SIBERIAN ELM "ELMER" - COLLECTED 2013

MAJOR UPDATE AT BOTTOM OF SCROLL

My first collected tree, assisted by fellow Arbor Arts Collective co-founder, Brian Susler. I found this guy road-side on the fringes of a construction site.

above and below: A couple months after collection in spring of 2013

above and below: Into a Mica pot for 2014 (still undecided as to the front view)

above: Spring of 2015 into a deeper pot to facilitate the desired angle change - (note, the bottom of the pot was blocked off to reduce the over all depth of the substrate)

above and below: Spring 2016 - After checking the new root progress, I was able to get it into a shallower pot with a better planting angle.

above and below: Late 2016 - Note the new shoot emerging from the lower part of the tree... I decided to keep that to see what I will see ;-)

above: 2017 - I have now moved it into a nice vessel by local Milwaukee Potter - Johnny Menzel. That shoot mentioned above has begun to figure into the final design...

above and below: Also 2017 and I have begun to consider and create some dead wood features in the crown in order to take care of some flaws taper issues.

above: 2018 I also began to create some basal interest, again to clear up some design flaws created by the repotting angle changes.

above and below: 2018 more deadwood work is done. Work also continues on refinement of the crown, work that will take another couple of years. In the mean time, that shoot emerging from the base continues to thicken and will be an important part of the design.

As of now the front viewing angle has been established....

At this point, the tree will no longer be repotted every year as it had been. That was being done due to both inexperience in my part (listening to "antiquated" advice) and to facilitate the planting angle changes.

More updates to follow as time passes.

LATE 2025 UPDATE !!!

MAJOR loss in the main crown of the tree a few years back... Its decline coinciding with my mother's own decline... Finally it just gave up around the time she shed her mortal mantle... Which left me with only the subordinate tree that fortuitously emerged some years back that was of great debate, whether to keep or not... Glad I did... It led to a radical redesign

It is now much more a Mother/Son composition than a traditional Mother/Daughter style.

I now call this "Ghost Mother" and it is in a vessel by Byron Myrick

Below are pics from a display, along with some before pics