AusBonsai

I had a quick go at adding the first branch on the left.... What do you think? Is it an improvement?

Jow, i've always liked this Elm of yours, i like the new lower left , looks like small tree clinging to it's mother, big thumbs up from me

Make no mistake, I admire this tree greatly, but I feel it would have greater presence if the trunk above the first branch matched the low trunk in thickness. It suddenly gets light, and your need for another low branch may in fact be the feeling that the tree is "empty" somehow in the middle. I know it would take time and be risky to fix it, but your standards are obviously high. It's a good tree with great presence.

Gavin

Jow wrote:I had a quick go at adding the first branch on the left.... What do you think? Is it an improvement?

Looks great, good vision...I wasn't sure what you were getting at when you said that you wanted a branch down there, but I think it works!

GavinG wrote:...I feel it would have greater presence if the trunk above the first branch matched the low trunk in thickness...

I agree that a bit of thickening at this point would look good but this will come with age. Evenutally the apex will need to be reworked/cut back again and it will only improve as it gets more mature.

Great work Jow!

Hi Gavin and Scott,

Thanks for the comments.

Gavin, you are right, the tree can only benefit from more thickness in this area. This is a tree i started many years ago and as a result would have done a few things differently if i could do it all again. I grew the upper trunk too quickly and as a result it is not as good as it could have been. To thicken that area now is a little tricky. I would need a sacrifice branch in the right spot. Should one appear i will grow it out and improve the tree. If not i will do what i can with what i have. I will be letting the branches grow long and then cut them back which will let the trunk thicken a bit more. It is thickening a little more every year so hopefully after a few more seasons growth it will be better. In the meantime fingers crossed for a bud in the right position!

Joe

Hi Joe, its a lovely tree. You shouldn't worry about thickening that part of the tree time will do that.
Craigw

If it ends up bothering you Joe, I'll happily look after it for ya.....

Gavin

craigw60 wrote:Hi Joe, its a lovely tree. You shouldn't worry about thickening that part of the tree time will do that.
Craigw

Thanks for that Craig, Time does mend all kinds of problems when it comes to bonsai. It amazing what faults can and are overlooked on old trees. Often those problems seem so minor in comparison to good bark, ramification etc.

Gavin, I think i can live with it for a while longer

Your so right there Joe, time can mend many problems and sometimes I think people spend too much energy trying to thicken branches etc. without taking into account the great age these plants can achieve. I have always been an advocate of keeping branching fine rather than trying to thicken them too quickly.
Craigw

Hi Jow, nice Elm!
For what it is worth...I think the oval pot (pot-5) look best.
However, I prefer the colour of pot-2, even though that is probably not possible.
Just think that whilst pot-5, in my opinion, suits the tree better, the colour is a little bright.
Cheers, Dario.

Thanks fo the comment Dario.

It is intereting reading over all the replies to see just how many different choices people have made. It highlights that although there may be a way to pot bonsai by the numbers, that there is always room for individual taste. Even when you give two people similar choices they will not nessesarily agree.
I read (looked at the pictures) an interesting article in one of the Japanese magazines where they gave 4 professional nursery men a tree and four pots. They had to choose the correct pot for the tree. 3 of the 4 pots were selected by different professionals. I guess what i took from that is that there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to styling or potting but infact many different approaches that give different results and feelings to the end composition.