How much trunk chop is too much? (Ulmus americana)

[TrimmyWhimmy]

Elm roots even have the capacity to grow new buds and shoots. We often propagate elms from root cuttings. As @shohin_branches says, even cutting below ground level it will probably still grow back and, again, size is not a factor.

I found a Chinese Elm growing from a root I accidentally dropped on the ground during my last repot...

 

[shohin_branches]

I grew some Siberian elm root cuttings this year and one ended up variegated.

https://flic.kr/p/2qfKKrE

 

[ETN_bonsai]

Thanks for all the replies and information fellas. I really appreciate it. I’ll be sure to do a follow up post when I pull the tree.

In a few years, I’ll give the one growing on my property a big chop and see how that goes. I’m thinking I’d like to try to collect it when it gets to the 6-8” thick realm. I might take some air layers in the mean time and try to get some interesting material from them.

 

[leatherback]

fyi; I went through my growfield last week and made a little video about aot trunk chopping and reasoning.

 

[ETN_bonsai]

fyi; I went through my growfield last week and made a little video about aot trunk chopping and reasoning.

I just watched that video last night actually.
Nice grow beds you have. My wife and I were fortunate enough to buy some land before the pandemic and local property prices sailed upwards. I hope to emulate what I saw in your video at some point.

 

[rodeolthr]

I grew some Siberian elm root cuttings this year and one ended up variegated.

https://flic.kr/p/2qfKKrE

Let's hope it maintains its variegation this spring when it leafs out. I'm unaware of a variegated Siberian elm.

 

[shohin_branches]

Let's hope it maintains its variegation this spring when it leafs out. I'm unaware of a variegated Siberian elm.

Fingers crossed. I'm hoping it will be stable but only time will tell.

 

[ETN_bonsai]

Hello again all. I went around for a walk at my project property today and discovered dozens of candidates for pre-bonsái America and winged elm. I was sizing up a few possible trunk chop material options and wanted to know if winged elm had the same tolerance to trunk chops and root pruning as American elm? I considered taking a few of those and creating a forest planting, but I didn’t want to kill that many possibly mother trees.

 

[rockm]

Hello again all. I went around for a walk at my project property today and discovered dozens of candidates for pre-bonsái America and winged elm. I was sizing up a few possible trunk chop material options and wanted to know if winged elm had the same tolerance to trunk chops and root pruning as American elm? I considered taking a few of those and creating a forest planting, but I didn’t want to kill that many possibly mother trees.

Any elm is resilient enough for drastic trunk chops and root reduction DONE AT THE RIGHT TIME. Early spring just before bud break

 

[ETN_bonsai]

Any elm is resilient enough for drastic trunk chops and root reduction DONE AT THE RIGHT TIME. Early spring just before bud break

That’s what I was hoping. I’ll be sure to get them at the right time. I don’t know what I’ll end up doing. I’m considering going after a large American elm with a decent amount of movement in the first two or three feet of trunk. It’s somewhere in the 5-7” range at the base. It would be an upsetting amount of work, but a possibly rewarding project.

 

[Shibui]

I’m considering going after a large American elm with a decent amount of movement in the first two or three feet of trunk. It’s somewhere in the 5-7” range at the base.

Just be aware that the chopped stump will probably be 1/3 to 1/2 the height of the completed bonsai. You need to allow for new leader and branches to grow to form the canopy of your tree. Trees almost always grow bigger rather than getting smaller as they grow back after a chop.
If your target trunk is chopped to 2 feet the completed bonsai will be a whopping 4-6 feet tall. You do the math on a 3 ft trunk.
Now start to imagine a pot to hold those monsters. Cost for pots? Who's going to lift it to move it to winter storage? Repotting? You'll probably also nee to allow for a ladder to prune them.

 

[Srt8madness]

Just be aware that the chopped stump will probably be 1/3 to 1/2 the height of the completed bonsai. You need to allow for new leader and branches to grow to form the canopy of your tree. Trees almost always grow bigger rather than getting smaller as they grow back after a chop.
If your target trunk is chopped to 2 feet the completed bonsai will be a whopping 4-6 feet tall. You do the math on a 3 ft trunk.
Now start to imagine a pot to hold those monsters. Cost for pots? Who's going to lift it to move it to winter storage? Repotting? You'll probably also nee to allow for a ladder to prune them.

 

[ETN_bonsai]

Thanks for the concern. My initial thought after the idea of taking that particular tree was ‘how the hell am I going to tend to it?’ But then I recalled I have access to and regularly use mini-excavators and skidsteers. Moving it and tending to an uber-bonsai won’t be a huge issue…if I follow through with the idea and it doesn’t die.
Convincing my wife that spending the money on a necessary pot…there in lies the rub.
If I end up not wanting to fight it in the future, I’ll just use it as a decorative plating/landscape tree. I’m sure finding a buyer would be an issue.