Ulmus Parvifolia 5 years progression

Me too

I really enjoyed this and the quality of pictures too was great.

Mike

My only critisism and I would keep the branch on the left, is the general branch placement. It is styled like a Pine with the branches on a horizontal plane. Compare it to the Japanese Elm which has a more vertical habit.

.

Sankofabonsai wrote:... bonsai design is matter of likes...

Thanks!

Thats what I like about it as well.

Congratulations with this wonderful progression. I also like low spreading trees and agree with you that this tree has still a way to go to fulfill your vision. For this moment now the first branch on the right of the trunk on the picture is definitely the sashi-eda and the lowest branch the uke-eda so I will reduce that one because the eye is drawn in two directions. I think this will harmonize the whole. Maybe you have this plan but you're keeping the branch as is for the moment to maximize your nebari development?
As on the very first photos when you started working on the tree you can see that these are two trees fused together so I shall not remove that branch completely myself.

The BEST progression series I've ever seen. Amazing.

Thankyou for sharing .It goes to show you can take mediocre material and through a little planning turn it in to somthing wonderful good work !!!!!!!

.

Great progress!!!

Excellent --keep the lower left branch-----what happened to the offcut stump

.

No need for me to chime in really....but I wanted to say thanks. It takes a lot of time to put a progression series like that together but wow....such a great thread and learning opportunity for many of us. I liked the originally tree but I love the current form...thanks again!

Thank you Sankofabonsai! Very,very interesting about the photos and I like the second tree as well. No need for apologizing for any disagreement because if we discuss the tree the IBC members learn as you mentioned. Especially as you mentioned your vision for the tree and why you are doing development now first and then refining. Congratulations again and thanks for all the photos.

.

I would echo what Jesse said...this took significant effort to put together and it is appreciated! Nice job with the air layer!

Very nice progress.

I am more excited to see the future of the base. the top is going to be lovely for sure, but predictable. but the base is more exciting to see.
please post it in the future.


regards,
jun

Watching that progression was awesome! The new roots are perfect, I'd love to see those things in some time to see how they shape up. I can't get enough of that pot too!


Lawrence

.

Wow, great progression! Somehow I must have missed this thread previously. Thanks for taking the time to put this together.

I like that lower left branch...normally not a fan of them but it seems to work here. To me the tree looks very unbalanced without it. Maybe it could be shortened some, though?

Chris

i'm glad the bottom branch remains - especially as the ramification improves and fills a little more of the space above.

i think too many people remove bottom branches because they cant keep them healthy and strong, so they find it easier to cut off rather than learn to balance the trees' energy properly - for me a perfect bottom branch (especially on a pine or juniper) proves the ability of the owner, that they understand their trees and know how to grow them.

the elm stump bridge will be good in a few years too!

.

I still believe, from my own perception, the tree looks better with the bottom branch removed.

However, your decision to keep the bottom branch and make the tree symmetrical, presents a very different picture.

In other words, I think the tree has more movement when the bottom left branch is removed, thus making it asymmetrical.

.

.