CodeMonkey
Mame
Hi nutters!
I recently acquired an old Elm (I think he said it was lanceifolia. I forgot to write it down! I'm sure it began with an L
- I shall ask him next time I'm at the nursery)
It's clearly not the greatest material. Just a bargain price and I want some practise with things like carving and ultimately dealing with field-grown/yamadori material.
I love how thin the twigging is and the abundance of buds.
However, there are definitely some major issues here.
There's a lot of die back, most of the top of the tree is dead, including, unfortunately, the highest branch.
Lack of nebari. It looks like it has only rooted at the ends of the stump.
So. To be clear. I have zero experience with material like this, so I will note down what I plan on doing here in the hope some of you will correct me if wrong.
I have already cut off a piece of the dead wood. I only cut back into more dead wood, it just helped visual the goal better.
Firstly, I plan on repotting early spring. This has been sitting in this bucket for a few years, in some very clayey (is that a word!?) soil. It stinks! And does not drain much at all. Cannot be good for the tree.
Secondly, let it grow! I need to understand how healthy it is. I will fertilise as required once I see how strong the buds open in spring. It doesn't look too great right now, but I have no experience with the species so maybe worrying for no reason.
Finally, I will need to address the root issue. There is currently a large void under the middle of the stump so zero root growth there. This is another reason I want to repot forst. I am hoping just a repot and good after care + fertilisation will result in some strong root growth. It is an Elm after all.
Am I thinking the right way?
I recently acquired an old Elm (I think he said it was lanceifolia. I forgot to write it down! I'm sure it began with an L
- I shall ask him next time I'm at the nursery)It's clearly not the greatest material. Just a bargain price and I want some practise with things like carving and ultimately dealing with field-grown/yamadori material.
I love how thin the twigging is and the abundance of buds.
However, there are definitely some major issues here.
There's a lot of die back, most of the top of the tree is dead, including, unfortunately, the highest branch.
Lack of nebari. It looks like it has only rooted at the ends of the stump.
So. To be clear. I have zero experience with material like this, so I will note down what I plan on doing here in the hope some of you will correct me if wrong.
I have already cut off a piece of the dead wood. I only cut back into more dead wood, it just helped visual the goal better.
Firstly, I plan on repotting early spring. This has been sitting in this bucket for a few years, in some very clayey (is that a word!?) soil. It stinks! And does not drain much at all. Cannot be good for the tree.
Secondly, let it grow! I need to understand how healthy it is. I will fertilise as required once I see how strong the buds open in spring. It doesn't look too great right now, but I have no experience with the species so maybe worrying for no reason.
Finally, I will need to address the root issue. There is currently a large void under the middle of the stump so zero root growth there. This is another reason I want to repot forst. I am hoping just a repot and good after care + fertilisation will result in some strong root growth. It is an Elm after all.
Am I thinking the right way?
