotted this Spring and after a slug attack on the new emerging shoots, it’s eventually got around to growing. It’s been a strange yellow colour and has produced some variegated leaves.

At the BSA Exhibition in March I watched Peter Warren working on a very similar tree during a demo. I thought it would be hard to make any real changes to it, but he proved me wrong. As you can see in this photo taken during the Winter, the tree has two leaders within the canopy. Peter explained that this was disturbing to the eye. As you follow the movement of the trunk line and then reach the two leaders, you don’t know which way to go in following the flow of the tree. [ Not his exact words, he said it much more eloquently than me :-)] Peter removed part of one of the leaders and adjusted a few other branches making a tree with far less disturbing structure that was more pleasing to the eye.

As I had repotted the tree, I didn’t want to attempt this until it was clearly recovered. The other day I decided it was time to follow Peter’s advice on that similar tree and reduce the second leader. This was the result.

It will look a little sparse for a few months but will fill in quickly resulting in a better tree. The tree has to take a step back to progress forward.

I love moments like this where you think you are happy with a tree and then someone waltzes in and with one snip shows you a better option. I have a far idea that Peter might be doing that a lot when he stays with me in October. Can’t wait.

Feb 28 2012

A Tale of Two Shohin

I decided it was time to repot the little Cork Bark Elm I got last year. Problem was, I wanted to plant it into a pot already occupied by another one. I decided to transfer the Original Elm into a different pot and then do a proper repot on the new one. Here’s the photos.

The new Elm in a plastic pot.

Plenty of roots to sort out.

The original Elm in the pot I want.

This is it moved into a different pot.

New Elm into the Walsall Pot. Slightly more trunk line uncovered.

and side by side with a golf ball for scale.

Feb 17 2012

Cork Bark Elm Winter Image

I eventually got around to taking a few snaps of this Cork Bark Elm yesterday.

I’m trying to keep a decent record of it through the years to capture how the ramification improves.

It’s field grown tree and this is now it’s 3rd year in a pot from collection.

Grown from a cutting, it’s taken 11 years to get it to this point.

Dec 7 2011

Quick Removal of Leaves Method

Instead of lifting all my Cork Bark Elms out of the Poly Tunnel for leaf removal, I opted for the fast method. As they have lived a sheltered life, they have kept their leaves to the point were they are brown. Wind would have sorted this long ago outside on the bench. I opted for the garden hose method.

and there you go, it’ll still need to do a clear up to keep the place clean and tidy but it saved me a bit of time.

Dec 6 2011

Shohin Corkbark Elm

This is the little Corkie that I got back in February. It was repotted and then cut back hard to try and improve the ramification in a more organised way. Here are the photos during the year showing it’s progress.

February

Here’s a close up of the offending moss.