Yardmadori Elm :-P

[James H]

I have a couple ceder elms that are growing naturally in my back yard and I need to move them. They are growing in an area that I am planning on putting a small deck at. My question is what time of the year is the best to dig them up and get them into nursery pots to try to keep them for future bonsai? It is currently around 105 in my back yard during the day and around 80 at night.

 

[Poink88]

The best time is spring, before the buds break but if you need to remove them soon, before end of summer is probably your best bet since once it start to cool down, we usually get a second flush of growth. You might need to defoliate the tree if you collect now.

Good luck!

 

[James H]

Thanks for the tip. I have been saving all of the large pots from my work so I will try to dig them up soon and get them potted and maybe next spring start working on them.

 

[Poink88]

Thanks for the tip. I have been saving all of the large pots from my work so I will try to dig them up soon and get them potted and maybe next spring start working on them.

If you collect now, do not touch them yet come spring. BTW, I am a proponent of high root to trunk ratio so I chop (drastically) at collection. Some disagree but that is what I do and have a decent success rate.

That said, I've never tried collecting cedar elm around July-August. If you can wait, do so. If the trees will be removed regardless, then it is worth the gamble. Do not set your hopes too high though.

Good luck!

 

[Txhorticulture]

Similar project

There are plenty of cedar elm behind my house , along with lots of texas persimmon. I want to collect an elm as well (maybe a persimmon to). There are plenty to choose from, trunks all pretty much all straight and ordinary. What size is appropriate? Some as are thin as a broomstick, others the size of coffee cans and even larger.

Most of these are growing in a dense shady grove so they don't have lower branches or much in the way of foliage on the bottom half of tree. But I think that if i take a short bare trunk and a root ball it will send out new shoots like crazy. Just a guess though. I'll probably take one larger one and two smaller and see what survives.

 

[Poink88]

I've collected several cedar elms w/o any branches and they survived (in spring).

I also bought couple of big TX Persimmon from the nursery, chopped them w/o any leaves, repotted, and they are both growing well.

Here is one chopped around this time last year. http://bonsainut.com/forums/showthread.php?12629-TX-Persimmon

It can be done.

Good luck!

 

[James H]

Thanks for all the replies. These are just a couple that I have had growing in the back yard and in the spring I will dig them up and get them into Lg nursery pots for starting them on their way to being something more bonsai like.

 

[markyscott]

Thanks for all the replies. These are just a couple that I have had growing in the back yard and in the spring I will dig them up and get them into Lg nursery pots for starting them on their way to being something more bonsai like.

Since they're in your back yard, why not work the trunk for a few years before you dig them?

Scott