English elm, pick me a front...

Hello all,

Earlier in the year I was lucky enough to pick up this lovely English elm. It has a very sinuous trunk, and it looks remarkably different from different angles. It is in a round pot, which is a mixed blessing when it comes to settling on a front.

It does look good from all angles, but these two seem the best to me, I wonder what the forum thinks is the best one and why.

I like the foliage (im)balance in the first photo, with the uneven heights on each side, but the trunk movement is not shown to best advantage (the tree sweeps dramatically away towards the back in the first photo)

I like the trunk movement in the second photo, the dramatic sweep is shown to full advantage. But, the foliage is not quite as good as in the first photo.

(The second view is looking at the tree from the right in the first view)

Chris.

I'm partial to the 2nd view. More interesting movement in the trunk.

Mike

Nice li'l elm. I agree with Mike.

the second of course.

I tend to agree with the boys too. I like the idea of partially hiding the trunk - exposed enough so that the movement is apparent, but concealed enough to give an air of mystery. I always think that English Elm is a tree that gives wonderful shadow and light through its foliage and I see that emerging here in your tree. (God, that was poetic!)

Just being a bit picky but I don't really like the pot - I think it's too chunky and too bland in colour. My own English Elm gives off lovely early foliage colour and I should imagine yours does too. Mine is in a light yellow fairly shallow pot and I always feel this sets off the spring colour best. I can't lay my hands on a decent pic of my own, but you can get an idea of it here:

http://www.bestofbritishbonsai.com/

I think the shallowness and the light yellow set the tree off well. Just my two bob's worth. I do like your tree though.

i like #2 better i think you get a better view of the movment in the tree ...

Hi Treebeard Love the tree. English Elm is one of my favorites,have loads in my garden. Second pic is definitely the best. By the way i also have a large tray landscape of English Elm that i put together three years ago. One of my students said it reminded him of Fanghorn Forrest, and the name has stuck.

MikeP, Kev, Rick, Mike B, thanks for the comments.

Fiona, the light through the foliage is lovely, I agree. I've not given the pot much thought, to be honest. But I agree it's a bit bulky... if I was to replace it then the one on the best of british site would certainly be a good choice. I have yet to see the tree in it's autumn colours, I'm looking forward to it.

Will, It's funny, a few years ago I had it in my mind that English elms were rare, both in the landscape and as bonsai. This year I have found out I was wrong on both counts. Now I know what to look for in the landscape I see them everywhere, in hedgerows, down the sides of cuttings, etc.

I have a Chinese elm group in development, I was going to call it Fangorn but with a new Hobbit film looking likely I think I will cash in and call it Mirkwood

Chris.

While I was having a cuppa this morning I was looking out the patio door and saw the tree from another angle, which shows both the trunk and canopy to best effect.

It's strange, but the issue of a front only becomes relevant when taking and sharing photos. I regularly turn the tree, and naturally in the course of being in the garden I see it from all angles all the time (as I do all my bonsai). I rarely, if ever, squat and stare at a 'chosen' front in the course of viewing it. but when posting online it suddenly becomes necessary that a front is chosen (unless you are going to post dozens of photos of the tree from all angles or compile a mildly complicated flash presentation).



Chris.

What are the roots like on the tree, Chris? Or a more specific question - can the nebari help you make up your mind as to a "front"?

Could you also let me know when your tree does hit its autumn colours as for the last three years up here mine has started to go over round about now and it would be interesting to get a comparison. The first year I had it, I thought something was wrong but it sprang back the next year with a vengeance. The same pattern occurred the following two years and this year it started the process towards the end of August (bummer as I wanted to show it this weekend ).

This going over is a very odd thing. Several of my Chinese and English Elms are now looking decidedly raggy and autumnal. Others under identical conditions are still looking fresh as a daisy and pushing new growth. It's been an odd year here though. Wettest for ages, it seems.

Kev Bailey wrote: It's been an odd year here though. Wettest for ages, it seems.

It seems to have bypassed September and October and gone straight to November up here today

We haven't (mirabile dictu) had the same amount of wet as most. I suspect mine is confused as it's had long dry hot spells, then wettish hot spells and now wet (very) cooler spells. For as long as I've had it, it has dropped leaves right throughout the growing season but then put out new ones at a heck of a rate. But what happens from mid-August is that replacement slows right down and has all but stopped now. It's looking very bald right now. I don't know of anyone else up in this area who has one, so am interested in comparisons from anywhere in the UK, even further south.

still looking fresh as a daisy

Kev, if your elm are looking like daisys, I suspect they may not be elm at all!

And when someone from Wales says they have had the wettest summer ever, you know it was really wet!

I used to love English elm when I was younger. The shape, the ever-changing colours......sigh. I've got a little list of trees I want in my collection and English elm is right up there at the top.

Fiona, the nebari say that the front should be the first photo, they are typical of a collected suckering tree, in that they basically make an inverted T with the trunk. A photo I took while repotting should illustrate this...


I'll post another picture when it does start to go over. No signs yet though.

I am bit disconcerted to see my Zelkova is starting to display autumn colours, but I've got a feeling it may be a false autumn brought on by aqua negatorius.

Chris.

fiona wrote:... Could you also let me know when your tree does hit its autumn colours as for the last three years up here mine has started to go over round about now and it would be interesting to get a comparison. The first year I had it, I thought something was wrong but it sprang back the next year with a vengeance. The same pattern occurred the following two years and this year it started the process towards the end of August (bummer as I wanted to show it this weekend ).

The leaves are just starting to turn a bright butter yellow. The day before yesterday there were a couple, yesterday a few more, today quite a few. I'm new to keeping English elms, I had not expected the leaves to turn yellow on an individual basis. I was expecting a gradual fading to yellow over the whole tree. But, it's still a nice colour, however it gets there



Chris.

hi
on the second original 2 photos if you lift the pot up 15 or 20 degrees on the right side it looks interesting -but i like the tree from both fronts. would like to see it in a nice muted glazed oval pot.

I have been looking at your tree since you posted...i really like it and the 2ond pic is what i would use for a front. but you could send it to me i would love to have such a tree..hope you get this and good luck....john

Foliage (and the branches that support it) can be grown and arranged much more quickly and easily than can trunks.

I'll take the easy way out and ask "can you post photos in winter after all the leaves have fallen?" Then we can all choose the best front based on roots and trunk and direct you to do all the hard work growing the branches in the right place.