AusBonsai

Firecat wrote:Look like they are(both posts) coming along well.
Watch for wind burn otherwise they all look bullet proof.
Steve.

You're not wrong! She blew a gale today... Pots everywhere. Where my bonsai are positioned they get a multitude of light, but the trade off is they are in the firing line when it comes to wind. And it was fierce today, some copped it worse than others. These seem OK for now.

melbrackstone wrote:from 2500 to 250... and what an improvement!

Looking forward to seeing them develop!

Yep, certainly progressed I think from a bonsai perspective huh? I'm hoping they keep up this pace! I haven't even got to the bonus trunks for these guys yet!! Are they still viable entries in the comp?? I can't see why not - mods??

You could do a group planting mate, it would look spectacular!

Jarad wrote:You could do a group planting mate, it would look spectacular!

I had exactly the same thought... and I kinda like it! But is it possible to combine separate entries into one? I'd need to use at least 3 for the group - so would have to combine entries ... they have all been posted & updated as required by the rules, and even combined they were well below the $50 - just not sure if I can now join them into one after the comp has begun ... can I?? Think I might need a ruling....!

Just updating my "bonus trunk" in this entry on the off chance I end up using it somehow in my final design. I got a really good spread of shoots around the trunk chop, so I have thinned them out and I'm thinking about turning this one into a broom style (unless I end up going with the group idea) ... I'm wondering if in fact I may have too many shoots - how many should I ideally be trying to develop if I want to go down the broom style path?
I guess eventually I'll probably need to carve a bit to blend the trunk into these branches also ...
Can't complain about growth rate on the elms - all are powering along really nicely.

A bit of time this arvo to sit down and watch the cricket - so I figured ... why not.

Quick update of the "main" tree about 6 weeks after it was cut back. Thinned it out a little and will let the main leader grown on a bit more before I think about reducing that.

Also included a few shots of the "bonus trunk" and where it is currently at.

Quick update of both the main and bonus trunks as of today. I gave them both a cut back as the growth that was on them from the last time I did it was pretty significant and I wanted to get it back under control before winter. I'm not sure this is really the best time for a big prune (seasonally I mean) but hey ... I'll give it a shot. If it wasn't for the comp I probably would've been more conservative, but nothing ventured, nothing gained! Hopefully it doesn't have a negative impact ...

Nice bones on both! Do you elms lose their leaves in Winter there? Ours rarely do...

melbrackstone wrote:Nice bones on both! Do you elms lose their leaves in Winter there? Ours rarely do...

Hi Mel,
Yep... They will lose leaves, when depends on weather so I'm hoping it'll stay warm enough for them to continue on their merry way for a month or so. If that happens I think all will be OK... It's a bit of a gamble - or educated guess depending how you look at it!

In my last post I said they would lose their leaves ... .
These are the only Chinese Elms I have that DIDN'T (well, not entirely anyway) ... it's a bit weird as they did last year?
Anyway, I had some time today so gave this Elm a root reduction/repot and with any luck off it will go again come Spring.
(sorry about photo quality - light levels weren't amazing so it's not the clearest image)

Just an update for the bonus trunk in this entry. I gave it a repot today but decided to leave it in plastic rather than a proper pot ... I doubt I'll be using it in this comp as my "official" entry, so a bit more room to grow on this season is beneficial I reckon.

Final Submission.
Enjoyed getting both my elm entries up for this comp.

This one (like most elms) has been putting on strong growth since Spring arrived and I am using clip and grow to extend on the branch development I started last year. Will continue down this track and see where it heads. I like the base on this tree and hope I can make a top that is equally as nice. No real explicit plan of attack - I'll just see where it goes from here.

Really impressed with what you've done with your trees, congrats!

Loving your trees Ryceman3

Thanks Mel/Seephil,
Looking forward to the next comp so we can do it all again!