Hello Mirai Family - I recently purchased a piece of land outside of Houston and there are thousands of 3-6 foot Winged Elm (ulmus alata) scattered on the property. I have posted a few pics of an interesting one that is about 5 feet tall and 2” at the base. I am wondering what everyone’s thoughts are about the value of ulmus alata as bonsai subjects. Do you all think it is worth collecting some to develop? There are many with interesting natural trunk lines, but most are pretty straight.
Anyway - appreciate anyone’s thoughts and hope you all are successfully weathering the current cold snap.
I think you have a gold mine. I have seen some as bonsai and feel it is under used. You can probably make the straight ones more interesting by cutting them off fairly low and selecting a new leader and first branch. Wikipedia states they are the least shade tolerate of the North American elms and are fairly slow growing so I would play with basic structural development in the ground. Since it is your land you can cut the roots at a reasonable distance from the trunk and let them create some closer feeder roots.
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Definitely go for it. I think they are great for bonsai. I’ve attached a not-very-good picture of mine.
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Thanks for the advice / encouragement to move forward! Roger - thanks for the inspiration - awesome tree! Would love to develop one of these to that level!
just to make sure I fully understand, Marty, your suggestion is to…
1 - cut the roots and leave it in its native spot to develop finer roots near the trunk.
2 - after it recovers, cut the top and select a new leader and main branch. Collect the tree.
3 - plant in a grow bag or some other method to control root growth and let the tree develop before taking it out of the field to put in a bonsai container?
Thanks again!
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Yes that is a good summary of the approach I would take. If you don’t find many heavy roots when you do the root cutting you can probably chop at the same time. A grow box with pumice would also work as the first post collection container.
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We have winged elms here in Charlotte NC. They are commonly collected as yamadori. I suggest you grab a pair of lopping shears and cut back/ trunk chop many of them down to where the trunk is interesting. I have done this to 4’ tall 1.5” diameter JMs down to 4”- 6” tall. Leave them to recover a year or more than do the trunk chop again. If you want to do more work you can drive a shovel down around the parameter at the drip line to root prune. I usually do the root cutting along every other piece of a pie, cutting half the roots one year and the other half the next year. When you have a trunk (still in the ground) that looks good and is a diameter you want, then dig it out like a yamadori. With so many trees to pick from you can play the odds. I have collected some interesting yamadori from areas that were bush hogged from time to time.
I was told that if wings are not on a trunk or branch wings will not grow later.
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Thanks for your advice Dave! Yes - lots to choose from. Prior owners kept the property as native pasture and had horses grazing. Some of the smaller trees have been stepped on or chewed on by horses. Am excited to seek out the best potential material!
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Winged elm are amazing material to work with with! They ramify to very fine branches and make great compositions. Good for individual trees and forests as well as clump styles!. You’ve got a little gold mine there- wish I was close to ya I’d love to come collect a couple dozen with ya! Stay safe out there with the cold!
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