Problem Elm ?

[agg221]

Hi Andy, the leaf picture definitely looks like Camperdown elm but it does not look like DED. This tends to make the trees look sickly, then then the leaves look like they have been scorched but the tree is effectively dead by then so you don't get the healthy re-growth. I can't see what it was that did this, but it could be a number of factors.

 

The trees are pretty much always created by grafting onto Wych Elm at the desired height - the graft line can sometimes be a source of weakness, but it doesn't look like this is the case if there is growth above the line.

 

Since it is grafted, I would take off all the shoots occurring below the line and leave above the line alone and see what happens.

 

DED is endemic across the whole country so you will have it in the area, but the leaf angle on weeping trees is not favourable for the beetles and they prefer other strains, leaving Wych Elm (and its varieties such as Camperdown) as one of the last to be attacked. They also tend to fly higher up so because Camperdown is so short it can often avoid attack, although it has no resistance so is killed if infected. With luck though it could still be there in a generation. Certainly worth leaving and seeing how it looks next spring.

 

Alec

[AndyFoth]

Many thanks Alec - fingers crossed - it certainly doesn't have the signs of Ded

 

We had ants on the tree just before it shed - dealt with them - could they have caused the distress ?

 

Cheers

 

Andy

[Paul Cleaver]

We had ants on the tree just before it shed - dealt with them - could they have caused the distress ?

 

Cheers

 

Andy

 

no m8

[KTSmith]

Please excuse me if this is now a gratuitous response, but those prominent little black bumps on the branch in the second image are likely fruiting structures of some sort of xylariaceous fungus. I'd be a fool to name it on the basis of this image, but I'd start with one of the Diatrype. In any event, it likely is a secondary invader, perhaps of already killed tissue. But no, they have no direct relationship to DED. Some in the xylaria family are primary pathogens to some degree and all are good opportunists, though!

[AndyFoth]

Please excuse me if this is now a gratuitous response, but those prominent little black bumps on the branch in the second image are likely fruiting structures of some sort of xylariaceous fungus. I'd be a fool to name it on the basis of this image, but I'd start with one of the Diatrype. In any event, it likely is a secondary invader, perhaps of already killed tissue. But no, they have no direct relationship to DED. Some in the xylaria family are primary pathogens to some degree and all are good opportunists, though!

 

Thanks - I wasnt sure what they were but removed them anyway. Is there a fungal treatment we should give the tree now or is it best left to recover itself ?

 

Many thanks

 

Andy

[treeseer]

Andy it's very important to move away all the rocks and dirt and whatever that blocks your view of the first root growing off the trunk. Covering the trunk can cause a lot of problems. It needs to be kept dry.

[AndyFoth]

Guys the tree has grown some leaves in a couple of places but j don't see any more buds so a tad concerned we are losing the battle?

 

Is there anything else we can do - it has been rather wet and I wonder whether the tree has decided it's winter and will try again in the spring.

 

Any ideas appreciated as some of the new growth has died back.

 

I was in Dundee last week and the company I visited was half a mile from camperdown country park so I took the opportunity to see its ancestor. I resisted the temptation to take a cutting though.........

 

should I take a cutting of my tree just in case !?

 

Andy

[agg221]

Hi Andy,

 

At this point I would plan for the worst and hope for the best. Shoots dying back is not a good sign, but it's getting too late in the year for it to re-grow again so I would just wait and see whether or not it leafs out in spring (from above the graft - no point keeping shoots from the bit below as you will just end up with a standard wych elm which will get to a certain size, get infected and die from DED).

 

To be aware of when considering cuttings: it is possible, if very challenging, to get elms to root. I have been propagating local trees for disease resistance trials (such as the one in my avatar) and success rates are low. If you want to do it, I suggest using hardwood cuttings of one year old shoots (ie your fresh growth) and treating with hormone rooting powder. You need to take them in late Jan/early Feb, plunge them in a 50:50 vermiculite: perlite mix and place the pot outside against a north facing wall whilst applying bottom heat, to get the roots growing before the shoots. However, if you get one to take, bear in mind that the tree is naturally weeping (which is why it is grafted) so running it up to the height you want before it branches is slow, fiddly and tricky, involving a lot of tying in to a cane and checking ties regularly.

 

The good news is though that, if it does die and you want another one, there is no specific reason why you shouldn't buy another grafted tree the same as the factors which are affecting this one do not appear to be inherent. If you do, it would be a good idea to do as treeseer suggests and keep the base clear.

 

Alec

[Eddy_t]

It looks like the root stock has rejected the scion, it's very common on garden centre grafts. The two don't meet up quite right, so not enough carbohydrates get sent back to the roots. The stock then shuts down the xylem to the crown, causing a similar effect to the stag heading retrenchment seen on oaks. If you leave the epicormic on the base, it will supply enough food to the roots and the tree will feed the scion again. Trim the top back to live wood and keep the epicormic growth under control, but don't remove it. It's very common on Kilmarnock willow grafts, where the osier stock rejects the crown, when the phloem isn't quite matched.

[AndyFoth]

It looks like the root stock has rejected the scion, it's very common on garden centre grafts. The two don't meet up quite right, so not enough carbohydrates get sent back to the roots. The stock then shuts down the xylem to the crown, causing a similar effect to the stag heading retrenchment seen on oaks. If you leave the epicormic on the base, it will supply enough food to the roots and the tree will feed the scion again. Trim the top back to live wood and keep the epicormic growth under control, but don't remove it. It's very common on Kilmarnock willow grafts, where the osier stock rejects the crown, when the phloem isn't quite matched.

 

Thanks eddy - the tree is about 10 years in the ground here plus however long it took to graft/grow the original wytch elm.

 

is it likely after so long ? - I would have thought instinctive ly that this would have shown earlier ?

 

Many thanks

 

Andy