This cork bark has just about finished dropping leaves. Some adjustments required now I can see what’s been going on all year. Watch this space.
Tag Archives: elm
Maintenance – Elm & Birch
Two more, both a ways off being mature trees. First a cork bark elm. I normally only get Summer growth like this if they are kept in the poly tunnel.
and after
Birch
after
Elm Forest Trimming
My team of slaves busily working away. I forgot to get a before shot, probably due to the weight of the flippin thing.
Elm 2011 to 2013
This is a stump from a Cork Bark Elm after I layered the top off back in September 2011
And this was it earlier in the week.
After a little trim. Progressing nicely
Elm Forest Update
The Elm forest from recent posts has be growing vigorously since it was moved to it’s new home on the slab. This is it sitting in the poly tunnel a few days ago. Going to need a trim soon, need helpers to lift it out though 😦
Creating an Elm Forest 2011 – 2013
Thought I’d put some of the photos and video taken of this Elm group together into a video to record its progress.
Albino Bonsai!
This is the second year that this shohin Corkbark Elm has produced cream/white spring foliage! It will green up in a few weeks but it is an oddity for viewing.
This is how it should look, my other shohin Corkie.
Spring – Elms
Cork Bark Elm Layer
I potted up my Elm air layer a few days back. This was layered back in MAY 2011
Not into a nice shallow pot to help flair out the roots. A little directional wiring done and it’s mostly clip and grow from here.
Elm Forest Update
What else would you do on a Saturday night when the wives are at work 🙂 Phil and I got together to repot our jointly owned Elm Forest. The full history of this so far can be viewed HERE
Not a pot as such, we have opted for a slab. This slab was kindly donated to me via Paul Bowerbank from the Swindon Bonsai Society. It was a bit of a struggle to get it to me! The postman would have had a hernia!! Paul knew I was attending the BSA 2012 Exhibition at Willowbog Bonsai and he bribed Bob Bailey to bring it up for me. They must be good friends, I would have refused 😀 Bob did me proud and I was able to collect it at Willowbog. This is the slab with the marking of where we felt the planting would be a best fit. We needed to reduce the overall size of the slab a little to allow for a better fit and also to be more manageable. Here you can see that Phil took a angle grinder to it to get the right shape. Its’s a total coincidence that it looks like the outline of Africa!
We set about preparing it for the elms to be transferred over to it.
Here is a gallery of our steps over the 3 hours required to get it completed.
The before photo
wires added to slab
Africa!
A little mix added to help raise the centre
Phil has his own ways of doing things!
tie wires cut underneath first
up and over onto slab
weed removal
some positioning of trees required
thought given to adding cotoneasters as part of the landscape
cotoneasters selected
ready for adding
preperation of mud mix to hold otter edge in place
some lichen added for colour
little flash of red
Phil finishing mud mix
Rolf Harris, ‘Can you tell what it is yet?’
Moss akadama dust and a secret ingredient
nearly there!
TA – DA!
Mud wall going on
moss ready and waiting
messy work
done
now for the moss
bit by bit
mossed up and ready for photos
a spray of water for the moss
gruesome twosome for scale
I’m happy
take a walk in the forest
outer edge, little willow in background
moss seed heads
steep slope
hope you enjoyed our efforts
It’s a two person lift nd will take up a lot of room in the garden, but it’s a great group to see in the flesh. Photo as usual, don’t do it justice. It will be a long time before this needs moved again. It is a vigorous grower and needs a lot of attention but that’s why it has developed so fast. Not bad for field grown cuttings started 12 years ago.
Bonsai Eejit 