You showed me yours, I'll show you mine!

Here are just a few of my English Elm's The light was fading fast, so more to follow. This raft was collected from a farmers field boundary. It was probably a hedge at some point but the farmer had been cutting the whole lot to the ground for some time.

In the first photo you can make out the point where the farmer flailed the "hedge".

The raft is about 24", 60cm long.

This one was growing in a field ditch. It's in an over sized pot for bulking up purposes.

My prefered front. height of tree is 7" above pot rim.

My favorite Elm is this one. Collected from a building site in Ipswich. Unfortunately, for some reason a very slow grower, unlike the rest of my Elms. Height 50cm

Elms are one of my favorite trees (they are so forgiving). You have some wonderful trees here! I like seeing them without the leaves. Thanks for sharing!

Sharp eyed collection. I notice trees that have allot of deadwood, hollowed by reasons such as fire, borers, fungi (rot), mechanical (teeth), termites and so on grow slower then their counterparts of the same species when complete and healthy.

Ciao.....Leonardo

lovely trees will
are they easy to lift? there are some near me and i may try for one
steve

Niiiice

Elm are my favourite tree by far. Alas, being from 'oop north' there aren't any for me to collect locally. I'm still trying to find someone with any surplus (bats eyelashes).

Wow! Those are really great Will. I have wanted to do a raft for some time but have not found the material, now I know what to look for. Thanks for posting them.

Will

Really nice trees, really really nice trees

Thanks for showing

All the best

Andy

Will,

They are just STUNNING! I like the last tree love the deadwood. I would love to see them with their foliage on. Do you have pics of them with foliage?

Thanks for sharing its truly an inspiration for me to work hard and learn more about this hobby . I still have a very very very long way to go.

When can I struck "gold"? Oh Bonsai God pls shower me with your blessings!

Best regards.

Warren

Im sure I took photo's this summer but can't seem to find the right stick. Anyway, here's pic from a couple of years ago.

Thanks Carolee. I agree, much better as a winter image.

Leonardo. For some reason this tree fills the pot with roots to bursting point but the branches only extend by a few cm????

Bigsteve. I have found Elms extremely easy to lift. Even if they come out of the ground with very little root, come spring, they take off like a rocket.

Harleyrider.If your ever in Suffolk, on your hog and you happen to break down [quite likely, so i've heard] Your more than welcome to take one of these beauties away with you. All I would ask for is one of your sleeve designs for a tat I have in mind.


Jim. I've seen some beautiful Elms on this forum just recently and i'm sure if you persevere, you'll find what you want.

Andy. Kind wordsand I have to add.. You makereally nice pots...Really really nice pots!!

Waway. This tree collapsed on me a year after collection. It was originally alive, all the way round but slowly died off. On inspection, I found a heavy infestation of vine weevil [ a root eating grub ] that had left me with two tiny roots. I was left with an inch [2.5cm ] of live vein. The tree was naturally hollow but the outside is carved. Makita and Dremmel and fine detail picked out with a scalpel.

Will,
Wow, Thanks for sharing as promised. Would be great to go elm collecting together sometime.javascript:emoticonp('')...who knows. All are great trees with loads of character. My personal favorite is the 2nd tree, the semi cascade.

Thank you again for sharing your work. I've been busy wiring this week...I can only hope my Oklahoma collected elms look this good in time! Elms are quickly becoming my favorite.

Take care & great work,
Neil

Close up of the carving.

Thanks Neil If you get the chance, go visit Colin Lewis. His knowledge of Elm ssp is second to none!!! His books were my only inspiration when I first discovered this wonderful species. There's no doubt your on the right path to some really great Elm bonsai. Happy days!!!

Outstanding job Will.
Great finds and, regarding the last tree, a lesson in the creation of convincing dead-wood. It appears to be 100% nature's work.

Beautiful tree, I enjoy watching photo, thank you for showing them!

will baddeley wrote:Close up of the carving.

Excellent...definitely a natural look!

Will,
Knowing that our growing conditions differ, and not all elm spp maybe alike....do you defoliate at all, and when do you generally perform your wiring work?

Oklahoma has some wonderful old oaks that have developed great character and ramification from the hot sun and winds, they're great examples for modeling branchwork. Your trees are very similar. I've got a ways to go... but I can tell you that you've provided me with some terrific motivation for developing my trees.

In Oklahoma, as long as a tree is within a certain distance of the roadside it can be collected legally from ditches and fence lines. This is great because the cattle and horses find the elm & hackberry's (celtis) tastey in the spring. Also, our mild winters allow us to collect pretty much October through March.

Neil

Thanks Stefano. When I set about carving, I had in my mind, an image of a veteran tree. In the UK we have lots of trees like this, that have a lot of deadwood and are still thriving. Thanks for the compliment.

Neil. Yes I do leaf prune, in late spring. I wire at several times of year but usually in the spring, just before buds swell. I also wire after a leaf pruning and also just as leaves are turning in autumn, but no severe bending at this time or the tree might suffer with dieback. I have found that my Elms are still bulking up, even when they loose their leaves but only slightly. Sounds like you've got plenty of material to go out hunting!!

will baddeley wrote:Thanks Stefano. When I set about carving, I had in my mind, an image of a veteran tree. In the UK we have lots of trees like this, that have a lot of deadwood and are still thriving. Thanks for the compliment.

I love dedwood on deciduous trees, although some of that fear, because of prejudice about endurance. Deciduous trees is able to make over dedwooda impressive kalus and it is impressive to me.

Found a couple of old photos today. First is the semi cascade the summer after collection.