AusBonsai

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I bought a Corky Bark Chinese Elm from the Robin Godfrey Bonsai nursery in Oxley, Brisbane. It has a longish trunk, but it also had bonus rooted mini trees all around it.

Is it too late, (in Brisbane,) to do an air layer of the top? It's in an 8" pot.

All suggestions thankfully received.

Love that bark.

No it shouldn't be too late to layer off the top and it will help to deal with the taper issues, you could end up with 2 or 3 fairly nice little trees out of this one.

Cheers,
Mojo

2 or 3!!! I like your thinking, thanks Mojo!

Not too late in Brissy and where I am in Sydney i will be putting on a layer on an Azalea soon as well

Love the lower trunk down under that first branch. Nice movement and interest in that section. I suspect that the juntion there has quite a lot of reverse taper about it?
But of a pity IMHO but I sue that is not unresolvable

Ken

Love the lower trunk down under that first branch. Nice movement and interest in that section. I suspect that the juntion there has quite a lot of reverse taper about it?
But of a pity IMHO but I sue that is not unresolvable

It certainly is nice and chunky in that area Ken, and yes, definitely wider than the trunk below it.

Hopefully an air layer below that will not stop it back budding further down the trunk?

I've no experience with Chinese Elm, but since they're classed as noxious weeds, or at least nuisance trees, I'm hoping I'll have no problems with back budding.

I didn't know that chineses elm was considered a noxious weed, or i'd assume I would see them growing wild a lot more. Or are you maybe referring to the chinese hackberry (celtis sinensis)?

I don't think backbaudding below the layer will be a problem at all for your corky bark elm though mate.

Cheers srini, I'm hoping it'll do fine.

I'm sorry, I thought it was in the same family as the Chinese Elm that's classed as a weed here, you're right, it's Celtis sinensis.

The Corky Bark Chinese Elm is Ulmus parvifolia...

gawd... no wonder I'm confuzzled.

I see 3 trees in there, go nuts!
Layer 1: just below first branch on left in the top pic you posted.
Layer 2: just below first right branch in same pic
Plus original trunk which I would put money on to back bud and grow on.
Have fun, I reckon that's a good pick up.

celtis make brilliant bonsai though too!

I see 3 trees in there, go nuts!
Layer 1: just below first branch on left in the top pic you posted.
Layer 2: just below first right branch in same pic
Plus original trunk which I would put money on to back bud and grow on.
Have fun, I reckon that's a good pick up.

Cool, thanks Ryceman. When I bought it I was just thinking of the one air layer! Agree, it's a good find! I've done "Layer 2" but think I'll wait til next season to do "Layer 1."

celtis make brilliant bonsai though too!

Hey thanks srini, I'll keep that in mind too. I used to see them popping up everywhere.. not so much now that the authorities keep poisoning them!

I still see them everywhere around my place in brighton

srini wrote:I still see them everywhere around my place in brighton

Road trip to srini's

I still see them everywhere around my place in brighton

I just remembered, there's a forest full of them in the bush park behind my house...

where's the facepalm emoticon....

I'll get my snake boots on and check them out!