Exfoliating elm tree bark

[Erndogy]

Hi all,
I am new to bonsai and have gone nuts with this addiction. I have been acquiring trees for about a year now. I have recently taken a beginners class with Lindsay Shiba in Upland and plan to continue into his more advanced classes. Next thing would be finding a club that meets on days that i have off. I work nights and have a schedule that makes it hard to join nearby clubs.
I wanted to know if someone could answer a question for me. Do elm trees exfoliate their bark after a certain age? I recently obtained an elm tree, grey bark, that is over 20years old. The bark is flaking off in large chunks. At first I thought it looked pretty cool, aged and weathered. But after learning about Dutch elm disease i wonder if that is something i should worry about.
I will try to post pictures when i get a chance.

Thanks

 

[Martin Sweeney]

Erndogy,

Yes, many varieties of Chinese elm have exfoliating bark. Posting a picture that shows the exfoliation would still be a good idea.

Regards,
Martin

 

[rockm]

Chinese elm is also called "lacebark elm" in the nursery trade because the bark sheds in place in plates, giving the trunk a network of multicolored plates with bark of varying ages that makes it look a bit like lace...

 

[Erndogy]

Elm bark

Here are some shots of the bark.

 

[Erndogy]

Elm bark

Here are some more close ups. I looked up pictures of elm bark and this looks like the flaky bark is thicker and bigger chunks than what I found online. Is this normal?..

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Here are some more close ups. I looked up pictures of elm bark and this looks like the flaky bark is thicker and bigger chunks than what I found online. Is this normal?..

Looks pretty cool...good luck not picking at it ;-)

 

[Erndogy]

Elm bark

Yeah thanks...I already did...

 

[catfish chapstick]

cool tree. mine loses pieces of bark sometimes.