Musing AFTER the deed is done..... Catlin elm

Mike Corazzi

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I know how popular threads asking advice ...after... it's done so ....
I have a CATLIN elm. Little leaves. Never as hardy as my Chinese Parvifolia but it eked out an existence and last year even seemed happy.
THIS year I wanted to repot it in a better shaped pot so... I did.
Buds were a-poppin and itty bitty green tips were showing so I thought, "hmmm, it's hasn't been repotted for 2 years...so.... here goes."

My effin GAWD!
Lifted it out of the pot and must have been two FEET of roots packed in. Good looking ones.
But.... no way to stuff that mass in a pot.

So I trimmed them down to the usual 3 or so inches from the center. Nice looking roots. Some white sprouty (?) ones. And repotted it.

Now... I hope it doesn't sulk like it did when I first potted it 3 years ago. 🤓
 

sorce

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I think there is a reason we end up repotting these every year.

Cutting roots is essentially creating "backroots". Since you missed last year where it would have sulked a little less than the previous year and a little more than this year, I think it may seem to sulk more this year since you cut it back to the same 3in.

sulk like it did

Maybe 6in would have made it even?

I think repotting every year is better for creating that unstoppable core.

But only slight trimming.

Snip snip here, snip snip there...

Sorce
 

Shibui

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Over here the elms hardly look back after a good root trim. Roots of these tend to be long and thick so it is good to cut those really short so that they will ramify and have even more new root tips. Initial root trim for mine leaves only very short stubs but they grow well after. Successive root pruning leaves the roots just a little longer each time building more and more root ramification.

The ones I know as Catlin have small dark green leaves and are also very slow to develop. Pruning a branch often only results in 1 new bud growing so ramification is very slow. They also tend to produce very long, straight shoots.

I am assuming your tree is small because they are slow growing. I find repotting smaller bonsai in small pots yearly is best. Small pots rapidly fill with roots and it then becomes difficult to water properly and less room for more roots so the trees start to suffer through the second summer ore even die. Annual repot for smaller ones helps keep them healthy.

Hoping your catlin powers ahead this spring.
 

Mike Corazzi

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I'm thinking the tree decided to leaf out from the massive root system.
Then I chopped off the roots.
The tree decided to die.....BUT.... when it looked to get back to its roots.... THERE WERE NONE!
So it said, "Oh hell, there's no place to go so I might as well go ahead and make leaves."

No? 🥴
 
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