Big Water-elm - Two Years

I collected this tree in Summer 2010. The first photo is from February of 2011, the next from August of 2011 and then before and after a trim and rewiring on June 17th of 2012. Trunk is 5" in diameter, final height will be 30". Comments welcome.

Zach

Good job!

Will trunk chop wounds heal over well on a water elm?

They do not heal well except in the apex or other places where you can get extra vigorous growth, but luckily the wood is very durable. I've carved a nice hollow which I will manage over time.

Zach

Thanks, just got one... did not collect it myself tho.

ZACK,, I like it very much !! great progression in 2 years.. it is going to be a nice tree.. take care john

Thank you, John!

zach, I love your pot, where did it come from? I just collected a big water elm 3 days ago in s.carolina, it was in standing water, should i place its pot in a tub of water or not? I have it in a large glazed pot that I made with just a few drainage holes ( i made if for water loving species) and a completely organic mix.
thanks

I don't know this species, but the second picture, the natural looking broom style, seems to suit this tree. Nice buttress ... and pot, too.
Todd

bucknbonsai wrote:zach, I love your pot, where did it come from? I just collected a big water elm 3 days ago in s.carolina, it was in standing water, should i place its pot in a tub of water or not? I have it in a large glazed pot that I made with just a few drainage holes ( i made if for water loving species) and a completely organic mix.
thanks

Standing water is not required. I have never grown the species in standing water, so can't comment on how it will do in captivity. They live in standing water and can survive lengthy periods of being completely submerged.

The pot is actually the first attempt by Byron Myrick to make me a custom pot for the tree. It got a hairline crack in the firing process, so I took it for a training pot. The real deal will be darker and slightly shallower.

Zach

Todd Ellis wrote:I don't know this species, but the second picture, the natural looking broom style, seems to suit this tree. Nice buttress ... and pot, too.
Todd

It's an interesting species in that I've found the so-called broom form, multi-trunk and your standard upright specimens. I know we're all thinking we need to make every deciduous tree a broom form now, but this specimen had the trunk for the traditional upright style (trident maple or beech style?). I do have some specimens that are taking broom form, and you may have seen Vaughn Banting's tree that used to be in the national collection (dead or retired due to decline, I'm not sure).

The nebari on this tree is awesome. Helps make a pretty powerful statement.

Zach

Looking good Zach. It is a great buttress and trunk and it's come a long way in just a couple of years.

I had heard that vaughn in his last few years had decided he did not like this species for bonsai, does anyone know anymore info on this? Id hate to invest a lot of time into it if they end up having a big problem down the road.

bucknbonsai wrote:I had heard that vaughn in his last few years had decided he did not like this species for bonsai, does anyone know anymore info on this? Id hate to invest a lot of time into it if they end up having a big problem down the road.

I didn't hear that, though it may be true. Vaughn had a number of them in his collection, very nice specimens. I've maintained the species myself for many years, haven't had any real issues horticulturally or styling-wise (they do produce ramification somewhat randomly, but this is only a minor issue and is sometimes beneficial); I can't really give an educated estimate of whether they will last 20 years in a collection, or less or more. I guess the way I figure it, if I get 20 years' worth of enjoyment out of my water-elms then I'll be close to 80. Neither of us may last much beyond that, but then again we might

Zach

I had one and it declined over several years. But that may be more my fault than the species.

Is now the time to be doing styling work?

BonsaiJim wrote:I had one and it declined over several years. But that may be more my fault than the species.

Is now the time to be doing styling work?

Yes, they grow best in the heat of summer.

This species requires more frequent root-pruning than most elms I've worked with. For specimens growing vigorously, you can root-prune annually. If you go longer than 2 years, you're likely to have problems. (Summer) root-pruning always prompts a vigorous flush of growth, within 2-3 weeks, in my experience.

Zach

Its not officially an elm - are they in the same family? The one I had originally was very neglected and just never really recovered.

My new one looks pretty good- not prolific so I"ll take a peek and see what I've got going on inteh pot.

Thanks for the guidance. Hope to see you someday!

BonsaiJim wrote:Its not officially an elm - are they in the same family? The one I had originally was very neglected and just never really recovered.

My new one looks pretty good- not prolific so I"ll take a peek and see what I've got going on inteh pot.

Thanks for the guidance. Hope to see you someday!

Actually, the genus is Planera. It's monotypic. I'm not smart enough to know why it has its own genus, but maybe someday I'll figure it out.

Generally within one year of collecting, provided your specimen is vigorous, you can lift the entire tree and root ball out of the pot in one intact mass (the exception being if the tree is really big, then it takes two years). I think it's because the roots grow so vigorously that you need to root-prune more frequently.

Likewise hope to see you someday as well!

Zach