elm advise

Here's an Elm I've had for awhile that I'm looking for some advise on.
Before you go there, I'd like to keep the deadwood, at least for now.
I cleaned it all up today and will seal it in the next day or two.
I would like some advise though on what to keep and what to prune.
Thanks in advance for your help.

chappy56 wrote:Here's an Elm I've had for awhile that I'm looking for some advise on.
Before you go there, I'd like to keep the deadwood, at least for now.
I cleaned it all up today and will seal it in the next day or two.
I would like some advise though on what to keep and what to prune.
Thanks in advance for your help.

I know what you said, and it's your tree . . .

BUT . . . If I were you, I'd find the chop scar you have to be extremely unattractive.

You might consider:

1. Shortening that lower jin.
2. Carving out the chop scar all the way down the trunk and onto that very fat root at the base, extending the scar around the shortened jin.
3. Eliminating the upper jin. It is very unnatural looking inside all that foliage.

As for the branches, there are so many, it's impossible to say which should go and which should not. the overall outline of the tree is very nice, so I'd suggest a careful one-branch-at-a-time thinning, studying the tree for a good while before taking out the next branch. Don't take out too many, and give us another picture when you have taken some away.

I think this will be a nice tree. I also know how easy it is to fall in with the idea of jin, but they should look real. these don't -- at least not as is.

Minwax wood hardener should be used on the expended shari. I'd then buff is slightly with a Dremel and wire brush attachment to get rid of the gloss. I would not use lime sulfur. It looks odd on a deciduous tree.

Note, please, before any cool is lost that I say I throughout. You may of course, ignore me.

No offense taken Jim and I thank you for your response. If I didn't want advise I wouldn't have asked in the first place.
I left the upper Jin knowing I would be trimming some of the growth of anyway, then once I get that figured out I'll remove the least attractive deadwood. Can you say how much the Minwax changes the color of the wood?
Thanks again for your help.

Can you say how much the Minwax changes the color of the wood?

It doesn't. Just makes it shiny.