This is ridiculous! Norm, I NEVER read into Mark's post any kind of contradiction to you. His post was completely informative with no emotional content except what you read in there. Why would you possibly take his first sentence as a personal attack? Mark, try not to take the bait when confronted for something that didn't happen. You know you were simply trying to help out from your own experience. Own your integrity! You have a lot to bring to the table, and you sell yourself short in this kind of food fight. Here we have a case of everyone wearing their feelings on their sleeves, and finding offense where none was intended. So the supposed offendee gets his back up and spouts off, thus escalating what never existed. The printed word as communication leaves something to be desired in this fast-paced world. This is why people invented emoticons, and shorthand such as IMHO, LOL, LMAO, and ROFLMAO, among others. There is no vocal inflection or body language here to inform us what a person "meant by that." If I say to my wife, "You look nice today," but my eyes roll and I overemphasize the wrong word, I have insulted her. If I type to her, "You look nice today," what will she read into that? Probably whetever her recent experience has been with me. Everyone, for goodness sake, and in the spirit of bonsai, let's give the benefit of the doubt before lashing out at someone! Let them prove themselves of ill will before we take measures to isolate them and make them feel unwelcome. I'm begging all of you to acknowledge that corgies rule Chris Johnston

That's normal - the bark is supposed to be like that. It is only the outermost layer that is flaking off, similar to e.g. a London Plane. Resin

pine, I couldnt tell you mate. All I know is its a Zelkova, I recognised the leaves immediately. Plus years ago I gave my sis a Zelkova bonsai I grew from a cutting (had to give them up when I moved) and then she ended up having one on her doorstep!

Eventually the roots of a Zelkova will penetrate the area beneath the patio. I'm not sure I'm accurately understanding the patio's construction: dug down then an additional 3 feet above grade? In any case, you've created an ideal environment for roots of any sort of tree - relatively loose and moist. If you plant only 10 feet away, a fast growing tree like Zelkova will have its roots beneath the patio pretty quickly. How much damage they will do and how quickly is impossible to predict. Your dilemma is pretty common for west facing patios and decks. You need the shade from a fast growing tree, but you want to avoid root intrusion. The truth is you really can't have the first without the risk of the second. Artificial shade may not be as attractive as a tree, but would have the virtue of eliminating any root damage danger. You could also consider planting a tree such as a Japanese maple with a compact fibrous root system. It would be a long wait for any significant shade, but would not destroy the patio. As for the forsythia, they're easy to move, but spousal horticultural disputes are best avoided by all third parties.