First Tree

So my first purchased over 3 years ago was what I have already described as another "mallsai" I was inexperienced at the time and knew no better place to get one than in my local Homebase. The tree was a Chinese Elm, and I immediately took the labels advise and kept it indoors. The tree sat in my room seemingly happy enough and pushed at new growth. This new growth was however pale and slightly leggy, the first indication that the position of the tree was not ideal. Following this pale and leggy growth the tree began to display yellowing leaves and also drop them. At this point I knew something was wrong and so after researching a little on the internet decided the tree would be much happier where it was intended to live, namely outside. After I moved it outside its recovery was almost instantaneous, it pushed out new growth where it had previously lost it, and a much more compact habit.

This Is the earliest picture I could find of the tree, still sporting it's original blue glaze pot. This was probably about a year after purchase. I know now that I left this tree far too long in it's pot I bought it in and more importantly in the same growing medium it was bought in. The soil these trees are usually growing in from purchase is very unsuitable, it holds far too much moisture and has little drainage capacity. In order to get maximum growth and health for the tree's roots it needs to be planted in a free draining but moisture retentive at the same time type of medium. You will also notice I had added some moss on top of the medium to simulate grass. Whilst this can look alright, it should only really be used for a short period i.e. for a show, as the moss can cause further drainage issues and also harbor unwanted guests e.g. creepy crawlies! The moss also provided a further problem for me in that it began to grow up the trunk, making the bark underneath it constantly wet, this led to the trunk beginning to rot at the bottom, which I have now sorted out but was worrying at the time. Since this picture I have repotted the tree into a more suitable growing medium and it is being allowed a period of free growth as I am planning to extend it's silhouette into a much broader shape.

Here it is as it stands today, no dramatic change but looking very healthy and well on it's way to my future view for it. In hindsight the pot I repotted it into is all wrong both in shape and size, and once it has achieved the desired shape I intend to pot it into a more suitable round pot with a dull glaze, more suited for this style a informal broom tree.

Lastly I have included a rough virtual representation of the shape I would like to achieve to give some idea of where it is heading. The current more rounded shape will be replace by a much shallower and wider dome which will appear to bring the height on the tree down, appear as if the trunk is thicker, and give it a bit more presence. Then with the addition of a more suitable pot I think this tree will not be a bad addition to my collection, from humble beginnings.