Elm Raft hard prune

Today I decided it was time to cut back to gain better structure and eliminate unwanted shoots. This looks drastic and almost a step backwards but is necessary in gaining good taper, budding and character. I will try and keep wiring to a minimum now and just use clip and grow. This gives better movement and looks more natural than the swoopy lines you get with wiring.

                              Here you can see how the back branches are starting to develop

                                                                         The back. These pictures added to the thread.    http://wildwoodbonsai.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/english-elm-raft.html