fredtruck
Omono
Mountain with Trees is halfway or more to leafless.
Ulmus Parvifolia Yatsubusa
- Thread starter fredtruck
- Start date
fredtruck
Omono
Now, a few weeks later, Mountain with Trees is without leaves. Here is the Mountain near the end of February of this year:
Here is the Mountain as of yesterday, 12-10-16:
The ramification is now so dense that it creates the impression leaves are still on the tree!
Here is the Mountain as of yesterday, 12-10-16:
The ramification is now so dense that it creates the impression leaves are still on the tree!
What a great job cultivating this amazing tree. Can you do a brief break down your seasonal chores that have brought it to this zenith??
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Yes! Wonderful tree Fred... or should I say trees! 
fredtruck
Omono
Ramification and How I Do it.
Spring
This tree, an ulmus parvifolia yatsubusa (which Sergio Cuan named Mountain with Trees), begins leafing out mid-March. I begin feeding it a little before that, with a couple of good shots of Miracid, one shot every two weeks. The tree is still inside at this time.
I’m cautious about moving trees outside, so the exact timing of the move is variable. In 2013, we had a 6” snow on May Day. At any rate, when I do move it outside, I change the fertilizer to a general 20-20-20, or something similar and feed it once a week. Mountain also gets Osmocote.
I use an automatic watering system. When all my trees are outside, they are watered for 3 minutes 2 times a day. Towards the end of May, they are watered 3x a day until autumn. If we have a rainy period, I am careful to turn the water off until Mountain dries out a bit, and then I’m careful to turn the water back on.
I give Mountain with Trees full sun. It is windy here, all the time, so it’s important to make sure the elm (& everything else) doesn’t dry out.
By mid-May, the Mountain has enough foliage everywhere to begin working the canopy. Generally, I follow the advice of Colin Lewis. I cut back shoots to 1 or 2 leaves. I don’t wait until the shoot has 10 leaves or even 5, because on a tree like this, growth is so volcanic that if I see a shoot that looks a little long, it gets whacked. It is too time consuming to count how many leaves are on a shoot. You just learn to “see” long shoots.
The leaves on this tree are 3/32” long to maybe 1/4” long. There are thousands of these leaves. I don’t pinch shoots. I use very sharp scissors and cut them.
I watch out for very long nodes. These happen on watery growth. Suckers. Long internodes also frequently grow under a branch, or in the middle of a clump of foliage. They snake around in the shadows and then suddenly pop out into the sun. That whole shoot gets removed.
I make sure to remove all shoots from crotches, or anywhere in the tree structure that hormones are likely to collect.
From June through mid-August, I work at maintaining the foliage every day for about 2 hours, usually in the morning before it gets too hot. It also happens, of course, that I take a vacation or two during those months. I have an excellent assistant, but because he works full time, I can’t expect him to maintain Mountain. The tree goes to pot. When I return, I have to spend twice as much time working the foliage as usual. I went on a 15-day road trip last summer. It took me about 1.5 weeks, working 4 hours a day, to get the tree back in shape.
Additionally, Mountain with Trees will sprout shoots from everywhere on the trunk, especially where big limbs branch off, or in crotches or under plates of bark. All these have to be removed. These shoots often take the form of the watery growth I described above. They are easy to remove, but it is very time consuming to do it.
As August approaches, Mountain with Trees slows down its growth. By mid-August, I stop cutting back shoots, except for the occasional example of mis-directed growth.
During autumn months, I check Mountain with Trees every day or so. If I see overly long shoots, I remove them, but at this time, that doesn’t happen too much. The trees including the Mountain get watered once a day, unless we have a heat wave, which happens.
I bring all my trees inside my garage at the end of October, or early in November. Once inside, I put the trees on a reduced water schedule: Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, 1x for 3 minutes. My garage has plenty of light and a very stable temperature. Air is circulated.
As Mountain with Trees’ leaves dry and the tree slowly slips into slumber, I begin removing the leaves that are still on the tree. And that is most of them. I do a variety of things to shake the limbs and branches. I’ve found a very soft-bristled brush is useful for leaf removal, as well as a Shop Vac.
That’s my basic schedule. I do almost nothing during the winter months because Mountain is asleep.
JudyB
Queen of the Nuts
Nicely detailed and the time you've put into this tree really shows. It's amazing how much time a tree can take to maintain. That's why I have been downsizing...
What a great and detailed explanation. the time commitment to this tree is huge.
fredtruck
Omono
I have only about 20 trees. Many are relatively maintenance free. That allows me time to work on a tree like Mountain.
iant
Chumono
Wow that's a bit of time! 2 hours daily? I have so many semi-neglected trees...
Your ramification is great, however,
Ian
Your ramification is great, however,
Ian
fredtruck
Omono
Some days it's more, some days it's less, but it averages out.
These trees bud everywhere like crazy. We're talking many dozens of new shoots all over the trunk! You definitely have to be proactive in regularly removing them as in my experience, it's important to have light and air hit the trunk or the bark will remain soggy and subject to rot, pests, etc. I've had branches layer themselves a set of roots into the soggy bark if they were against the bark.
Another thing is that these trees quickly get bulges at points where three or more branches extend. This happens much quicker, even with tiny branches involved, than any other species I've worked with. You have to consistently thin those out or you'll end up needing to start over.
These trees are unique and interesting, but they can be a pain in the ass.
Another thing is that these trees quickly get bulges at points where three or more branches extend. This happens much quicker, even with tiny branches involved, than any other species I've worked with. You have to consistently thin those out or you'll end up needing to start over.
These trees are unique and interesting, but they can be a pain in the ass.
fredtruck
Omono
I couldn't agree more. If you check these elms repeatedly, you know what's in store. That has created situations in which I didn't want to get out of bed. I do, though, and for the most part, the results have made it worth doing the maintenance.
fredtruck
Omono
That tree is very cool. I like the aggressive tree/pot combination.
fredtruck
Omono
For a year, now, I've been wrangling with myself about the pot Mountain with Trees was in. I like the red clay, and I liked the scalloped lip, but after looking at the combination of tree and pot for a year, I decided a new pot was called for. The red one was just too deep. I found another container that is "more" right.
Though this container, a 1-foot square, is more conventional, it is still a little sharp. Proportions are much better.
Though this container, a 1-foot square, is more conventional, it is still a little sharp. Proportions are much better.
iant
Chumono
Fred,It's a very cool and unique tree. I'm wondering about your plan though. It sounds to me like you are working on ramification throughout the tree. So are you happy with the transition at point A? Do you think that once the trunk above that transition develops the characteristic warty bark that this transition will be smooth? If not, would you consider growing out the top more in a sacrifice sort of way and cutting back to smooth the transition?
Also, with the primary branches (like at point B,) are you already ramifying the ends with that amount of thickness at the base of the branch?
I'm not trying to say that you are not doing the 'right' thing, I'm more just curious what you are thinking about with this tree in terms of the final character.
Thanks,
Ian
fredtruck
Omono
This tree works a little differently. First, it has a name: Mountain with Trees. Because of its nature, it is easier to define the "trees" rather than the Mountain. In the diagram above, there are 3 groups. A is the Large Stand of yatsubusa elms. B is the Small Stand of elms. And C is the Tree at the Center of the World. Everything that is left is the Mountain.
Thanks for asking your question.
iant
Chumono
Got it!
That's really cool. It really explains the picture now. Great idea!
Ian
That's really cool. It really explains the picture now. Great idea!
Ian
fredtruck
Omono
It's spring, and Mountain with Trees is popping buds. The leaves this year about very small, about 1/16".
