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Memetalman
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Joined: Sun May 20, 2012 5:18 pm
Location: Michigan

Beginner Bonsai-er. Elm and Cypress.

Howdy! I have a Cypress and an Elm tree. I sort of "spur of the moment" picked them up from my work and thought it might be cool to bonsai these guys. I have a general idea on how to bonsai(sort of), but the last thing I want to do is kill them in the potting process.
They are Kosteri Cypress and Jacqueline Hillier Elm.
Tips would be awesome on each type. I just want to get them potted up nice and safely. Thanks.
Bad picture but...
[img]https://img690.imageshack.us/img690/2397/hni0088b.jpg[/img]

kdodds
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Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2008 7:07 pm
Location: Airmont, NY Zone 6/7

Hard to tell from the pics provided. If the trunks are less than ½" you really don't want to do any more than pot them up, really. That and get them outside. Both species are prone to pretty instant death indoors.

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Memetalman
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Joined: Sun May 20, 2012 5:18 pm
Location: Michigan

Yeah I have them outdoors now. They were very root bound. I lightly soaked them and freed them and potted them up. Would cutting the roots back for shallower potting be a no-no? Or should I just keep them potted up until I get a half inch caliper?

kdodds
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Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2008 7:07 pm
Location: Airmont, NY Zone 6/7

You want to leave them be (except for topping them when they get too tall) mostly until they're the size you want. A half inch trunk will mean a 3-6" tall tree, to be convincing at all. You get almost no girth to speak of once they're in a bonsai pot, so you want to grow them out before you pot them for training. You CAN grow them out in a bonsai pot (training or otherwise), but the process will take decades, not years. Keep in mind that you want, generally, a trunk that is 1/6' to 1/9" the height of the tree. So, for a popular 12" "finished" size, you'll need a 1½"-2" trunk for most styles, fatter for "sumo" styles, thinner for ultra tall and skinny bunjin/literati or really skinny full cascades.

Generally, the best "nursery stock" for a beginner to start with will be something in a Juniper (chinensis, procumbens, horizontalis, etc.) or Chaemacyparis (pisifera). These are usually sold with trunks that are already about ½" or larger and can be worked. Most of the time, this means a trunk chop down to about 4" tall, pot up and grow out, chop to 8" the next year, branch picking, and growout, with the third year bringing a shallower pot. There are many ways to do things in bonsai, however. This is just the most reliable, easiest and quickest way to get something that looks halfway decent out of nursery stock for a beginner.

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djlen
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Joined: Thu Oct 01, 2009 8:37 pm
Location: Just East of Zone 7a

You will love the Ulmus. The cypress will probably not back-bud so you need to be careful with pruning.
I had some Chaemacyparis obtusa nana that I dug out of a nursery, that had been used as stock plants for propagating little ones for years. They were beautiful and I had them for at least 15 years until some feral cats got into my yard and killed both of them. I was shocked and very disappointed over the loss. I cherished those trees.



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