This Siberian elm that I dug last winter is really coming into its own. It needed a first full structural wiring and I had to take off a large chunk in the back. Here you can see the notch I cut out of the backside of the trunk. I had to cut down halfway and then start from the side to meet the downward cut.
![siberian elm bonsai structural pruning](https://mlea512ps8gw.i.optimole.com/w:810/h:1080/q:mauto/f:best/ig:avif/https://www.natesnursery.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/siberian-elm-bonsai-structural-pruning-scaled.jpg)
You can see the portion before I cut it off in the photo below from earlier in the season.
![siberian elm yamadori leafing out](https://mlea512ps8gw.i.optimole.com/w:auto/h:auto/q:mauto/f:best/ig:avif/https://www.natesnursery.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/siberian-elm-yamadori-leafing-out-scaled.jpg)
Overall it looks pretty clean from the front. Having that primary branch coming out from the left of the upper cut will help to heal that opening quickly.
![siberian elm bonsai structural wiring](https://mlea512ps8gw.i.optimole.com/w:auto/h:auto/q:mauto/f:best/ig:avif/https://www.natesnursery.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/siberian-elm-bonsai-structural-wiring-scaled.jpg)
The front:
![img 6374 1 768x1024 1](https://mlea512ps8gw.i.optimole.com/w:auto/h:auto/q:mauto/f:best/ig:avif/https://www.natesnursery.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/IMG_6374-1-768x1024-1.jpg)
Below you can see the old wire scares from early spring on the primary branch. I made sure to wire the same direction and offset the wire to not damage the healing that has taken place.
![img 4912](https://mlea512ps8gw.i.optimole.com/w:auto/h:auto/q:mauto/f:best/ig:avif/https://www.natesnursery.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/IMG_4912-scaled.jpg)
Here is the same branch a year later. With the fissured bark you’ll never notice this in a few years.
![siberian elm bonsai branch wired](https://mlea512ps8gw.i.optimole.com/w:auto/h:auto/q:mauto/f:best/ig:avif/https://www.natesnursery.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/IMG_6342-768x1024-1.jpg)
Spot on with this write-up, I honestly think this website needs far more
attention. I’ll probably be back again to see more, thanks for the advice!