Did I cut too much or too little?

[giventofly]

So I did my first pruning on two elms, did I cut too much or need to cut even more?

 

[Crazy Diamond]

You can pretty much cut them flush to the soil level and they sprout back no worries

 

[giventofly]

Are they that resistant ?

 

[Shibui]

Are they that resistant ?

Yes!
I can't see any problem with the pruning you have done, especially in spring. They should start growing and sprout all over after that cut back.
The second tree seems to have a number of branches growing from very close together. May be camera angle but if you do have more than 1 branch growing from the same spot it is prudent to remove extras if possible. A cluster of branches will locally thicken the trunk to produce reverse taper which does not look good.

 

[ShadyStump]

But remember that after cutting that much the trees will need to recover. Once you've finished, let them grow, especially if you also repotted them this season.

I have killed elms before by trying to work them too hard multiple times in a season. They look like they're fine until winter, but then never wake up the next spring.

 

[sorce]

These are a couple thoughtful gents but I don't know when the last time they worked one from an actual mall in a pot with an actual drip tray attached with substrate of actual mud that was kept inside 4 actual walls for sometime before you actually brought it home, and began keeping it in conditions that are actually different....

But for real .....

They're tuff but there's a world of things that may have em dead in the future already, which wouldn't be your fault and wouldn't make these gents wrong, but ......

Less is almost always better.
Lotta, you could but shouldya of's.

I am very against this idea that "the tree didn't skip a beat", because it leads us to believe we can actually know what would have happened if we DIDN'T do something.

Every move is ALWAYS going to cause an effect, and they are ALWAYS IRREVERSIBLE.

Long time ago I decided that since it is true we can't speed up the process, we MUST do EVERYTHING possible to not slow it down.

To do this we must completely remove ourselves from this idea that we can know what may have been when we cause irreversible change.

This allows us patience of thought, that leads us to considering further possibilities of what our moves do in fact effect.

For me with this tree, it is the possibility that you will not have enough foliage to support what may be a necessary soon Repot if that soil is in fact mud. Then you stand catching one of a laundry list of pests and problems that effect elm and you may find yourself back here asking these gents where your paddle is when you are navigating the rapids of what is officially Dung River, Water Poop Passage, Fecal Stream, Shit Creek.

This brings a lot of validity to @GrimLore teaching of just observing a plant for one year.
Allow it to tell you the first safe move.

The easiest way to see the future is to get there before you act.

Sorce

 

[giventofly]

Thanks for all the help!

Will remove the sidebranch growing from the same spot.

quick question, if everything goes right when summer is ending, can I prune again or only in the next spring?

 

[ShadyStump]

Thanks for all the help!

Will remove the sidebranch growing from the same spot.

quick question, if everything goes right when summer is ending, can I prune again or only in the next spring?

It should be safe if the trees have grown strong and healthy all summer, but spring pruning is usually best because the tree is awake and active and able to start healing the cuts right away.
Elms are tough though, so a little cut back for direction shouldn't be a problem. Just not as hard as in spring. Only the problem branches.

 

[giventofly]

Thank you!

 

[Shibui]

quick question, if everything goes right when summer is ending, can I prune again or only in the next spring?

As above but it all depends. Trees do not always respond the same. If your trees grow well then you can trim as needed. All being well I'd expect to trim 3-4 times through spring and summer but if they don't do well you may consider allowing the new shoots to grow long to allow plenty of new leaves to feed the trees and keep them healthy.
Balance and tree health should have priority over your needs

 

[giventofly]

Got it. Thought there should be only 1 prune let year, but makes sense to do it more times. Thanks

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

@giventofly - experience is a good guide. I killed a number of Japanese black pines until I finally learned what healthy growth looked like. Books and internet photos focus on photos after pruning, after thinning. I had not seen photos of what a bushy, healthy JBP really looked like. It wasn't until I visited another grower, and saw their JBP that I understood.

By the same token, I suggest you let your elms "grow wild" until they have so much foliage that they need watering more than once a day.

Then prune, this will give you a good idea of what vigorous growth looks like. It will also give you more choices for design, as you will have more branches to choose from.

 

[dbonsaiw]

A cluster of branches will locally thicken the trunk to produce reverse taper which does not look good.

This is the flip side of how well the elm can backbud. Heed this advice as it will take much longer to reverse bad taper. I recently purchased a larger elm that would have been 10x more expensive were it not for all the reverse taper that needs to be fixed over many years.

Long time ago I decided that since it is true we can't speed up the process, we MUST do EVERYTHING possible to not slow it down.

More great advice. In fact, a better indicator than one's BonsaiNut ranking of having progressed in this hobby is internalizing that there is zero we can do to speed this process up. My attempts to do so have only led to dead or mangled trees.

This brings a lot of validity to @GrimLore teaching of just observing a plant for one year.

Sorce is on a roll today. Having made so many mistakes, I decided to take this approach with a larger trident maple I purchased. I figured I will be spending so many years with this one that one extra season won't make a real difference.

 

[swatchpost]

Got it. Thought there should be only 1 prune let year, but makes sense to do it more times. Thanks

I have an elm that will have three or four flushes of growth during the growing season. I prune harder after the first flush, then once new growth hardens off, I reduce to 2-3 new leaves, and continue with that for as many flushes of growth until Autumn when the tree naturally slows down. Maybe I just have a vigorous tree, but it responds so well to that pruning routine during the growing season.

 

[giventofly]

I repotted them into a bigger container to let them grow, seems to be working