Chinese Elm with S curve Trunk chop

Hey guys just a quick question. I bought Chinese elm last summer as a starter elm for me and its seems to be pretty healthy. I want to do a trunk chop to get that dreaded "S" curve out of the way now. So my question is when is the prefect time to do this? Thanks!

In Charlotte, probably the end of this month or the first week or two of March.  Keep an eye on the long-ranger weather forecast (for what it's worth).

Thanks Jim For the info much appreciated!

If the top part of the tree is OK consider an air layer - then you get two trees, and CE are quite easy to layer. Just a thought

Dave

Hey Dave! Well i have thought about that but then im still left with the S curve if i air layer the top. So im not sure if it will be worth the time to even try to air layer it the curve is so bad i dont think i can manage anything out of it.

Whack that elm just as you see buds start to swell. It's one of the coolest things to watch a cut off stump grow back.
I hate to admit it but trunk chopping is kind of addicting.

Bonsai_Steve1 wrote:Hey Dave! Well i have thought about that but then im still left with the S curve if i air layer the top.  So im not sure if it will be worth the time to even try to air layer it the curve is so bad i dont think i can manage anything out of it.

Consider this, Steve. Layer that awful S curve off and next year lay it down for a raft style. Might be the only decent use that can be made out of it.

Zach

JimLewis wrote:In Charlotte, probably the end of this month or the first week or two of March.  Keep an eye on the long-ranger weather forecast (for what it's worth).

I recently heard on NPR that the European model of the National weather service predicts our weather better. I don't know where to find that info......but.......

Congratulations on your willingness to ditch the s. A milestone, there's no turning back now!

Sorce

M. Frary wrote:   Whack that elm just as you see buds start to swell. It's one of the coolest things to watch a cut off stump grow back.
I hate to admit it but trunk chopping is kind of addicting.

mike... you would get along real well with one of our AAC members...
we call him brian "da chopper" for his penchant for trunk chopping...

austin powers judo chop - HEEE-YA !!!

Yeah. Brian and I probably would get along great. If I could post pics from my phone I have some I chopped last spring down to just a stump and was rewarded with 4'of growth on a leader in a year. This year another hack back on these and the final section will be done next year. Then it's branches. An elm stump chopped down to proper height can be a bonsai in 3 to 5 years. Amazing trees and I recommend that everyone have one. Or like me 9 Siberian,18 American ,couple of Seiju,3 cork bark Chinese,a yatsabusa chinese and 3 regular Chinese. This year I want to add Hokkaido and a Jacqueline Hillier. Kind of an elm collector ,aficionado.