General advice on Chinese Elm

[ColinFraser]

Also note that I didn't consider it worth the time to air layer the top. Nothing amazing going on up there, and I'd rather move forward with the base than wait around for a mediocre piece of stock. It's also worth noting that I can purchase more locally (it's a Seiju elm) - if it was scarce, I might have considered the layer.

 

[ConorDash]

Nah, it's actually very satisfying. All the junk I just cut off had served its only purpose - to get the base thick enough to be worth playing around with. Now the real fun begins!

That's why I shared it here. Once you see a few "shocking" chops, cutting the top off of a mallsai won't seem like such a big deal

That's very true. If the purpose to begin with, was for thickening the trunk then I guess the cut wouldn't feel bad at all, more like, looked forward to.
Thanks.

Sometimes, air-layering is used to get a new tree instead of throwing cut off parts away.

Oh well, is this your first tree? It's not crappy, it's just young mass produced chinese mallsai. Look how green the bark is. Re-reading all the thread, I'd follow@rockm 's first post and let it grow for a year to learn how to care it... All the trunk will profit from unrestricted growth. Next year will be better for the decisions.

Indeed, that would seem the most cautious approach. Im interested to get it through the winter, in to dormancy and out any way, first time for me so good learning experience. I have some good time to decide , Thanks for your reply.

 

[sorce]

Them two trees could be nice....

Imo.

Sorce