AusBonsai

Hey there.

I have this Chinese Elm in our front garden that is self seeded. Before I pull it out, I need some advice please.

1. What is the root base like on these trees? This one is in a raised bed and has been there for about 3-4 yrs.... .
2. Should I trim it back and give it time before I lift it from the garden or trim and repot at the same time?
3. Should it go into standard pot or large bonsai pot? I have both, the standard pot is a large terracotta.
5. How hardy are they and what is their growth rate? This one seems to be putting on some growth atm.

We are expecting low to mid 30's this weekend in Canberra. If I do lift it this weekend, it will go under semi shade tree with morning sun only.

Looking forward to your advice and suggestions as to style too.

I would check the base to see whether it is a seedling or sucker from a nearby tree--could affect ease of collection and later styling .

It's definitely a seedling most likely from birds as there are no other trees nearby.

I wouldn't advice digging it in summer. Probably wait until late winter when it is dormant.
I have both dug and repotted trees in summer with success but given this one has never had any root work done to it, I am going to assume it has one or two
taproot and when cut during this time of the year, will greatly reduce it's chance of survival.

If you inspect the bit below ground and find this to be the case, I would ground layer it now and dig during winter.

This is my worth and what I would do. Someone with a lot more experience may advice otherwise.

Chinese elms typically have just a few larger roots going down and not too many lateral fine roots until they are much older. I expect you will need to cut roots very hard to stimulate good surface roots for a future bonsai. For that reason I agree with Dennis - best transplanted in winter.
Having said that, Chinese elms are quite tough. If you do need to move it I would cut the top and transplant at the same time but leave the roots longer then go back and root prune properly at a later date if it survives.
I think a larger pot is always better for transplanted trees. The larger volume protects them from drying out too quickly and leaves room for better root recovery.
I'd agree that you have a seedling. I have seen other seedlings along the sides of the main roads when driving through Canberra. Chinese elms can grow quite quickly when conditions are right. It might be worth while leaving it where it is and provide some food and water. It might double in thickness over summer. You can cut anywhere. Chinese elms grow new shoots from bare wood and usually new buds form all around the exposed cambium at the top of the cut so there is usually no shortage of shoots to grow a new apex from.

There is no point in talking about a style for a tree until it has survived transplant, adapted to the pot and grown on a bit. At the moment, anything is possible.

Why dig it out?

I have exactly same thing growing in my garden, actually it is a root sucker that formed from a root that escaped a very large pot. I move the pot and left the root in the ground and two trees have now sprouted from this root.

I am choosing to air layer off the two trees and leave the bases there to sprout again, with the intention of later taking more air layers.

Chinese elms are rapid growers (especially when planted in good soil), as other have said they tend to have heavy and thick roots. You will find that the air layers will take in anywhere from 4 - 6 weeks (layers seem to be more rapid on garden planted trees). The advantage is that you will have a better chance of a good root structure on the layer.

Cheers,
jeff

All the advice given so far is very useful, and it depends on what you want. I have dug a few Chinese Elms and the method I would use if you just want to maximise you luck with this one (that is --make this tree a bonsai) is:
1 - cut it down to a manageable size now
2 - that will induce many new buds, and subsequently branches
3- water and fertilizer well until it looses it leaves
4 - did in late August
Good luck with it.