pruning chinese elm

My tree is getting Too bushy in the top.. can i prune it back now,,maybe past the foliage on some branches or would you wait till early spring??? remember w.va and they go into a greenhouse.. thanks john

I'd think an elm could do outside in a zone 6 winter, except for the coldest nights (maybe December-mid February). If so, I'd prune after the leaves have fallen.

moyogijohn wrote:My tree is getting Too bushy in the top.. can i prune it back now,,maybe past the foliage on some branches or would you wait till early spring??? remember w.va and they go into a greenhouse.. thanks john

Hi Moyogijohn

If the topbranches are too strong, and you dont want to cut them all the way back to were you want the tree to be in the spring, can you just take the half of each branch....this will give more strainght to lower branches ...I do this all the time, also during the summer, If I think the design will gain from it.....new shots from the top of the cut back branches, can be removed as they appear, untill you are close to were you want it to be in spring.

Kind regards Yvonne

Thank You Jim and Yvonne ,, I will wait till leaf drop ,,the branches just got too long in the top,,the side branches no so much... Jim the green house is not over warm the trees still have cold just not snow...thanks take care john

John, for what it's worth, in Maryland my elms are outside in the weather with all my other non-tropicals. I leave the "pen" open to the sky but put up old exterior doors on their sides agains the house. They do fine with natural conditions minus the winds. Snow helps insulate them (if we have any to speak of this winter!).

Thank you Lordy,,for your responce.. I keep them in the house because I have a lot of trouble with root rot.. after all this time i just can,t get the soil mix right with what i have.. thanks john

moyogijohn wrote:Thank you Lordy,,for your responce.. I keep them in the house because I have a lot of trouble with root rot.. after all this time i just can,t get the soil mix right with what i have.. thanks john

consider 100% Turface. Works for me.

Hi,
it is easy to make a cover for the pot surface to deflect winter rain - this will stop root rot while you play with soil mixtures finding one that is right for you. (i've kept healthy elms for over 20 years now and they love an organic soil ) - my big one has sat out for 20yrs, snow covered about 5 or 6 times, frozen lightly every winter. I prune back all shoots that grow to about 6 or 7 leaves constantly - dont worry about what month it is, just keep pruning back growing shoots to one or two leaves to keep growth tight and compact. When leaves drop off prune back long inside shoots that you missed

cheers Marcus

Thank you Lordy and Marcus for your advice and comments.i will try to find the turface and the pruning advice also.this elm is suppose to be 30 years old but who can really know ?? take care john

Hi John,
If your tree is "imported" then I would expose it to about 6 weeks of cold after the first frost. Then bring it inside for the remainder of the Winter. I had a 35+ years imported elm from Brussels and almost killed it entirely by leaving it outdoors, in a protected area for the whole Winter. My first year with this tree I gave it 6 weeks of cold (after first frost) then brought it indoors. It grew well the next year. I also have some other Chinese elms which do very well outdoors all year round (protected from the winds in the Winter). Most of these are from cuttings that I started. But the imported ones are not used to the zone 7 Winters. At least this is my experience.

Re: pruning.... You can prune now on healthy deciduous trees if you need to.

BTW, I use a soil mix with about 80% turface and my elms thrive in it. Just make sure they don't dry out. Summer time usually means watering twice a day, but not always...
Good luck!
Todd

Thank You Todd,,for your information... my tree is a chinese inport also from brussels..that is where i get my good trees.. sounds good I HAVE TO FIND the turface somewhere here and change my mix...take care john

You have many months to get the turface, before you repot ... next Spring in mid-May. Unless of course we have another mild Winter
Todd