Top 10 Chinese Elm Decor Ideas
Chinese Elm is one of the most popular bonsai options due to its twisting trunk, small leaves, and ease of maintenance. Moreover, it branches out beautifully, making it an ideal for home décor. If you keep it in good condition, it’ll grow fast, and hence, you can prune it about three times a year. Below are some Chinese Elm home décor ideas for your bonsai that you can easily incorporate into your plant.
Image courtesy of Jerry Norbury | Licence details
Chinese Elm Home Décor Ideas
- Informal Upright Style (Moyogi)
A Moyogi is one of the most popular bonsai styles as it’s similar to what trees look like in their natural habitat. You can retain its basic shape by cutting back and trimming around the edges. You’ll need a sharp pair of bonsai scissors due to their softwood. To make it more appealing, it’s a good idea to place the tree branches outside the curve. Your informal upright bonsai will look stunning in an oval glazed pot.
- Slanting Style (Shakan)
Shakan resembles a tree that’s slanted due to the force of wind and gravity. This style depicts resilience and strength and is perfect for a dramatic look. You’ll need a Chinese Elm tree with strong roots for balance as it’s tilting on one side. You might need the help of a botanist to create this style as they’ll be able to find the right tree with proper balance, roots, branches and determine the tilting angle.
- Semi-Cascade Style (Han-Kengai)
A semi-cascade style resembles a tree hanging from a cliff in which the trunk grows upwards first, and after a certain height, starts to grow downwards. During its downward growth phase, you must be careful of the angle as a wrong angle could cause imbalance and the trunk to snap. For this style, it’s best to use a deeper pot for strong root growth.
- Cascade Style (Kengai)
A cascade style takes the cliff-hanging to another level as the main trunk bends downwards and extends far beyond the pot. Kengais are difficult to grow, and you’ll need to devote a lot of time and effort to do that. It’s essential to maintain the right angle to retain the balance; else, things may get awry. You’ll need a deep and heavy pot as a counterweight for this style.
- Broom Style (Hokidachi)
A broom style is suitable for trees with fine branching, i.e., the trunk grows upright and branches out in all directions. It gives the tree a beautiful foliage canopy of small green leaves, which looks great in winter. This bonsai style would look great in a shallow ceramic oval or rectangular pot. To maintain its shape, you should prune your tree regularly.
- Literati Style (Bunjingi)
Bunjingi is meant for resilient trees like the Chinese Elm as it’s more stressful than the traditional styles. In this style, the trunk grows taller without any branches and has foliage on the top. It exemplifies elegance and aloofness. It would be best to keep your literati Chinese Elm bonsai indoor as it’s top-heavy and doesn’t do well outdoors. You’ll need a wider pot for balance or a small round pot glued to a base.
- Windswept Style (Fukinagashi)
A windswept bonsai style is great for indoors and a sheltered outdoor position. Its branches grow in one direction like it’s been swept by the wind from the other side. Albeit hard to maintain, it’s a great addition to your space as it signifies endurance and resilience. Shallow ceramic/stone rectangular, oval, or irregular-shaped pots are good choices for this style.
- Forest Style (Yose-ue)
A forest scene is created by pairing multiple Chinese Elms together in a container creating a forest effect. It would help if you planted them in large and shallow containers. It’s good to plant the developed trees in the center and the smaller ones in the corners. While planting the trees, make sure they’re in a staggered pattern and not in a straight line to give a natural look.
- Growing on a Rock (Sekijoju)
Sekijoju bonsai style mimics a rocky terrain where the roots grow around the rock to the soil. The roots aren’t entirely inside the soil, and thus, they’re exposed to the sun for the most part. As a result, a special bark can be seen around them for protection. You can use stones as the tree’s base and follow the same care routine as a regular bonsai. Sekijoju represents struggle and survival.
- Bonsai Figurines
You can also place bonsai figurines as decorative items around any bonsai type. They are available in various shapes and designs, from mushrooms to animals, and can complement your bonsai perfectly. They’re commonly used for landscape and forest bonsai styles. You can get them in resin, stone, ceramic, and other materials. For instance, you can create a fairy garden scape by adding gnomes, wheelbarrows, unicorns, wagons, bridges, etc.
