I Have a chinese elm malsai...(actually not a bad tree for
playing with)
that i've been practicing ramification on. It has about 4
decent branches
on which im trying to develop. I started by removing all the
leggy growth
from last season... which didnt leave a whole lot anywhere. but
the new
growth is quckly popping up everywhere. I remove the small
green buds where
i dont want em. and i clip the new growth back to two small
leaves after
they reach 4 or 6 internodes. alot of the growth (not all )isnt
starting
out on the ends of branches where i would like it.. but
rather... new
shoots keep popping out of the main branch and around the
collars of
branches. should i just keep removing this growth if it isnt
wanted?
how..or can i encourage growth on the ends of branches? and for
how long
should i keep trimming back new growth? what point in the
season should i
just let it grow and make food. It is quite vigorous. maybe too
vigourous?
i feel like i am removing so much growth (becaseu it is not
where i want
it) that it may harm the tree.... but it keeps coming back with
new buds

I sometimes think pinching Chinese elms must be a major reason
for bonsai-related carpel tunnel syndrome ;-) .

But you may not get growth on the ends of branches where you cut
them previously. You may have to be satisfied with letting
something grow NEAR the end of a branch stub, then trimming the
stub (carefully) back to the new growth. These trees sometimes
die back a bit from where the cut occurred, so new growth may be
1/4 inch behind the stub. (But then, sometimes these trees don't
seem to notice that they've been cut back and sprout everywhere.
It may be a cultivar thing.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Our life is
frittered away by detail . . . . Simplify! Simplify. -- Henry
David Thoreau - Walden

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