Cork Bark Chinese Elm(s)

[M. Frary]

Speaking of layering, this one's a little tricky. I can't open as wide a girdle on one side as I'd usually like, because I don't have trunk to spare above or below the layer site - it butts right up to the new post-chop leader on the bottom tree:

View attachment 103463

That looks like it's going to be tight Colin. Think it will work or will it bridge the gap. Elms,you know.

 

[petegreg]

Colin, have you considered peeling the bark in places with reverse taper? Like (not) recommended in case of pines...
BTW I'm sure you'll have two nice trees from this...

 

[ColinFraser]

That looks like it's going to be tight Colin. Think it will work or will it bridge the gap. Elms,you know.

I put a thick piece of wire in there and really tightened it down; I hope that helps. That's another reason why I want to get callusing started with the sphagnum and then check it and switch to a pot in a while.

 

[ColinFraser]

Well that was quick; I had a peek underneath the foil cover today and found this:


There's even a root trying to escape through a hole in the plastic:
(Note my root-guarding spider)



Cool! That's less than 6 weeks so far . . . Sometime in the next few days I may find time to gently open it, and perhaps transition to a pot for a while.

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

I love those corky elms...

 

[ColinFraser]

I opened up that layer at some point and was unhappy with what I saw. I removed the plastic, let those roots dry out, and left the tree to grow the rest of last year. Now it's time to start again, a little higher this time:



There's more of the tree in the cut pile than on the tree

 

[ColinFraser]

I'm going with the pot this time:



I didn't bother with any hormones or moss; I expect it to make no difference whatsoever

 

[jeremy_norbury]

Why did you remove the branches when it's the foliage that causes the roots to grow?

 

[ColinFraser]

Why did you remove the branches when it's the foliage that causes the roots to grow?

If I'm going to let it run amok to power the layer, it might as well be growing branches I can use. The branches I cut off were way too heavy for the small tree I'm trying to make, and letting them grow vigorously would only make that worse.

Instead, I expect it to bud like crazy, and I'll let those grow unchecked. In that way, I'll get a head start on healing those big cuts too . . .

 

[jeremy_norbury]

I'm starting a couple more this year on two cork bark elms I have in the garden.

Here's one I made last summer

09049520 by Jerry Norbury, on Flickr