TooMuchAtOnce
Seed
Hello, can anyone help me ID what type of elm this is? It was collected southeast of Austin, TX. Cedar Elm?
Elm ID Help
- Thread starter TooMuchAtOnce
- Start date
Goodbrake
Mame
Cedar elm certainly seems like a likely option. If it fruits in the fall that would be a dead giveaway, since apart from one other species that's basically isolated to Tennessee (ulmus serotina), it's the only native elm that fruits in the fall.
Cedar elm is named scientifically because of its thick leaves, so that would be another indication that you have a cedar elm. They typically feel a bit like cardstock in terms of stiffness and thickness, and have a rough upper surface like a cat's tongue. The leaf bases are oblique. All these things would be indicative of cedar elm.
Cedar elm is named scientifically because of its thick leaves, so that would be another indication that you have a cedar elm. They typically feel a bit like cardstock in terms of stiffness and thickness, and have a rough upper surface like a cat's tongue. The leaf bases are oblique. All these things would be indicative of cedar elm.
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Yep cedar elm.
Fwiw you don’t need a rootball that big. I have collected them simply by sawing around the root spread in the ground about a foot out. Then pull the tree up and saw off root four or five inches of the trunk. I bareroot all field soil at collection too.
This species is extremely tough when collected before leaves break in the spring
Leaving that much soil on the frogs can complicate recovery. I’d leave it be for this year but next spring you might want to consider a more extensive reduction
Fwiw you don’t need a rootball that big. I have collected them simply by sawing around the root spread in the ground about a foot out. Then pull the tree up and saw off root four or five inches of the trunk. I bareroot all field soil at collection too.
This species is extremely tough when collected before leaves break in the spring
Leaving that much soil on the frogs can complicate recovery. I’d leave it be for this year but next spring you might want to consider a more extensive reduction
TooMuchAtOnce
Seed
This was my first time collecting one. They are a great species of trees. There was not much of a root ball to speak of. There were some pretty thick roots, maybe 5 or 6, with just a few fine roots hanging on. The soil pretty much fell right off at collection. This is why I was apprehensive about reducing those thick roots. They were pretty long hence the big box.
In hindsight I probably should have reduced them. Would you still consider reducing those thick roots further next spring? Tree seems to be doing really well do far.
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
A big box of soil with a small root mass can mean trouble as the soil without the roots in it tends to stay wet. Wet soil can wind up inhibiting root growth. Damage doesn’t take hold immediately but over time.
It is best to get the tree into an initial pot that is only half to an inch h wider that the root mass.
Cedar elm can take dramatic root reduction. The primary roots can be reduced 90-95 percent. They reroot aggressively if they’re in relatively free draining regular bonsai soil with limited organic ingredients like 20 percent or less
I also would have chopped the top two thirds of the one you collected It’s far too tall. Cedar elm sprouts new buds readily from just about anywhere
The example below is a CE dug from a ranch near Tyler seven years or so ago in the pot it was put it immediately post collection. I collected many CE with Zach Smith of Bonsai South. He uses a cordless reciprocating saw no shovels. We just saw trees out of the ground. Takes about ten minutes or less depending on tree size.
The second photo is the tree now. Developing secondary branch structure now. I have a larger CE I got about 30 years ago as well.
