Hi all,

So I got myself a cork bark elm cutting recently and I've potted it up and plan to let it grow for a while to gain some size. If I want to add any shape to the trunk, should I be wiring it early while it's still a cutting?

Would I better off creating movement by trunk chopping and selecting new leaders as the tree grows?

Many thanks

Hi Chris, welcome.
Look for baby bending online, and see  www.growingbonsai.net/baby-bending/  

A similar question, how do you wire cork bark and/or winged elms without knocking off the wings? I am about to have to do that.

I would suggest pruning to get shape not wire, but the plant needs to grow first and then cut back. Think about how an Elm grows, the ones with the big movement in the trunks is not really natural.

If I wired it, it was only going to be a gentle bend in the trunk. I'm not a fan of the very obvious and deliberate "S" shape you see on many chinese elms etc. I'll see if I can do it through pruning as you suggest.

Rather than start a new topic, I'll ask another question about the same tree...

From what I gather, thickening of a trunk is done via growing length in the branches in order to feed lots of foliage. Can the same principles be applied to small shohin trees? Will the trunk thicken if I just let the tree grow wild despite being in a limited pot size?

I would say do both. Bring movement in the trunk with wire. Make it more extreme than you think you need as curves even out a bit at the trunk thickens.

You then let the branches and the top of the trunk grow, and you regularly (every year or so) trim them back, every time a little further away from the roots.

Plants will thicken. Not matter whether in a pot or in the ground. The amount of growth is important. More growth & sun & fertilizer => The more thickening. Small container = less growth = slower thickerning.

Thanks Leatherback. When you say I regularly trim them back, each time a little further away from the roots, what do you mean? Do you mean further away as in letting the tree get taller/less of a severe trunk chop?