Orlando Bonsai Chinese Elm

Chinese Elm (Purchased from Rogers' Nursery 2001) Orlando Bonsai Store

Age is approximately 25 years.

January 2002, Tree is shortened and the trunk line is determined.

Thread graft used to create first branch June 2003.

Winter (December) 2003. Tree has gone dormant but shows branch development. First branch graft took and had thickened up to almost a half inch in one season. More branches are needed in bare areas. However the lowest branch on the right side was the tread graft.

This is the problem area. It is right above the cut at the stump. As you can see the branches above are starting to thicken the trunk, so this needs to be addressed now. March 2004

I used a new shoot from an existing branch. This branch will be removed once the graft takes hold. Once the shoot was pushed through the hole, the area around the thread graft was sealed with grafting paste. This is the grafting paste that I use

This image is about 4-5 months later. You can see that the thread graft took. The branch on the left is the source of the branch and is the same size as when the thread graft was started. On the right side is where the branch came out and is not grafted to the cambium on the right side. At this point I was able to clip off the branch on the left side and the branch continued to grow.

The leaves have come back very fast and the grafts are nearly complete. I took the time to trim this tree up a bit. However there still are things that I want to do. The second branch on the right needs to be bent down to mimic the branch below it. Also I need to complete the back branches once the graft has taken. Lastly, this tree will be repotted this winter in to a more shallow pot and this tree will be well on it's way to being nearly "finished". July 2004

Newly repotted and wired this tree is looking exceptionally good (if I say so myself). As you can see the tree was previously potted very low in the bonsai pot. Also it was at a bad angle. I repotted this tree into this pot (which I don't like very much) but was an absolutely perfect fit. I had to pull the top to the right so that it was in line with the trunk and had to pull the first low branch down. This one looks great but is missing back branches badly. They should be in this year so next year this one should be looking show ready. (January 2005)

The tree has come a long way but still plenty to do. As you can see mid way up the tree I have started another thread graft. I believe that should be the last one I need. Even though the tree looks fine from the front it looks lopsided from the side and back. Also when looking straight down on the tree there is a huge bare spot that this branch will fill. Keep in mind, a tree will branch everywhere it can to get as much sun to its branches. Branches won't survive under other branches and limbs will grow if they can reach the light.

The top of this tree is still off center a bit and needs to be bent to the right. Once the lowest branch on the right has held in the position I have it now I will work on bringing the top over center. Oh and one more thing, I repotted the tree into this beautiful old Japanese glazed pot. The tree is happier and putting out a lot of new growth. Sept. 2005

There have been some serious issues with this tree for a while. However it wasn't until a tree critique held at our local club did I finally pay attention. First was this long surface root. Jan 2008

Second with the lack of a rounded taper from where the tree was cut over 6 years ago.

Lastly, the trunk was repotted in a more upright position. As you can see the top of this tree is not centered. This is not a problem, because the whole top of this tree is coming off soon in order to restyle the tree. There is no such thing as a finished tree. Jan 2008

December of 2001 tree is potted for the first time and hard pruned.

Spring 2002, new growth

View of branch and trunk development with thread graft in place. Back of tree shown.

This spring I was hoping for a problem area area to bud out. However no such luck. The trunk is starting to develop reverse taper because of the branch development above. So I need to do a few thread grafts to get some branches to grow to thicken the truck and to fill out the tree. March 2004

A small drill bit is used, just slightly bigger than the branch I will use for the graft. March 2004

Two more thread grafts will be done in this general area to help thicken the trunk. March 2004

With all of the new growth recently on this tree I decided to defoliate the tree. I did this for two reasons, first is to shrink the size of the leaves. However I also did it to send more energy to the thread grafts. As you can see in the picture to the left, two of the three grafts are going strong. One didn't make it. However by leaving only leaves on the graft branches they will thicken up and grow faster as the rest of the tree is producing leaves. I did this last year and it worked very well. I also have on branch with leaves that I will use to finish the third and final graft. It should be ready in about 2 weeks. June 2004

This tree didn't cooperate all that well this year. out of the three grafts that I tried only one took. The biggest challenges were the three hurricanes that hit Central Florida. This tree was moved so often and two of the grafts weren't strong enough to take the handling. In any case you can see in the picture to the right where the thing twig goes in from the left and where the thick graft took at the right side. I will redo the other two grafts this winter. October 2004

The paste that I used here is available at the Orlando Bonsai Store

This tree has come into it's own this year. Finally all the branches are on where they need to be, and it is filled in nicely. I will develop the back bottom branch a little further, and then rewire the branches this winter to get them more uniformed. However this tree is going to be ready for show next year. July 2005

One year later and the tree has really filled in a lot more. As you can see I bent many of the branches on the right side more downward. This balanced the tree very well. Also by bending other branches down along the trunk line I am able to hide the thin trunk near the middle. Sept 2006

Now we are making progress. Another 6 months have past, and here we are the first day of Spring 2007. The branches have really filled in and the thin trunk is practically covered. I have focused more on pulling the branches down in order to give it a more thicker canopy. More branch development this year and hopefully next year this tree will be ready for show. Mar 2007