Shade Cloth for Elms...

[Eric Schrader]

Love the look of your setup. Rather than removing the rock I think you could consider installing a misting system that hits the ground in front of the trees, not the trees themselves - that would increase the humidity and reduce the heat at the same time (alhough not sure if you water bill could go through the roof!)

For me - I live in a location that is normally in the 80s and regularly in the 90s in July-October with low humidity and hot dry winds. I find that 30% shade cloth makes a huge difference to the trees. I keep smaller Chinese elms under the cloth but larger ones in boxes out in full sun. I also use white fabric wrapped around the large pots that are in full sun during the hottest months of the year to reduce the heat on the roots. I've thought of using misting more but just not managed to get it set up.

 

[milehigh_7]

Reflected heat will do as much damage as anything. From the ground or stucco or anything at all will be lethal in about 2 months from now. Fortunately you don't get near as hot as we do here. My recommendation is still ZERO direct sun after noon. If they get any west sun at all kiss them goodbye right now. If you were in Phoenix or here that would not do nearly enough I promise you that.

 

[AaronThomas]

@Cmeg1- Wow... full sun is a lot less than I though. I had the trees under the large Mesquite I mentioned earlier but think the dappled light wasn't enough... I noticed the leave on a couple of the trees were increasing in size. That's when I moved the set up.
@Eric- Thanks for the reply.... I think my water bill would go through the roof but maybe some trays filled with water just in front of the stand would provide a bit more humidity. I work from home for the most part so I'm able to mist the trees regularly through out the day... LOL an irrigation system designated to the Elms would be glorious. Your set up is beautiful... really like how your able to showcase individual trees with that type of stand. At some point when I'm a bit more confident in what I'm doing I would really like to reorganize the back yard to display my trees differently. Ill def. use the white fabric idea to cool down the pots.
@Milehigh7- That wall is western facing. I may have to drape more shade cloth on that stucco wall but at the moment it is not retaining a ton of heat... but perhaps the reflective heat is not helping my cause.