Cedar Elm Clump

[markyscott]

This is an interesting Cedar Elm clump originally collected in the Dallas area. A friend here in Houston got it at auction at the last LSBF convention. I’ve always been a sucker for clumps, so I bought it from him. Here’s the tree as purchased.



Scott

 

[markyscott]

Repotting was a bit of a nightmare. I wish I’d taken some pictures. The pot was solid with roots, but they all issued from the bottom of the tap root, which was never removed. The field soil had never been removed and it was packed full of gumbo and big rocks. I bare rooted the tree and removed the tap root with a saw. I left 3 roots at the base of the trunk. We’ll rebuild the nebari from there. Nothing to hold it into the pot, so I put a block of wood below the trunk and stabilized it with wire from the bottom of the pot and over the nebari. Here’s the tree after repotting and pruning off the dead growth.


It’s slow to push growth - that’s expected after removing 99% of the roots I suppose. I’ll let it grow freely for the year and we’ll see where we are at the next repotting season.

- S

 

[markyscott]

Nice while it lasted, but I never got to see a leaf on it. After a bit of bud swelling it died a silent death - never sent any spring growth. First repotting loss in decades.


Bummer.
S

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Bummer. I know the feeling, my Shohin Chinese Elm took a dive this spring after repotting, for no apparent reason. I stuck it in the ground and it’s making a recovery, but I don’t think it would have made it much longer in the pot.

 

[namnhi]

Oh man I always thought elms are impossible to kill. Live and learn!

 

[thumblessprimate1]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[markyscott]

Thanks for sharing!

We learn from our failures as well as our successes. I was overconfident- removing the tap root over a couple of seasons would have been safer, especially because I was unaware of the health of the tree.

S

 

[rockm]

We learn from our failures as well as our successes. I was overconfident- removing the tap root over a couple of seasons would have been safer, especially because I was unaware of the health of the tree.

S

Sorry for the loss. FWIW, I don't think this is "your" failure--a healthy CE would have bounced back with no problem from a tap root removal. It sounds like this one had some issues that weakened it--original soil, compacted roots, etc. Those issues were the deciding factor, I think . CE can be collected with just about no roots and survive just fine--Zach collects them with a sawzawl and nothing else...but collected in season and healthy. Sounds like whoever collected it didn't know how to do it and it wasn't given the best chances out of the gate.

 

[markyscott]

Sorry for the loss. FWIW, I don't think this is "your" failure--a healthy CE would have bounced back with no problem from a tap root removal. It sounds like this one had some issues that weakened it--original soil, compacted roots, etc. Those issues were the deciding factor, I think . CE can be collected with just about no roots and survive just fine--Zach collects them with a sawzawl and nothing else...but collected in season and healthy. Sounds like whoever collected it didn't know how to do it and it wasn't given the best chances out of the gate.

Appreciate it and what you say is true. I’ve collected many cedar elm doing the same thing as Zach (I’ve even collected with him once as well). I think those experiences are what gave me confidence that what I did would work. But those were healthy trees. My main failure on this one is that I wasn’t sure of the health of the tree before I dug in. I knew it was in poor soil, so there was reason to suspect. If I were to do it over again, I would have been less aggressive with the roots during the initial repot until I was sure the tree was in good health.

S

 

[thumblessprimate1]

If I find a nice clump, I'll be sure to let you know. I sold one I like last year or the year before to a member here. I would love to know how it is doing.

 

[0soyoung]

Sorry for the loss. FWIW, I don't think this is "your" failure

I dunno. @markyscott is an evil nasty man - he should be very ashamed.
Boo on you @markyscott !! You killed a tree. OMG.

 

[Atom#28]

As a super-noob, this is a very helpful thread. I'm sorry to see it didn't go as planned for this one, but it'll help me remember that losses will be inevitable.

 

[Sekibonsai]

Death keeps us humble.

 

[Big Country Bonsai]

Nice while it lasted, but I never got to see a leaf on it. After a bit of bud swelling it died a silent death - never sent any spring growth. First repotting loss in decades.
View attachment 244248

Bummer.
S

Sorry about the tree but couldn’t help but spot the orchids in the background. I bet they do great down in Houston

 

[markyscott]

Sorry about the tree but couldn’t help but spot the orchids in the background. I bet they do great down in Houston

they love it here. I have a forest of them.
s

 

[Big Country Bonsai]

they love it here. I have a forest of them.
s

I’ve just started a small collection myself and can’t wait to see them grow into specimen size plants. Might take me longer than you being that I live in A drier part of Texas. Any favorites you could recommend? Feel free to pm me

 

[rockm]

I’ve just started a small collection myself and can’t wait to see them grow into specimen size plants. Might take me longer than you being that I live in A drier part of Texas. Any favorites you could recommend? Feel free to pm me

Why wait for small trees? Cedar elm is VERY easy to collect in larger sizes.

 

[markyscott]

I’ve just started a small collection myself and can’t wait to see them grow into specimen size plants. Might take me longer than you being that I live in A drier part of Texas. Any favorites you could recommend? Feel free to pm me

I’ve grown Brassavola, Paphiopedilum, Phalaenopsis, Dendrobium, Cattleya, Epicattleya, Vanda, Catasetum, Zygolum, Brassolaeliocattleya, Bletilla, and others with success. You’ll need a winter protection plan.

Don't bother with Cymbidium - they sell them everywhere, but they’re not suitable for here.

 

[markyscott]

Replacement Cedar Elm clump. Bigger.

 

[Lars Grimm]

Replacement Cedar Elm clump. Bigger.
View attachment 275139

An even nicer replacement!