Here is a JBP that I purchased this year at the day after Thanksgiving sale at Yamaguchi Bonsai Nursery in Los Angeles.  It has very old bark, a nice base and great taper. It was awkwardly straight and at a very odd planting angle. With the help of one of my teachers(John Wang) we tied it in a knot . It has since been repotted and is pushing candles very well. I will give several updates as the tree progresses. Dont ask about the rocks, I think they were added to the pot for weight to counter balance the odd planting angle

Nathan
Let me pick your brain again.
Is that gauze, sheet rock tape or what ? I suppose that is in place of raffia. I saw on Peter Teas's blog that he uses a black plastic that he says they call rope in Japan. I was thinking of what I can use in replacement of raffia and so I'm interested in what you are using here. Have you ever or has any one tried rubber from pond liner. It's the same thing that inner tubes are made from. I think it is thicker that a car inner tube. I believe it is 42mm or there abouts. What have others on this forum tried to use?

Don,

On my Zelkova...

The pipe collar is an experiment on my part to see if it will suppress the bulging that already occurred, and keep it from getting worse.  I showed the pictures of my tree to Boon, and he said it probably wouldn't help.  Rats.

Now, the root work is something altogether different!

The plywood was kept in place when I potted it up.  That's the whole point... the plywood is screwed onto the bottom of the trunk of the tree so it can't move.  Then, when the tree is stable, the roots can be spread out flat.  I used screws to position the roots evenly around, and the screws are just holding the roots in position.  They aren't thru the roots.  You could use nails instead.  Boon said I should have been more aggressive on my root pruning.  That is, I left too many roots on when I did this.

But the tree survived and grew out well. 

HOWEVER, Boon suggested that I prune all the major branches back to about 1 to 2 inches!  Right now, from where the branches begin on the trunk they grow up about 6 to 8 inches before any significant branching occurs.  I'll never get good taper in the branches.  So, I need to do a major chop on all the branches!  I'll do this after I go back to Boon's in late January.

Boon found a photo series of a Zelkova in Contempory Bonsai showing the process.  So, as much as I like having a decent broom, it will not be as good as it could be unless I cut back those branches.

I will remove the pipe clamp, and take some pictures of what it looks like now, and then this spring, I'll update it with the "post-chop" photos.

Thanks for asking!

John,

You are, as usual, correct!

Boon said I may have to completely start over  with the top.  An idea might be to airlayer the top off, and use it for a "Clump Style" group planting, and then start over with a new top.

Adair, yep, good strategy, the clump would be pretty interesting in and of itself. Restarting could give you a very nice medium sized tree.

Nathan, i think the little Matsu Sprout has taken a good deal of his time and thought. This is a great way to promote work, I am sure it will be resurrected.

If Adair does air layer the top then can he be pretty sure he will get buds on the remaining trunk, even though there are no lower branches? I know a redwood or azalea would  have a pretty good  chance of re-budding. Is there a list of trees somewhere that back bud easily? That may be another uneducated question but that's how you get educated.

Yes, Don, that is how that zelkova was created to begin with.  It was cut straight across the top.  Then, it budded out, and nine branches grew out.  Unfortunately, they did not properly bind the new bases, and the unsightly bulge was created.  At some time, it was airlayered on the bottom.  Wonderful radial roots system was created.  That's the best part of this tree.  My work on the roots is an attempt to make them even better, and create a "plate" nebari.

After beginning Boon's Intensive classes, I've set my standards higher.  I'm no longer satisfied with mediocre bonsai, and I'm striving to create top quality.  If that means "starting over", c'est la vie!