Collected Winged Elm

markyscott said:
See how strongly the top has grown? If you leave it too long like this, it will totally take over and the lower branches will weaken and die off.
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Thanks for sharing that tidbit. I have one we left to grow out and I plan on striking cuttings from the top growth this week for that reason. It is good information to share with others here ;)

Grimmy
 
markyscott said:
New growth I've chosen to keep is wired into position. Note that I've pruned to keep some of this years growth. Don't prune into old wood and remove all of the current growth - that's cut back and it's done in late winter or early spring (or fall for me because there is no winter here).
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What is the risk of removing all the current growth (assuming you are talking about just on one extension, rather than the whole tree)? Does it stunt the secondary flush?
 
Lars Grimm said:
What is the risk of removing all the current growth (assuming you are talking about just on one extension, rather than the whole tree)? Does it stunt the secondary flush?
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Hi Lars - I'm glad you asked. It weakens the tree. It invested a lot of resources on pushing new growth. Cutting it all off should be avoided - let it keep some the new growth. You can cut back into old wood if there is a strongly growing interior shoot to cut back to. But cutting back into old wood without an interior shoot is cutback - I do it only in the dormant season.

Scott
 
Last edited:
Four seasons of development since I started over with the branches. Ive fallen into a pattern with this tree - December, defoliate when the leaves start to turn (we call that fall in Houston); January-February, repot if needed and cut-back; May-July wire out new growth as it hardens.

Here’s a July-December comparison:

54A69B0E-587B-4C96-9E47-8E8907D1F500.jpeg 511ED442-7B4F-4903-9FFD-CF0A7E7351AB.jpeg

Scott
 
Lars Grimm said:
Great progression thread. Scott, can you comment on your design decision regarding the thickness of the primary branches? The lowest branch seems so thin to my eye.
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Hi Lars. You’re right that it’s underdeveloped. It’s a young shoot that sprouted a couple of years ago. I’m trying to develop it into the key branch but it will take time. I don’t get as vigorous growth on the basal shoots as I do on the apical branches. I think I’m going to really have to focus on keeping the apical growth in check in order to get enough growth ther to make that branch believable.

Scott
 
markyscott said:
Hi Lars. You’re right that it’s underdeveloped. It’s a young shoot that sprouted a couple of years ago. I’m trying to develop it into the key branch but it will take time. I don’t get as vigorous growth on the basal shoots as I do on the apical branches. I think I’m going to really have to focus on keeping the apical growth in check in order to get enough growth ther to make that branch believable.

Scott
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Thanks! Do you have a rule of thumb for what thickness the branch should be in relation to the trunk thickness? The lowest branch on the other side also seems borderline thin to me. Although the tree has a slightly more feminine aspect to it, so maybe that is appropriate.
 
Lars Grimm said:
Thanks! Do you have a rule of thumb for what thickness the branch should be in relation to the trunk thickness? The lowest branch on the other side also seems borderline thin to me. Although the tree has a slightly more feminine aspect to it, so maybe that is appropriate.
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Hi Lars - I guess I don’t or I haven’t thought about it. I just let the branches extend until they’re about thick enough for my taste. Then I cut them back and start working on ramification. The branches will still thicken over time relative to the trunk, but much slower, so its a bit of a guessing game about when to make that first cut. I’m OK with the relative size difference of that branch, but the lowest still has a bit of a way to go. I’d imagined it as almost a second trunk to occupy the negative space on that side of the tree. We’ll see how it works out.

Scott
 
Hi Scott!

I just had the privilege of reading this thread start to finish and loved it. You provide so much insight.

I bought and repotted a large winged elm last spring but left it alone for the most part. I am looking to start training it this year. I was wondering about how you wire these. Mine has some big beautiful wings on the branches that I would love to keep and not damage.. do you simply sacrifice the wings for shape?? I was going to use guy-wires to help with bigger moves but I know that won’t cut it for everything. I will make a thread sometime soon hopefully you can shed some insight. :)

Also, why did you choose to leave the ends of your branches long this winter?

Thanks!
 
Ryan H said:
I just had the privilege of reading this thread start to finish and loved it. You provide so much insight.
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Hi Ryan. I’m glad you feel like you got something out of it.

Ryan H said:
I bought and repotted a large winged elm last spring but left it alone for the most part. I am looking to start training it this year. I was wondering about how you wire these. Mine has some big beautiful wings on the branches that I would love to keep and not damage.. do you simply sacrifice the wings for shape?? I was going to use guy-wires to help with bigger moves but I know that won’t cut it for everything.
Click to expand...

I don’t worry about the wings when I wire. They break off. No big deal - I’m training it to develop good branch structure and, eventually, fine twiggy ramification. I’m not too concerned with the wings.

Ryan H said:
Also, why did you choose to leave the ends of your branches long this winter?
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Cutback is coming - I just haven’t gotten to it yet, but I’ll post and update when I do.

Scott
 
@markyscott thanks for the continued posting and progress commentary on this Elm. I’ve been learning a lot from this posting as I get closer to digging up several American Elms in my growing ground area. I’m gaining confidence for my next steps.

And...I keep looking at that cart that appeared earlier in this post. I need to find the base cart...and then I believe I can accomplish the wheel change.
 
Davidlpf said:
Nice post, thanks for sharing your work.
I look forward to see new shots of the new shoots!
Greetings from Spain!
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Bienvenido! It’s leafing our now. I’ll take some pictures soon.

Scott
 
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