Trying To Make A Broom

[John P.]

John - I assume this is tree from your backyard? How long has it been from you initial cut? What is going to determine when you trim those shoots? When you trim them won't that encourage more buds at the chop?

I grew this one from seed about 4 or 5 years ago. Stratified it in the refrigerator. It was my most vigorous one with a straight trunk.

I think I will probably try that in the spring to see if it works. I’ll cut down the lone shoot to slow it down a bit.

 

[j evans]

Wrong John but thanks for the answer anyway, now I know about yours. MM, how about yours?

 

[Mellow Mullet]

John - I assume this is tree from your backyard? How long has it been from you initial cut? What is going to determine when you trim those shoots? When you trim them won't that encourage more buds at the chop?

Yes, it is mine, the picture was taken in my shop since it was dark out. It is actually the tree in the OP, I started the thread this Spring as a progression thread.

I will cut the branches back sometime next year. @markyscott has good thread on developing a broom and I will be getting a lot of my ideas from it. I want them to thicken more to seal top. It has already closed a good bit.

When I cut it back, most of the new growth will sprout from the branches, not the old chop.

John

 

[Dalsom]

I stumbled upon a broom development technique for vigorous growers like cedar elm and crepe myrtle. I use it exclusively now.
I grow the trunks immediately rubbing off any shoots that attempt to break within the final trunk zone during the initial growth phase. This allows for a prestine final trunk with no scars or blemishes. I grow the trees very aggressively (lots of fertilizer) in large pots until I get the approximate final trunk diameter I want. I root prune EVERY repotting season, laying out the roots in a radial fashion. I don’t bother with all the boards and tiles and such.
When the desired trunk diameter has been achieved, I repot into Anderson Flats or flat ceramic containers. I fertilize with organics as usual. When the tree is actively growing and super vigorous, around July 4th I decapitate each tree exactly where I want the broom to emerge with a fine-toothed saw. I’m sure I could clean up the chop with a razor blade but my fine-toothed saws do a great job. I cover wounds including the exposed cambium with liquid cut paste. I leave the trees in full sun and water as usual. Within a very short time of less than 2 weeks, aggressive callus tissue starts to push up evenly around the cambium ring. Then it erupts into an explosion of shoots. I try to slow down the most aggressive shoots after a bit to let the less vigorous shoots to catch up. I rarely have to wire this initial flush of shoots. Occasionally I have to thin shoots to evenly distribute them and eliminate a few randomly placed shoots.
Be vigilant to eliminate any buds that begin to form on the outer portion of the trunk/bark zone as soon as possible to avoid any trunk blemishes.
By doing the trunk chop when the tree is super vigorous and growing hard, the tree “explodes” in order to recover from this chop.
Spring dormant chops before the tree is actively growing seem to result in fewer and less evenly distributed broom branches. Also more undesireable buds seem to pop randomly all across the outer surfaces of the truck, exactly where you don’t want them.

 

[John P.]

I stumbled upon a broom development technique for vigorous growers like cedar elm and crepe myrtle. I use it exclusively now.
I grow the trunks immediately rubbing off any shoots that attempt to break within the final trunk zone during the initial growth phase. This allows for a prestine final trunk with no scars or blemishes. I grow the trees very aggressively (lots of fertilizer) in large pots until I get the approximate final trunk diameter I want. I root prune EVERY repotting season, laying out the roots in a radial fashion. I don’t bother with all the boards and tiles and such.
When the desired trunk diameter has been achieved, I repot into Anderson Flats or flat ceramic containers. I fertilize with organics as usual. When the tree is actively growing and super vigorous, around July 4th I decapitate each tree exactly where I want the broom to emerge with a fine-toothed saw. I’m sure I could clean up the chop with a razor blade but my fine-toothed saws do a great job. I cover wounds including the exposed cambium with liquid cut paste. I leave the trees in full sun and water as usual. Within a very short time of less than 2 weeks, aggressive callus tissue starts to push up evenly around the cambium ring. Then it erupts into an explosion of shoots. I try to slow down the most aggressive shoots after a bit to let the less vigorous shoots to catch up. I rarely have to wire this initial flush of shoots. Occasionally I have to thin shoots to evenly distribute them and eliminate a few randomly placed shoots.
Be vigilant to eliminate any buds that begin to form on the outer portion of the trunk/bark zone as soon as possible to avoid any trunk blemishes.
By doing the trunk chop when the tree is super vigorous and growing hard, the tree “explodes” in order to recover from this chop.
Spring dormant chops before the tree is actively growing seem to result in fewer and less evenly distributed broom branches. Also more undesireable buds seem to pop randomly all across the outer surfaces of the truck, exactly where you don’t want them.

This is extremely helpful, and makes complete sense. Will definitely try this next July.

 

[Bonsai Grasshoper]

Now, I regret that I got completely caught up in the project and neglected to photograph some key elements to make it easier to explain what I found, so I will try my best to explain. What I should have done was cut a ring around the bottom of the trunk (just like and air layer) and then added the tourniquet for an added safety measure. The tree just absorbed the wire tourniquet, which made a real nice flare by the way, and just threw out some roots around the part of the trunk that was buried.

Here are some pictures of the process. I started by shortening the tree (I think that picture is actually on of the ones above), not the final chop, just cut it some to make it more manageable. Then sawed off the lower portion of the roots with the saws-all.The final cut was made with a hand saw, you can see the wire tourniquet swallowed inside the trunk, a good ¼ inch all the way around.



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The remaining roots, such as the were, were cleaned up and the trunk was dusted with rooting hormone and then screwed to a plastic cutting board. This is where I was really caught up in the moment and forgot about the camera. The entire assembly was potted up in a training pot, we’ll see what happens, hopefully it will be good.

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All of that work was done on February 17th of this year, fast forward to just yesterday, March 29th, and we have this. Not too shabby up top, a little thin on one side, but I think I can work with it.

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Do you have any experiecne with established American or Siberian elms lossing primary branches? I have been slowly refining the broom of either an American or Siberian elm since ~2004 and this spring (June 2018) a crucial primary and secondary branches died. I did an emergancy repot to add fresh soil and the tree was completly root bound so i assume this was the cause of the die back. It was last repoted in 2015 so 3 years may be too long for such a fast growing species. Any thought?

 

[Mellow Mullet]

Do you have any experiecne with established American or Siberian elms lossing primary branches? I have been slowly refining the broom of either an American or Siberian elm since ~2004 and this spring (June 2018) a crucial primary and secondary branches died. I did an emergancy repot to add fresh soil and the tree was completly root bound so i assume this was the cause of the die back. It was last repoted in 2015 so 3 years may be too long for such a fast growing species. Any thought?

I don't have any experience with either of those, but being root bound may be the reason. I repot my elms every other year and the pot is full, could probably go yearly.

 

[Bonsai Grasshoper]

Thanks. there may of been too much confirmation bias in that question but i have no other explanations. thank again,

 

[John P.]

This is extremely helpful, and makes complete sense. Will definitely try this next July.

Looks like I will definitely follow this technique now. The hose clamp collar that I used was so “successful” that it prevented the one shoot from my taken-too-early trunk chop from growing enough material to survive a little movement. Broke off and died.

Hopefully the stump and roots will have enough energy to make it until spring.

 

[Tieball]

Do you have any experiecne with established American or Siberian elms lossing primary branches? I have been slowly refining the broom of either an American or Siberian elm since ~2004 and this spring (June 2018) a crucial primary and secondary branches died. I did an emergancy repot to add fresh soil and the tree was completly root bound so i assume this was the cause of the die back. It was last repoted in 2015 so 3 years may be too long for such a fast growing species. Any thought?

I’ve had branches on American Elm just one day die off. No particular reason that I know about. The tree got bored with the branch path work I guess....and quit. I prune those dead branches off then...leaving the collar. What usually happens is that another branch buds and develops right at the base of the collar.

 

[Mellow Mullet]

Update:

It grew well this spring and and on June 8, I decided it was time to cut it back.

Before:


After:


The wound on top seems to be closing well, I think it might be close to completely closed by the end of Summer:


Today, twenty days later, it has really exploded. After the new growth hardens off, I plan on thinning it out some:

 

[John P.]

Really nice.

 

[Mellow Mullet]

Update:

Crappy weather today but I managed to squeeze in some repotting. This one got it today, I think that the roots are really starting to look nice.

 

[Mellow Mullet]

 

[Hack Yeah!]

Man, that is awesome, can't wait to see how that base broadens with time

 

[thumblessprimate1]

Those roots look good!

 

[Adair M]

The soil looks pretty coarse, to me. I think that would be ok to use below the board, but above the board, I would use one size smaller.

I hope you removed some of the diagonal growing roots you could see on the bottom of the rootball.

 

[John P.]

Looking real nice!

 

[Mellow Mullet]

The soil looks pretty coarse, to me. I think that would be ok to use below the board, but above the board, I would use one size smaller.

I hope you removed some of the diagonal growing roots you could see on the bottom of the rootball.

Relax, take a deep breath, the soil is fine, it is exactly what is needed for one, if not the, rainiest cities in America. And, of course, I trimmed the bottom of the root ball. Breathe.......

 

[Mellow Mullet]

Update:

I forgot to take the before pictures, but today was trim day. The chop site is almost completely healed.