It's alive!

mat

I left an elm in a neighbor's care this August and came back to a bare stick. I was sad, as it was the best tree in my little (but growing) collection, but I'm trying to take my occasional casualties as learning experiences (e.g., find a better plant sitter.) Anyway, there was still green under the bark on the trunk, so I kept up the watering and, to my delight, almost eight weeks later, I have one new shoot popping out right under the first branch.

My question: how best to care for this tree in it's recovery. We are having an unseasonable warm October in NY, but it should be getting cold soon. It needed a repotting anyway, so I am considering putting it into a large, non-bonsai pot for a year or so to let it stretch out and regrow. Good idea or will I stress it out further by repotting it right now? Also, does it need special protection for the winter this year?

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mat

Here is a picture of the tree. It has a fairly decent taper and root base so although I believe I've lost much of the top, I'm hoping to regrow it. Any advice on how best to nurse it back to health?

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elm.jpg (55.4 KB, 69 views)

mike108

Well elms are very hardy even in the frost, so i dont think it would need winterization but if youd like to shelter it from the cold take it into an unheated green house, unheated garage, or unheated basement. Repoting your elm now would kill it. In its weak state and its energy drained from trying to sprout out that bud id wait to repot till 2 years. Also Id try to remove as much of the dead top that rot from the bark could spread through the tree. It would be safer to remove as much of the dead top as possible or untill you hit the green in the tree. Disenfect the cut and seal it. Elm is a rapid grower no dought that top will be back to its glory in no time or even better. Be so very careful with that bud! And hope to see it again.

Mike

Mcspeed

If that is a now picture, I don't think it will have enough to survive the winter, and come back, I think nursing it back to health indoors will be the best bet. Read up on indoor growing and see if it comes back, then you can reintroduce it to the 4 seasons.

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lehket

I'm not the most experienced person here, so you may want to ignore me, but having majorly stressed a tree or two before I would say just treat it as normal through the winter (keep it in an unheated garage or room to protect it from the wind, or put it in a sheltered location outdoors and mulch it in good, and ensure it gets sufficient water). It will probably wake up fine in the spring, although it may have a lot of regrowing to do.

Trees can surprise you. From what I understand, often they will shut down in response to severe stress but still be very much alive, waiting for better conditions to arrive, even though to outward seeming they appear dead.

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