Chinese Elm Bonsai Tree Pruning – Basic Clip and Grow

Hey how’s it going Jason here and in This episode we’ll be talking about this Little Elm I’ve been working on and so This Elm right here used to be about you Know about double the height and you can See inside I actually did trunk chop About I think I was about three years Ago right there it’s kind of black right There but that’s where the trunk chop Was I thought that that was a good spot To cut it so that I had some nice taper Right here got a lot of branches now They’re in the way and it’s kind of Overgrown but you can kind of see the Trunk right there it’s really nice then The barrios nice it’s nice and wide and It’s a pretty big trunk for the size of The pot so I think it looks nice and Balanced but right now you can see it’s A little overgrown as Elam’s do they Always end up growing very vigorously Especially here at the apex so what We’re going to do today is just cut some Of these branches back you can see that There’s a little branch that was Starting right here move somebody’s out Of the way to see there’s a branch right Here and that will be my first branch Right there all right is my first branch In I’ve got my second branch and this is A very basic tree I’m still hoping for Something good to come out of here which Hasn’t come out yet but in the meantime I can use one of these right here to

Bring that into that spot alright so let Me bring the camera in a little bit Closer so we can see exactly what I’m Doing here so the techniques in the Elm Is always the same you’re basically Cutting it back where the branches are Leading the fight or where those really Growth and then you’ll you know once you Cut it back to that at least up you wait Until the branches have that sort of Woody growth inside you’ll know that Those branches will continue to bud out Which will in turn give you some Ramification and some branch structure Okay so when I started with this tree it Was basically where I cut it back there Was no branches on it at all it was just A stump so it’s just imagine just the Trunk right here going up and cut right There so it was just an empty stump and I waited for some some sprouts to appear Initially and it was basically on this Side and this side and some up here Which I wasn’t really concerned about The apex as it comes out so fast so Really it was just focusing how much Branches came out on the side and I got Lucky I got a good one here and I got a Good one here so I was able to at least Let those grow and you can see there’s Growth now that just needs to be pushed Back and at this point it’s really just Pruning back sort of that clipping world Process of pushing it back letting it

Grow pushing it back letting it grow and Got some nice pads developing all right So let’s zoom in a little bit let’s take A look at this tree and then we’ll start To make some cuts and I’ll kind of go Over especially on this first branch Here what happened initially and why It’s kind of its kind of smelled like This and what what kind of went into the Process when I did this one all right so I zoomed up a little bit on the tree Here and you can kind of see let’s take A look at this cut initially this one Right here so that’s the trunk chop Right there right there you can’t see it Right there it’s a pretty significant Trunk chop but let’s take a look back Here and you can see the first branch That was developed there’s some growth Here coming in from the other side but If you isolate just this one this one Right here you can see that I let this Branch grow for a little bit I let this Branch right here grow for a little bit And I probably should let it grow a Little bit longer it’s a little thinner Than I had hoped I probably should it Was already coming out to about maybe About here maybe even longer but what I Should have done is let that grow out a Little bit longer and unfortunately I Can’t do that now but I can still let Some of these grow out and as branches Develop on here this will thicken up in

Time just because it has all these Branches growing out of it so that will Thicken up over time but initially Probably to start with a thicker branch At the base here right there to that Start with a thinker branch right in There I should have let this grow out a Little bit more but that’s okay so what We’re gonna do is work on just the Ramification of this branch alone right Now we can talk about just cutting it Back and the plan for it going forward And developing the structure Okay so I’ve basically got this branch Right here and all I really need for Today is just this year So you can see that I’ve got this long Branch that’s coming off I initially had This branch coming straight out like That down and I cut it back because I Wanted to start to create some zig Zagging in here so at this point I’ve Got a lot of shoots coming out right Here right here right there right over Here got one back here but really it’s This guy right here that’s way too long And right here you can tell if you look At it notice you can see it but you can Tell that the branches are league Defined there’s woody growth underneath So I can cut back any part into here and We’ll get these leaves to create new Branches now one of the tricks in this Or are things to keep in mind is just

That one you want say say this whole pad Is very Empty what we want to do is we want to Fill in this area fill in this area fill In this area fill in this area but Instead of just having straight branches Come across like this straight branches Come across so we don’t want these Straight branches just kind of coming Off like this what you kind of want to Do is create this sort of this zigzag Movement so it kind of goes like this That way Kind of create some movement in the Branches so when it comes out to the Area where you want it it has some Movement going in there one thing that Is recommended a lot of times is just if You want to go and fill this area in Here you want to go left they say go the Opposite way first so send it this way Before you go that way and if you want To come this way send it that way before You go this way So that way you can basically create Some movement coming in so your branches Just aren’t little little fingers coming Off of the main branch so I’m just going To cut this one back I’ve got this one Leaf right here see this leaf right here And I kind of want that to send that This way I’ve got this one too so you Can see this is a very lengthy process But I want these segments where the

Branches starts to start to come out I Want them to be close together so I can Cut that back right there I can cut it Back here so if I cut it back here let’s Get it back there then I’ll start to get Branches coming out from this area let’s Start coming up this way start coming Out that way This one will start coming out this way That’s gonna start coming out that way And you can see from there you can start To see that this is our primary branch Right here Right there our primary branch is right Here and you got a secondary coming off This way the tertiary ones will be these Ones coming off here and here then you Can decide which ones you want to keep But you know if you keep this sort of Zigzag movement going on you’ll get some Nice movement now these ones right here Are too short to cut so I’ve got to Leave those because I gotta let them Come out gotta let these come out but These are going to be the foundations For what how I’m going to eventually Fill in this whole section over here so Going back into this one you know we Want this exact movement to kind of go Finer and finer so this one I’m actually Gonna bring back a little bit more so I Can develop this guy right here coming Out here and that one that way because This section here is actually my friends

Over here so I actually don’t need this Very long at all so if you look at the Front of the guy I don’t need all these Branches in this area right here if we Look at a top view right here I don’t Need them over here I need them back Over here so I gotta let these guys grow And this is where these guys are the Important ones to start this process Over here now this one’s going off to The front Really don’t need it at all I can fit That one really short okay so this one Eventually since I go is coming out Straight like this That little one okay I’m gonna cut this One back because it’s in the cameras Angle but I’ve got this one will Eventually come up this way since I have Two leaves and then the other branch Will come this way I could decide which One is save because I want to fill in Maybe a little bit of a space right here But that’s about it The front here doesn’t need to be too Heavy in the forward area right here Kind of needs to all be right here so I Mean it really doesn’t look that Significant you can see that the cut was Made and it’s just just a little it’s Just a couple leaves right there but now We can look at this side which has a Little bit more to work with So here mmm it’s a lot hairier and on

This side you can see that we got Branches one of my cut already because It was coming too forward I’ve got these all coming in this area I Wanted I want my branch to be localized Over there so all these ones that are Going up too high and we’ll cut them Back okay Those ones going up too high see if you Saw that those ones going up too high See how this one’s starting a head Upwards now you can do two things you Can wire it down or you can cut the one That’s going up and just develop the Branches that are going down which is Actually easier way to do it so I’m Gonna do that one on this one so this One’s going up and we’ll cut that one’s Going down and even this one in the back Here that’s going up I don’t need that Because the backside I’ve got a bunch of Nice branches right here these wrenches Are great these ones right here really Nice and those would be really perfect For ratifying this section okay so let Me spin this ramp okay now going back to Here I’ve got this one that’s going too High okay this one that’s going all the Way around it’s way too long so let’s Cut that one back I’ve got one over here And cut that back just there and I can Develop these guys and that one across The top right there Now if I go over to here so this one

Right here is coming straight I want These fine so this one came this way Came over to this side on my left Saturday so now I can send it to the Right so I can cut that one back and now Create some really fine delicate zigzag Movements going forward there now I’m Leaving some space here and that’s just So that the leaf doesn’t come out Straight later on once that’s really Developed and I can go in there and Clean that up just like this one I can Go in there and clean that up Because that when I cut back last year That little nub right there that I just Cut I cut that actually last year and That’s why it got sent that way that Little one right there now this one Right here same thing that’s going Straight so this one’s going that way I Sent it to the right now I want to go Left so I’m gonna cut it back to this One I’d like there and that’s kind of How you do it all you do is kind of work Yourself up the tree you know you don’t Want big long segments like this see This branch right here song segments Once you start to get one you can cut it Back and start to do that zigzag one This is basically the clipper and grow You select the branches that you want to Keep those sections small so as you get Closer to the end of this branch or the You know this this pad layer those those

Branches get finer and finer and more Detailed okay so I’ll just go clip a few More here this one’s going up actually It’s going really nice that there’s Still too young if I leave them it’s Usually because they’re still too young And they haven’t liked the fed yet so I’m not going to touch them this one’s Going back the opposite way so I’m just Going to put that one back this one’s Going over the top which I don’t need Because I’ve got all these branches Right here so I’m not gonna cut that one As you can see start to get the Development of some type of pad layer There now these ones here at t-yong so I’m not going to cut those back yet but You you know these ones I can let them Grow a little bit but kind of at some Point these ones on the top you just Kind of trim back you’re not looking for A lot of ramification here on the top Because you’re just trying to live fill In the pad you don’t want it to be Completely flat so these are kind of Just to kind of hide some of that Structure there but just to make it look Full so you don’t always have to go into Too much detail there okay so if I come Over here this one branches in the way Scaring and me touch him over there Okay so if I look at that you can kind Of see how it’s start to develop I have One main branch here and it’s kind of

Curving this way and it’s split off into Segments here and you can see the little Nubs here from the previous year’s cut That I can clean up now I think there’s One that’s going this way this one’s Splitting off this way this way so let’s Go like this this one’s coming see how It’s starting to go this left right left Right kind of kind of hard to see I Guess but you can see that the branch is Starting to left right left right looks Like when I repot this one I might go a Little bit of a name Like this one this one seems to hide a Little bit of the movement so I’m Probably gonna end up moving it to like This angle so I’m planning for this Being more of the front as opposed to Where it is right now so I’m kind of Planning the branches that way so this One as you can see on this one right Here I’ve really got to send these Branches and let these grow into this Area over here okay so now up at the top I’ve got some branches going up and Those are easy if they’re going straight Up I cut them back usually there’s a Couple buds on the bottom that will Eventually grow you know to the side Rather than straight up but those are so Many easy ones to get rid of like this One’s going straight up so we can just Cut that off now some of those if you Want you can bring them down with wire

Or I can just let them grow this one I’m Not going to put that much wire I’m just Going to do a purely clipping grow so We’re going to see how that goes without Applying wire see these ones you can Bring them down if you want and wire is Definitely the shortcut but I find that Homes grow so fast that I just I just Cut them back okay over here on the back Side or on this side here is a big empty Space right here or in this area so I Can bring this down with wire or I can Let I can let the branches grow in the Spot like that Okay this one right here is going off Way too much of the fence where we cut That back and that’s just again this one Right here is going up so we cut that Back okay and then we start to get some Structure there and this one I’m gonna Let it grow because it’s too young this One has about three pairs it’s still too Young and I can tell that it’s not Doesn’t have woody growth in there so Just let that sit these guys are going Up don’t cut that one back this guy Right here you know I’ve wanted to come Down like this we’ll see how it develops Right now it’s kind of coming up I could Put guy wire I could put wire I’ll just Let that over I like that one though cuz This one I hands go film this whole Space right here it doesn’t look like I’m getting anything there but if I do

I’ll save it but for now I use that as My I’ll use that for that branch this Empty spot right there okay let’s get Rid of things going to the top and then Make sure if they have branches or Leaves point it down I could save those Because those will eventually hit that Right okay One’s gone up rid of you can see a lot Of them go up and that’s always how it Is with the Chinese Elms Chinese Elms You’re always going to get a lot of Vigorous growth going to the top right To the apex so you’re not to worry Really About cutting those at all so now Starting to look a little bit better you Know but this tree is still a ways off From looking really nice But now I’ve got sone going up now that League know fide so I can cut those back These ones let’s see if we got anything Let’s go fill in this space down here Yeah it looks like I got a branch here This one right here so I’ll let that one Grow if I also got this branch here so I’ll let this grow to fill in this spot As well but this one’s too high so I Don’t have to worry about it so I cut That back and put this one back further I’ve got these branches I got some butts Coming down this way so I can leave it Then this guy’s grown off to nowhere so We can cut that one back and that’s just

To create the crown really at this point If you have to trim back to create the Crown that’s fine okay so I’ve got this That I saved I’ve got this I’ve got this So now if I look at the front again okay Which is around there to the camera I’ve Got this thing here now this one’s Coming off to the side over here but I’ve got some better branches over here That I can use so I’m not gonna save That one okay so at the top has gone too Far up it’s too thick so you want to Make sure you got some delicate branches There at the top okay so I raised up the Table a little bit raised up a little Bit more so you kind of see on the same Level it still looks a little bit funny And that’s kind of how it’s going to be When you’re working on clipping grow Trees is there going to look a little Bit funny for a little bit and that’s Just because I can’t magically kind of Put these all on here and get them to Grow really quickly I basically just Have to wait for the seasons and you’re Going to get all this hairy growth Basically all those crazy strands coming Out and you have to let them do that so That the branches can lignified so they Can cut them back and then you’ll get Huts going forward you can see that this One I’ve been waiting for a while Actually it’s like so that previous two Years I just had one or two branches now

Luckily I’ve got these guys over here These guys and I’m going to let those Grow and they haven’t been growing yet Because they’ve been drawing all this Attention to those longer branches so Now they have a chance to go out this Way but as you can see this side has Been progressing a lot faster Maybe I’ll shorten this one up over to Here so that I can get this to be really Compact Than dents and then this guy right here Still growing and I’m hoping that once This develops you get some nice balance Here now you got this funny stuff right Over here you’re like what’s going on With this thing right here and that’s Because we have to leave it so that the Branches can get woody growth in there Before I cut it back also once it grows Out and let it also grows out the branch Also thickens the branch so that way When it comes out maybe you put some guy Wire you just put like a little piece of Wire here attached to a root or attach It to the bottom of the pot right here And just let it sit there and it’ll Eventually take into that spot this one I have to let it grow up but it looks a Little funny because it’s kind of coming Off to the side there it’s the same with The one on the back here this one’s a Little funny but I want that in that Spot I want that in that spot so you

Just kind of have to plan for that over Here I’ve got this one coming off over Here and this one comes off over here And I want them I want these guys right Here Just like that now I’m not applying Wider this one I’m only doing clipping We’re on this one so otherwise if I put Wire right now look much better because They’d be in the spots they’re supposed To be in but we’re not going to do that For this tree so this one were down like They’re down there and then got a rogue Branch right there and then we just kind Of do it incrementally and I think elm Trees are great beginner trees you know You can really shape it to however you Want and you can just push them back and Push them back into any shape you want If you want to go into complex around Fication then you can really keep up on Making sure that you’re just saving Those pairs and your villain zigzag and You’re kind of creating some movement in There but if you just want to create a Full pad you can ignore all that if you Want and just cut it back to how you Want it to create a full pad it’s Entirely up to you You know unless you’re putting these Things in shows and you want it to be Again some really some some scrutiny on It you don’t really have to focus on That just do what you like to do make

The tree how you like to make it look And then just print it back as you you’d Like it all right so hopefully you guys Enjoyed watching this video on how to Sort of shape a Chinese elm goes over Basically the same techniques we did in The previous video about pruning a Chinese elm just goes into another Example of it especially on a smaller Tree I find that they’re great beginner Trees to work on you can do a lot with Them and they grow vigorously and They’re very easy to take care of if you Have any questions leave them in the Comments below otherwise thanks for Watching [Music] You [Music]