Elm seedling question

Joe_B

Yamadori
Messages
60
Reaction score
48
Location
Philadelphia
USDA Zone
7b
Hi all. I have 3 small Elms that are two years old. One of them has really long shoots and is beginning to fall over (picture 3). I’m wondering if cutting it back a bit this time of year would be ill-advised. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.
 

Attachments

  • 046F7E12-980E-4B32-864E-A83F63470150.jpeg
    046F7E12-980E-4B32-864E-A83F63470150.jpeg
    219.7 KB · Views: 40
  • A3B0048F-BA11-42AF-B617-A678C0B67476.jpeg
    A3B0048F-BA11-42AF-B617-A678C0B67476.jpeg
    210.4 KB · Views: 43
  • ADB91FE1-9150-4E7E-8733-0063FB81B096.jpeg
    ADB91FE1-9150-4E7E-8733-0063FB81B096.jpeg
    214.9 KB · Views: 43

Hack Yeah!

Omono
Messages
1,634
Reaction score
3,178
Location
Marietta, GA
USDA Zone
7b
At this point I'd wait until the leaves fall, let it take what ever energy it can until then.
 

W3rk

Chumono
Messages
606
Reaction score
899
Location
MD
USDA Zone
7a
Hi all. I have 3 small Elms that are two years old. One of them has really long shoots and is beginning to fall over (picture 3). I’m wondering if cutting it back a bit this time of year would be ill-advised. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.
You're not too far from me. Elms could continue to grow into early October. Let them do their thing. More branches and more foliage means more energy and growing. Since these are small and young you want all the growth you can get.
 

Joe_B

Yamadori
Messages
60
Reaction score
48
Location
Philadelphia
USDA Zone
7b
Thanks guys, think I’ll just leave it be or prop it up with a stake. No real benefit in cutting back now.
 

PA_Penjing

Chumono
Messages
762
Reaction score
1,208
Location
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
USDA Zone
6b
Thanks guys, think I’ll just leave it be or prop it up with a stake. No real benefit in cutting back now.
I'm fairly certain that all that torque from the dangling/arching branches helps thicken the trunk of tree. If it really bothers you I'd trim it before using a stake, but that's purely my thinking
 

Tieball

Masterpiece
Messages
3,099
Reaction score
3,174
Location
Michigan. 6a
USDA Zone
6a
I’d just let it grow. Wildly. It will strengthen itself. I’ve taken seedlings and cut them back…but only after the first growth takes hold in spring. Before winter, and in autumn, I let the trees create their own winter freezing and ice barriers on the branches. For me the elms survive better that way. If I pruned now I’d get a lot of water bleeding when the spring growth wants to start. A lot. Eventually a cut seals off but I wouldn't really gain anything cutting earlier. That’s been my experience.
 

sorce

Nonsense Rascal
Messages
32,908
Reaction score
45,579
Location
Berwyn, Il
USDA Zone
6.2


Sorce
 
Top Bottom