AusBonsai

Yes, I agree that corky bark is a little less common. They are no more difficult o propagate or to grow but after that the problems start.
The corky bark is fragile and if mishandled while repotting, etc the bark on the lower trunk can get rubbed off and the tree appears to have inverse taper If that happens simply rub off the corky bark above until proper taper is restored. It does not actually take long for cracked, corky bark to start again.
Corky bark close to the ground is also prone to rot where it stays damp. Again reverse taper but stands out even more and takes a lot more effort to restore.

Although the pot says this tree is corky bark variety I'm not so sure. I think there should be some sign of the bark starting to thicken by now. Also the leaves and branching just don't look quite right for corky variety. Still a tree with great bonsai potential though.

Agree, there is certainly potential in the tree though judging against my Cork Bark Elm, the bark is not very thick at all. I have a much better ramified non cork bark that i prefer to my cork bark anyway so Corky or not it comes down to the quality of the maintenance that makes the difference anyway.

thanks for your replies, i really appreciate all the great advice.
yeah its definitely a different looking trunk, that was the big thing that drew me to buy this tree.
I agree there are way to many branches still. I'm just not overly confident on which ones i should remove as yet.
two more got remove this styling that were there last styling. might get the confidence to remove some more soon

Little up date on the elm, it has come back nicely after it’s defoliation a few weeks back.
Sorry I was a bit lazy and only wired a few branches that really needed it.
Will have to do a full wire soon.


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maybe take the leader off half way down, shortens the tree but with good flow

I see a potential problem here. Because you have so many branches concentrated in one place there is a good chance of the trunk thickening there more quickly than the bare lower part.
I think you could safely remove 1/3 of them without sacrificing the feel of the tree.

Q

Hi Treeman/ No idea
yes totally agree with you.
the tree will need a big change soon, removal of branches possible height reduction.. but all in good time. once its gone it wont come back

Some pictures from today








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