Teaching and supervision

Bonsai is a slow craft built on watching closely how a tree takes shape over the years. This tree is in the moyogi, or “informal upright”, style: the trunk rises from base to apex in irregular yet balanced curves, while the apex stays roughly above the roots. The aim is to recreate, on a small scale, the form that wind and time give a tree in nature.

The species is the Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia), native to China, Korea and Japan. Its leaves are small, glossy dark green and finely toothed, turning yellow, sometimes purple and red, in autumn. Depending on the climate it drops its leaves in winter or keeps some of them. As it ages the bark flakes off in patches, revealing lighter bark beneath, which is why it is also called the lacebark elm. Its flowers are small and inconspicuous and, unlike most elms, open in late summer. It tolerates a wide range of cold and heat and responds well to pruning, which makes it one of the most widely used bonsai species.

This tree has been with me since 2012. The photograph was taken in May 2022, with the spring growth fully out. I do not know its exact age; S-trunk elms like this are usually sold at five to ten years old. Given the thickness of the trunk, I estimate it is now around 20 to 25 years old.