Thread Graft Seiju Elm?

[dbonsaiw]

Just wanted to confirm whether it is possible to thread graft on a seiju elm. I need to thicken up the lower trunk on one and wasn't sure if the cork bark would interfere with a thread graft.

 

[dbonsaiw]

Surprisingly little info on this, but I did find a post from Shibui from back in 2018 where he says he has done this. So I guess the answer is yes.

 

[Shibui]

The cork is outer, dead layers of bark that does not drop off. The area that does the actual graft union is the cambium layer just between the live bark and inner wood. All trees have cambium so all trees can be grafted.
The corky outer layers will definitely cause some issues, mainly locating and matching cambium, but will not preclude the possibility of a successful graft.

The elm I grafted was a corky bark Chinese elm and I used approach graft rather than thread graft but no reason thread graft won't work too if you can manage to align the pieces correctly.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Elms, including 'Seiju' generally back bud prolifically enough that it is rare to need to graft branches. Generally just give them good sun, water, fertilizer and a little time. Buds should pop everywhere. Are you giving your tree enough sun and water?

 

[dbonsaiw]

The background is that I purchased this Seiju elm on the cheap. I like the tree and have enjoyed guy wiring branches into better positions and developing the canopy. The tree, however, had issues when I got it. The two branches at the split of the trunk have developed large knuckles. In addition, the trunk below the split is considerably thinner than the area above it and this is really noticeable from a front view. I'm going to live with the knuckles (at least for now), but want to improve the lower trunk. I had some success growing branches low down to help fatten up the base, but nothing seems to grow higher up before the split. Enter the thread graft question to fix the reverse taper.

(I also accidentally removed the bark from the lower trunk last spring when removing moss).

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Okay, makes sense.