Chinese Elm - from Mallsai

[keri-wms]

Just a progression - I got this group off eBay and split it up. This one needed a deep pot as the roots were in "two layers".

I tried keeping the other two trees indoors to see if I could manage it - the mites had a go at them, one died and the other lost loads of branches....fail.

This one was much healthier (partly due to being outdoors, possibly due to the deep pot too I suspect)

Jul 2008:

Sept 2008 (after removing the second branch on the right):

June 2012

2014 (photos to follow, only from my phone though)
I just ring-barked below the surface roots, added rooting hormone and put it in a deep flower pot (nearly to the first branch) to hopefully grow some decent nebari.

The deeper roots I need to lose are three twisted tap roots, really nasty!!

 

[jedge76]

It looks like you took something generic and gave it a nice personal touch. I really like the direction it is going...there's always something beautiful to me about a short, pudgy trunked elm. Nice work! I do hope you keep this updated over the years!


--Joe

 

[keri-wms]

Thanks, will do!

 

[KennedyMarx]

I like how it's come along so far.

You could try cutting the tap roots back little by little each year when you repot. Each root pruning would stimulate growth back closer towards the trunk.

 

[keri-wms]

Thanks! I'll have to try and get photos up of what I did to the roots - each one has in effect been partially ground layered by partial ring barking.

I could have just ground layered the whole trunk but I didn't feel that brave, and you can sometimes end up with lopsided roots etc that way too.

 

[GerhardG]

Hi

I like your tree, definitely going the right way.

Elms are tough, if you could put it in a bigger pot for a while and build up the tree's strength, you could go nuts and fix the roots pretty quickly.

I recently had to get the last bit of an Elm out of a nursery bag and into a pot to facilitate moving, 70%+ roots remove in late summer, and the tree just seemed to appreciate being in a better planting medium than the old nursery soil!

Just feed it, build up reserves and then go to town on it!

 

[keri-wms]

I finally got a chance to pull the photos of what I have already done to the tree off my iPhone (hence the naff photos) - looks like we're all on the same page! The tree is still growing new shoots so I'm sure it'll be fine......

After a trim:

The problem, and the reason this tree has been in a deep pot!!!! This is the back.

After ring barking:

Detail from the front:

Like the pot?!

 

[KennedyMarx]

I'm sure you'll have good results. I wonder if you could have instead just cut that off at the ring barked portion and potted it up as a root cutting? Maybe the other pieces of nebari could have been trimmed back to forced new roots closer towards the base.

 

[keri-wms]

As a means of propagating another Elm? It might have worked, but I've got pots and pots of rooted normal Elm cuttings as I can't resist sticking pruned branches in compost just in case!

The advantage of my method as I understand it is that the inner layers of bark (and soft wood?) will still be helping support the top of the tree as the sap flows up, while the outer layer which flows down and supports the roots has been cut off, promoting root formation at the damaged point.

So it's running the sacrificed portion of root into the ground to help the top of the tree - ideal! (unless I'm wrong of course!!! )

 

[keri-wms]

Wellllll, this one didn't make it.

I have to say, I've given up on Chinese Elm! I never have any luck with them for whatever reason, they keep growing in winter and get frozen, they pop buds in spring and get that wilty shoot dieback thing....for an easy species they have a lot of downsides!