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Originally Posted by jdstod
I did a trunk chop on this elm the first part of april. The buds had just begun to swell so I chopped it. Well a month later and it is exploding with growth. I was just wondering what is the best thing to do. Should I just let it grow this season and then next season start training the leader and remove the rest or should I pick a leader now and remove everything else? I don't want reverse taper because that is the reason I chopped in the first place.
I have attached a picture of before the chop (it is from last year, I had sliped it into a larger pot last year and let it grow freely). The second is right after the chop and the third is one month after the chop.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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Good work on chopping this tree. The large swelling at the first pair of branches may never have corrected itself. It was more than just a case of reverse taper, the branches were feeding it a lot. I hope you got some good cuttings to start from what you cut off.
This is a good moment to point out something to all those who are considering trunk chops. I notice you cut this at an angle, hoping to get buds to pop at the top edge, yes? But notice where the buds came out. The highest ones are lower, which will mean recutting that bit in the future.
When you chop a trunk, always do it a little higher than you need and always do it straight across, unless you already have an established branch for a new leader. Let the stub dry out, carve after your new leader is strong and in no danger of drying up. Trunk chops on an angle invariably bud at the lower level of the cut, almost never budding where we want.
This technique will prevent repeated cuts shorter and shorter on the tree, and by cutting back more slowly, you can achieve the tree you want.