Ulmus Parvifolia Corticosa Monster Elm

[fredtruck]

My cork bark elm is exploding with energy and growth. I enjoy this tree particularly when the leaves are new, fresh with the prospect of the life ahead.

 

[mcpesq817]

Hey Fred, nice looking elm. My big ones from Brent are going nuts with growth as well. I spent an hour this weekend picking off growth on the trunk that I didn't need - I find too much growth on the trunks can leave the trunks staying too wet, which is not good for the corky bark.

 

[iant]

Fred,
Are you getting growth lower down on the trunk that you're removing? The Seiju sprout all over even on much older wood sections. Like Omono said the problem is to keep up. Perhaps the corticosa do that less?
Ian
p.s. I like your tree!

 

[zachkent29]

This is one of my favorite trees on the site, well done.

 

[fredtruck]

Fred,
Are you getting growth lower down on the trunk that you're removing? The Seiju sprout all over even on much older wood sections. Like Omono said the problem is to keep up. Perhaps the corticosa do that less?
Ian
p.s. I like your tree!

No, I'm getting no growth lower down on the trunk. Since this is the only corticosa elm I've worked with, I can't accurately answer your question.

 

[mcpesq817]

My generic corticisa sprout from all over the trunk, but to a much lesser extent than the yatsubusa and seiju, which sprout from everywhere (especially the yatsubusa).

 

[fredtruck]

Interesting. I've seen nothing about this kind of growth. Does this growth last the entire growing season? I assume it's not like suckers.

 

[iant]

On my Seiju it's normal growth. My guess is if you let your main branch grow wild for a couple seasons and then cut it back hard you'd see lots of backbudding. Of course you may not want that…
Ian

 

[mcpesq817]

Yeah, I think it's normal growth. On my yatsubusas, I probably cut off a few dozen new branches that were trying to grow off the trunk. On my Seiju, I cut back a thick branch pretty hard and I have new branches growing up and down the entire length, to the point you almost can't see the branch at all.

 

[fredtruck]

Got any pictures?

 

[mcpesq817]

Not off hand, but I can see about posting some.

 

[iant]

I'll post a couple of my new sprouts when I get home
Ian

 

[iant]

buds on base of Seiju after pruning. May bud back differently than Corticosa as Omono said.
Ian
P.s. I added red arrows to new buds on old wood as I realize it's hard to see my photos. I gotta re read groupers post on taking photos!

 

[fredtruck]

Thanks for posting. There's nothing wrong with your photos. I could see quite clearly the little sprouts popping up. So these appear after you prune? I assume you're pruning somewhat substantial branches, rather than just cutting back foliage, right?

 

[iant]

Yes pretty hard pruning. But it seems to need that as it grows so fast. It's also the only way I can get real movement in the main trunks as its to brittle to bend other really small branchlets. So I'm doing clip and grow mostly.
Here's before and after pruning

 

[fredtruck]

I think that explains why you're getting those little shoots. The tree is doing everything it can to get that foliage back.

 

[M. Frary]

My seiju puts buds out of the trunk without touching a thing. I let it grow untouched last year and buds still grew out of the trunk. It's what they do. And if I cut a small branch off a bud will show up for sure. Hell,if you expose the top surface of a root to the sun a bud will grow there. It's an all year round job rubbing buds.

 

[markyscott]

My seiju puts buds out of the trunk without touching a thing. I let it grow untouched last year and buds still grew out of the trunk. It's what they do. And if I cut a small branch off a bud will show up for sure. Hell,if you expose the top surface of a root to the sun a bud will grow there. It's an all year round job rubbing buds.

My regular cork bark does too. Every spring I spend some quality time rubbing buds off the trunk.

Scott

 

[fredtruck]

I've been using my pressure washer gun on the deadwood on my cork bark elm, as well as on the base. I've uncovered a huge hollow that goes almost half way around the tree. I was tipped off to this by mushrooms persistently growing in certain areas of the the elm, and on probing a little, I discovered the problem. It actually took a few days for me to figure out how far the problem went. Here's the tree now:



I'm happy with what I'm discovering. Fun!

 

[mcpesq817]

Looks great Fred. Discovering the rot on my seiju was disappointing at first, but in the end, the character is added to the tree actually made the tree better. Hope it's the same in your case.