English Elm Sucker!

This is an English Elm sucker I collected in August 2004.
I've restyled it and repotted it in the past couple of weeks and wondered what you guys thought of it!
Height 27"/66cm, trunkbase 9"/22cm


Close up of the carving at the base to add some interest to what was a very dull trunk!

The Elm, August 2004 to February 2011. The raw material lacked any taper so the sloping trunkchop has a trunk split below it, where I then used 6" screws to pull the two halves together to create taper!


Harry

Nah, Harry, that's absolute rubbish!

Parcel it up and I'll take it off you this weekend. I'm only thinking of your own good you know.


Seriously though - I like it. Shows you what can be done with something that looked so uninspiring at first glance.

Just seen this on fb and it's superb. The carving gives great power and character to the base. The only thing I would try and change, is the colour of the deadwood. Too dark on the surface I think.

Fantastic tree that will only get better with time.

Great work from material not many would do as bonsai. Very special - and stunning deadwood (and too dark for me also).

Regards
Morten

Harry

This tree has a nice flow to it and you have dealt well with the similar width of trunk over it's main height and have created nice taper. I agree about the colour of the dead wood and it needs to be more natural. The only eye sore for me is the small root coming to the front in the second photo, it is far to high and hopefully you can remove it later, depending on what you find at re-potting next time. If it is placed below the soil surface you will lose the nice width of the tree at it's base. But that's only my view of it.

Paul

Very nice. I was also thinking of the color. The only thing I thought about there is that its very dark, so far out at the opening. If you know what I mean by that. I feel it should be more faded towards the bark.

Amazing work! Great to see you posting here. I'm excitedly waiting for your book to arrive. Can't wait to see it.

Thank you everyone!

The colour of the deadwood; I carved the trunk a couple of weeks ago and only painted it last week, so naturally it is a little 'in your face atm' it should weather down nicely in a month or two. I use black ink mixed with various odds n ends that fade back pretty quickly, particularly after some rain ;-)

What I do think will improve the appearance of the tree will be a decent pot, the mica is just a stop gap for now ;-)

No problem, I'll have it in the post tomorrow Fiona!

fiona wrote:Shows you what can be done with something that looked so uninspiring at first glance.

That's for sure, and you've done a wonderful job! Really great you showed the "before" pictures.

R

Hi Harry

Really very nice work. Very nice and interesting tree. Very well-chosen alternative styling.

Pavel

Hi Harry and I second the last comment....nice to see you posting here for all of us to enjoy.
I felt the same about the root (through graft?) and thought that at the next re-pot you might be able to put the same movement as the main root on the right goes to the left direction?
Cheers
Graham

Great stuff Harry. I love how you make this sought of material work.

That is a outstanding tree!!! i can not believe from that stump you created such a bonsai..the work you did makes the tree something special.. i wish that i could do something like that.. please post when it is in leaf..a good job,,i love elms...take care john

Looks good Harry! I find that to be a common problem when collecting trees - no taper. How is your Siberian elm coming along ?

DaveV.

Hi Harry,

This is a very nice tree from very humble beginnings, beginnings that most people probably wouldn't continue. Well done, I think it looks great, I'm learning after 10 years that you shouldn't give up on any material and there is bonsai there somewhere. It just usually helps to have the best material to start off with!

I actually quite like the darkness of the deadwood and think that you’ve been clever in the way you’ve introduced taper.

Just a couple of thoughts on this tree....

It might be an illusion because of the two dimensions of a photo graph but appears as if the bottom branches on the left are shorter than the apex branches, i.e.: no defined triangle and as a result a slight rectangle on an angle has appeared. I suspect that this is just the two dimensions that I can see because it’s a photo rather than reality and these branches actually extend further out than the branches higher up as they are coming out at different angles.

My other thought is also with the bottom branches, I think they could do with fattening up a bit, a couple of season’s extension growth should see to that.

But a really nice tree as it stands. English Elm are great

Jonny.
.

Sorry, not worked out the best way to do multiple quotes on this forum yet!

Great work from material not many would do as bonsai. Very special - and stunning deadwood (and too dark for me also).
I love how you make this sought of material work
Looks good Harry! I find that to be a common problem when collecting trees - no taper
a very nice tree from very humble beginnings, beginnings that most people probably wouldn't continue

It really wasn't a great bit of material to start with but isn't that part of the challenge when developing bonsai? Sometimes material is so good to start with that you can't fail to make 'something' out of it.......even with your eyes closed!!! I did nearly discard it early on until a visitor to my garden told me what awful material it was. Which kind of spurs you on doesn't it?

The only eye sore for me is the small root coming to the front in the second photo, it is far to high and hopefully you can remove it later
I felt the same about the root (through graft?) and thought that at the next re-pot you might be able to put the same movement as the main root on the right goes to the left direction?

I hadn't noticed that root jarring until now, I guess partly because until y'day I hadn't made my mind up on the exact front for the tree, and from this angle it doesn't work so well does it? I think I will go with your suggestion Graham ;-)

How is your Siberian elm coming along ?

Very nicely thank you Dave, I've rebuilt the apex in recent years so it's a little sparse on top there atm, I'll post some pics when it starts to bud out ;-)

It might be an illusion because of the two dimensions of a photo graph but appears as if the bottom branches on the left are shorter than the apex branches, i.e.: no defined triangle and as a result a slight rectangle on an angle has appeared. I suspect that this is just the two dimensions that I can see because it’s a photo rather than reality and these branches actually extend further out than the branches higher up as they are coming out at different angles.

My other thought is also with the bottom branches, I think they could do with fattening up a bit, a couple of season’s extension growth should see to that.

I had to look back at the picture to answer this Jonny; I guess the lower branches are longer than those in the apex, tbh it isn't something I think matters here (?). The lower branches will benefit from being thickened for definite and I'll need to start replacing some of the branches making up the crown, but to me this is just part and parcel of maintaining the tree now a design has been established.


Many thanks to the forum for such a nice welcome and all your comments, they are greatly appreciated!

Harry

Harry Harrington wrote: ... ... Many thanks to the forum for such a nice welcome and all your comments, they are greatly appreciated!

I am among the new members on IBC and a beginner, too, but I do believe that I echo everyone if I say that the forum is happy to wellcome and have you among us. You have been such an inspiration and a great helper through Bonsai4me!

Hi Harry!

Bonsai is about thinking.....in dimensions,...you did well....where others would have stopped...in 2004!

This i a forum of clapping hands,...i'll join this one!

Thnx. for sharing!

Machiel who is as sick as a dog,...so he had time to fool around in paper concrete....
got to do something,....right?

Here, a tree is beautiful seen the tree initially , congratulations, it really looks like an old elm.

Thank you, Pascal

Interesting work of pretty poor material.
I agree with the other comments about the color of the dead wood. I'd also consider integrating the singular holes as the space between the two vertical holes will die off as the cambium flow is cut. This would allow viewing into hole and add more interest. Another idea is to let the top grow wild for a couple of years with the tree in a larger pot or in the ground to add taper naturally - it would make the tree a bit less contrived looking. The nebari could use grafts to improve down below - again grafting and free growing would help a lot.

Brilliant use of pretty inferior material. Congrats on the new book, too!

Rob Kempinski wrote:Interesting work of pretty poor material.
I agree with the other comments about the color of the dead wood. I'd also consider integrating the singular holes as the space between the two vertical holes will die off as the cambium flow is cut. This would allow viewing into hole and add more interest. Another idea is to let the top grow wild for a couple of years with the tree in a larger pot or in the ground to add taper naturally - it would make the tree a bit less contrived looking. The nebari could use grafts to improve down below - again grafting and free growing would help a lot.

I think the carving on this tree, is extremely well done and adds power to the trunk. I'd like to know why you think the cambium flow has been compromised, Rob? English Elm is extremely forgiving and copes well with this kind of work.

will baddeley wrote:

Rob Kempinski wrote:Interesting work of pretty poor material.
I agree with the other comments about the color of the dead wood. I'd also consider integrating the singular holes as the space between the two vertical holes will die off as the cambium flow is cut. This would allow viewing into hole and add more interest. Another idea is to let the top grow wild for a couple of years with the tree in a larger pot or in the ground to add taper naturally - it would make the tree a bit less contrived looking. The nebari could use grafts to improve down below - again grafting and free growing would help a lot.

I think the carving on this tree, is extremely well done and adds power to the trunk. I'd like to know why you think the cambium flow has been compromised, Rob? English Elm is extremely forgiving and copes well with this kind of work.

The area circled in yellow could dry out as there is substantial disruption to the pholem, cambium and probably xylem. Elm is a ring porous wood so 90% of the water flow is done by large vertical vessels in the early sapwood. The tracheids, tiny pits in the sidewalls of the vessel cells, only contribute a small part to lateral flow therefore the cambium in between the holes will receive little nutrient and likely shrivel up. (Junipers are the worst for this as they have thick walled fibers and fluid/nutrient flow is very much up and down only). The material in between the holes on this elm might last but it will be dead, therefore my suggestion to open up the carving and expose some 3 D depth to the viewer. I'm not sure it was a good idea to put the carving on the inside of the curve on the same side as the apex as that will accentuate the lack of taper but that's an artistic call.

With the carved wood tapering off to a point, and a reasonable gap between, there is a minimal effect on the flow, up and down the tree. This is evident on many of the Elms I have collected over the years.