New Elm advice

That is kale in the background, in my vegie garden. If anyone knows how it should be cooked, let me know, because it tastes like grass to me!

Cook it like spinach, maybe with some salt pork chunks. Serve with a HOT sauce, or if you're palate doesn't like liquid fire, some vinegar liberally sprinkled over it.

Enjoy.

On your tree, I assume there's growth all around the chop. I'd let them grow a bit more -- maybe until they start to harden off a bit -- then choose 5 or 7 of the stronger ones and rub away the rest. Then let them grow for the rest of this year.

Next year you start pruning for tighter internodes and side branches.

I think Jim is quite right when he says to let new growth harden off before thinning. You still have time to bind the top with hosepipe and some thick wire to stop the tree developing an ugly swelling and creating inverse taper.

Isn't that much less likely to happen with the V-cut he made?

The v cut does help with this problem but with hose bound around the tree it also helps in forcing the cambium to roll in and seal itself. I dont think hose would be needed, had the tree better taper. It has a good root flair but the trunk is fairly cylindrical. Any swelling below the cut will push the taper the other way. Its what I would do.

will baddeley wrote:The v cut does help with this problem but with hose bound around the tree it also helps in forcing the cambium to roll in and seal itself. I dont think hose would be needed, had the tree better taper. It has a good root flair but the trunk is fairly cylindrical. Any swelling below the cut will push the taper the other way. Its what I would do.

I have a plan to perform a cut of similar magnitude on a hornbeam which is a bit wacky shaped. RE: the hose - is the hose just to prefvent the wire from scarring the trunk? AND i SHOULD LEAVE THIS UNTIL EARLY SPRING BEFORE i COMMIT THE DEED? oops caps frenzy.

No the hose is there to exert constant pressure all around the top area and is held in place by wire, tightly. This forces the new growth to develop without expanding sideways on top of the cylindrical trunk and prevents unnatural looking bulges. I would do this in mid to late spring as Carpinus - Hornbeam are usually one of the later trees to get going.

The only thing different about Hornbeams Bobby,is they tend to be a bit more random [ gees I hate that word now]. I would suggest sawing it at a point just higher than you invisage new branches. Wait until new branches have grown a few inches and then perform the v cut to correspond with those branches. Hope this makes sense.

Cheers, thanks for the advice. One question I have is: should the hose be wrapped around level with the bottom of the V cut or top? My feeling is bottom.

You will probably need two pieces of hose, angled so that it encloses the top edge of the cut all the way around.

erm. probably really dozy qur=estion here, but you aint suggesting I take some wide bore (?) hose and pull it down over the top of the stump here are you?

No. Take a piece of hose a few inches long and cut it in half, lengthways, so you get two lengths of C shaped pieces. Old fashioned ribbed garden hose is best, if you can get hold of it. Careful use of a new blade in a Stanley knife or similar is required. The hose can be flattened out by the pressure of wire and is rigid enough to hold growth tight against the bark.

Kev Bailey wrote:No. Take a piece of hose a few inches long and cut it in half, lengthways, so you get two lengths of C shaped pieces. This can be flattened out by the pressure of wire and is rigid enough to hold growth tight against the bark.

thanks. I thought so (...honest...) Just wanted to be sure. wouldn't be beyond the realms that I could be found swearing like a marine whiile trying to peel hose over the top of a poor tree stump.

Reminds me of the other morning. Im not really with it in the morning and as I was getting dressed my wife started laughing at me,[ not unusual ], trying to wedge myself into my 10 year old's underpants!!!

Will! Stop!!

Definitely WAY Too Much Information!!!

OK, thanks all. I'll give it a go. I might need to find some largish diameter hose to get around the trunk. Even with two pieces.

The thing is Fiona, I did'nt give up! After a lot of heaving and grunting, I got them on!!! Don't think my son will be wearing them again though.

I thought it would be interesting to post an update of this tree showing its progress after the chop. Here it is nestled amongst my onions and sweet peas. This is the second growing season after I chopped it. I pruned last years growth back to a couple of buds. I plan on doing this each year until the branching develops.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to get the top part of the chop to root and so didn't get any other good stock out of it.

It is getting nibbled by some bugs this year. I generally just use Confidor (Imidacloprid) on most my trees that get eaten, generally maples, but I have heard it isn't good for elms. Does anyone have anything else they use to keep the bugs at bay? Even better if it is something you use in Melbourne.

I also have some straw mulch on the surface to slow evaporation during Melbourne's hot weather. It seems to be working well, but has anyone else used mulch? Not sure if there are any negative effects.

Straw or hay mulch will more easily harbor the insects that are chewing on your tree than other kinds of mulch, like composted bark, etc.

I'd only note here, that unless the depredations are really, really severe, it doesn't really matter at this point that your leaves are being chewed on by critters. You're going to cut them off, anyway. Too much spraying only increases the likelihood that insects will develop resistance.

Good to see this one again Thomo, it's doing really well. A layer of Sphagnum moss would be a better top dress to slow evapouration. I have lots of Elms and the leaves are very popular with caterpillars and the like but have no detrimental effect on the trees.