New Chinese Elm

Deshi · Mar 3, 2014

Hello everyone, Just got a new Chinese Elm, having never styled one before let alone without the help of someone experienced in wiring Im looking for some advice on cleaning it up and what branches to keep and which to cut/ styling ideas.

Pics to follow shortly.

Deshi · Mar 3, 2014

Will post better pics tonight.

Poink88 · Mar 3, 2014

Nice tree.

Will wait for the better pics.

Deshi · Mar 3, 2014

Sorry for the low lite pics, I spent about an hour cleaning up the over growth. This was a tree that was a Brussels that was sitting in the back and was forgotten about and just was over grown.

iant · Mar 3, 2014

Looks like a night club elm
Ian

Deshi · Mar 3, 2014

Lol, I use a light that is ment to grow SPS coral to supplement lower light conditions found on cloudy Chicago winter days.

Deshi · Mar 3, 2014

As promised

Deshi · Mar 3, 2014

Two more of the elm....any suggestions would be great!

Poink88 · Mar 4, 2014

If this is mine, I'd cut it at the red mark. I will also remove the aerial root at the other side. Try to save and grow the top cutting.

M. Frary · Mar 4, 2014

Couple of questions for you first.
What type of soil is it in?(can't quite tell from the pictures.)
Have you lifted it to look at the roots? If it was sitting in the back neglected it may benefit from a repot.
Is it inside

Vin · Mar 4, 2014

Poink88 said:
If this is mine, I'd cut it at the red mark. I will also remove the aerial root at the other side. Try to save and grow the top cutting.

Man Dario you got a good eye...

Cypress · Mar 4, 2014

Nice specimen! And if you're in Chicago, I'm going to hazard a guess that it is inside given that it has leaves and isn't under a snow drift

. If that's the case, don't move it outside 'til spring but it will need to spend next winter outside or in a cold garage etc next winter and all consecutive winters. It is not a tropical species and as such needs a period of cold each year to go dormant. Too many winters inside and it will grow weak and die.

Poink88 · Mar 4, 2014

Vin said:
Man Dario you got a good eye...

Thank you!

It is all preferential though...what I like may please you also, but not others. In the end, it is what the tree owner likes and willing to do. Demolishing a tree to have a proper start (foundation) is sometimes difficult. In this case, it seem easy & straightforward for me.

Deshi · Mar 4, 2014

Having never done this before....I would just hack it off?!?! I'm kidding, but if someone could give me some insight on doing this that would be fantastic.

Cypress · Mar 4, 2014

Yea basically saw it off, early spring is a good time to do that. You would want to carve the wound so that it is concave... like gouged out a bit, that will help the bark on the sides heal a callous over it. Then some people like to treat the cut with what is called 'cut paste' on the wound to prevent it from drying out/dying back. Some swear by it, some don't use it at all. I think it depends the species your working with and the size of the cut. I made some beeswax/lanolin mixture that works great for preventing drying out.

Vin · Mar 4, 2014

Okay Dario, here's a challenging one for you. Can you do your magic with my Chinese Elm?

Poink88 · Mar 4, 2014

Vin said:
Okay Dario, here's a challenging one for you. Can you do your magic with my Chinese Elm?

Easy...you need to airlayer first though.

Vin · Mar 4, 2014

Poink88 said:
Easy...you need to airlayer first though.

That's cheating, but I plan on preparing a limb this weekend. However, I may just cut it back and layer next year. This picture is about three years old so the trunk and limbs have fattened up since then. Not trying to hijack this thread.

edprocoat · Mar 4, 2014

First off Chinese Elms are semi-deciduous trees, meaning kept in a warm environment they will not totally lose their leaves and go dormant. That said they can be kept indoors with proper conditions and will not die or weaken, but they will die if froze too hard like if your pot freezes solid and the roots are damaged. That would not happen on a full size tree as the roots are deep but in a pot... The chop would address the start of reverse taper showing above the mark that Dario posted in his reply. Keep in mind though that these are slow growing species and it would take several years for your leader to approach looking like a continuation of the trunk. You would get better results with a much larger growing area like a large grow box but it still will take a while. These are not like Maples and other varieties that grow fast and quickly repair wounds and develop large trunks.

ed

drew33998 · Mar 5, 2014

Vin said:
Man Dario you got a good eye...

I would like to see a branch on the right side of the curve if you make this chop. Not a bad one.

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