Warbled wings whirling within
Spangled zephyrs painting streams all over
Chitmouse, sparrow, finch, and hummingbird
Spinning, dancing, weaving dreams unseen.

Spilled Ink
An Original Nonsense Poem by @creativetruth

#poem #poetry

This is my Chinese Elm tree. It was looking quite shaggy with long over-grown new stems emerging in all kinds of strange direction. I decided to get out my trusty bonsai shears, and trim those stems down to size.

In this post, I'll be showing the results of my recent work on this tree.

Here are the historical details of this tree since I started posting about it on steemit:

ID: 0005
Nickname: Peach
Type: Chinese Elm
Age: 4.5 years
Grown: cutting
Last repotting: early summer 2017
Wired: never

You can also review my past photos and work on this tree in these two posts:

• Pruning Chinese Elm Start to Finish
• Princess Peach is in another castle

Generally speaking, with a potted tree you only need branches to be proportionally long enough to support the size of the tree compared to the size of the pot it lives in.

If you have ever seen Tommy Boy, starring Chris Farley he comically demonstrated what can go wrong when he chants "Fat guy in a little coat". In bonsai, you can end up with a root-bound tree, a broken pot, or a tree that tips over because it is top-heavy because it was allowed to grow too large. Like a person who does not diet and exercise, an overfed and overgrown tree will eventually decline in health. Rest in peace Chris Farley.

Care to maintain size must always be taken into account.

Looking at the tree from the top, I can't even see the inner shape of the tree. It is a perfect umbrella. My mind often sees pictures within pictures.

For some reason, I recalled a book from childhood. Madeleine L'Engle's book A Wind in the Door has a cover illustration of a jumbled bunch of wings and eyes, representing the alien-like form of a Cherubim Angel.

Source photo salvaged from Good Reads

I'm going to be opening up a lot more space within my tree, allowing for sunlight, air, and rain to pass through, which will improve the health of the tree.

Here is the finished result.

Reverse view.

And top view.

Chinese Elm is a very resilient tree, capable of healing wounds and forming new growth very quickly after the loss of many branches and roots.

Often times the pruned branches and roots will re-grow, making it a very valuable tree to own because it can be propagated from cuttings so easily.

In fact, I recently donated my second and third tree cuttings to fellows at our local bonsai club, and they were overjoyed to add this type of tree to their own collections.

Here you can see the base of the tree. I had planted it at a level to expose some of the roots with a rock filling some of the space underneath. These roots have thickened slightly which is good. Unfortunately, I did not anticipate that one of the roots would snap off completely and start to form leaves of its own.

This can happen in nature, and I am actually tickled when I view the pleasant scene of this mother tree's habit. It is a nurturer, giving life to a new child tree that will one day outgrow it.

Some day I will replant this small root, and it will become a very exotic shape for a new bonsai tree I am sure.

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Sources included:

Tommy Boy: Movieclips on Youtube
A Wind in the Door: Good Reads

All other photos in this post are #originalworks by @creativetruth.

Find me on discord and chat with other tree growers, bonsai enthusiasts, and gardeners. We have quite a few accredited experts filling out our ranks, and a helpful Spanish-speaking community.

#teambonsai

No memberships. Love trees. Make friends. Grow together.

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Bonus Photo:

#Pumpkin #blossom in #bloom shortly after transplanting.

Expecting things to happen against the will of nature may lead to disappointments. Appreciation for nature's simple gifts of change is a trait that should be exercised to fully experience the unending joys of life.