Elm Reduction

[fen01]

Hi, A question for the more experienced than me:

 

I have been asked to reduce a hybrid elm to about 50% of its hieght! almost all of it crown:confused1: The tree is in good health with no damage or fungus etc.

 

Will it survive shuch a dramatic pruning? I have told the customer that there is a good chance the tree won't last, but would get some second opinions, it is a nice tree so i would rather not kill it.

 

Really sorry no pictures: i left my camera behind.

 

I suppose if it doesn't last, i will back next year:lol:

 

 

Cheers

[skyhuck]

IMO, it will survive and grow like hell!!!!!!!!!!! in 5 years it'll be bigger than it is now!!!

[fen01]

Oh, I forgot to mention the tree is a bout 12m tall.

 

Cheers

[defenderjack]

so basically your prety much pollarding it ,it it shouldnt kill it but it aint gona look pretty , why have you been asked to do take so much off ?

[fen01]

Yeah, pretty much a pollard. You're right, i think that it will look terrible as well, and have told the customer, but they want the view down the valley. I think that, they should choose between the view and the tree.

 

Cheers

[Stephen Blair]

it will grow back very quickly but look like a typical pollard for a few years to come, i dont know about hybrid but doing this will help it against dutch elm disease, it will be feeding less so be a stronger tree imo

[skyhuck]

it will grow back very quickly but look like a typical pollard for a few years to come, i dont know about hybrid but doing this will help it against dutch elm disease, it will be feeding less so be a stronger tree imo

 

Don't see how that works Stevie???

 

If you remove the trees means of feeding (the leaves) how can that make the tree stronger???

 

Also I don't think the strength or health of the tree has any bearing on whether a tree gets DED, if the beetle goes in the tree get infected, well that my understanding.

Edited October 5, 2009 by skyhuck

[Stephen Blair]

those bad boy roots are soking up a lot of juice dave, look how vigorous the growth is after,i always reckoned the tree was used to feeding a huge canopy, so when pollarded it is putting all its nutrients from the roots into a smaller amount of growth points so the tree is stronger, any dying elm that i have ever pollarded has lasted a lot longer than the ones left alone. maybe i am wrong, its just what i have asumed. and most of the weeping elms are more resiliant up with us, they are only starting to die now, as with the cornish elms, i know of a row of about 30 young ones that have been struck down within the last year. and 3 weeping. i just asumed having a large trunk and small canopy to feed the weeping ones were stronger. what are your thoughts:001_smile:

[skyhuck]

Its the canopy that does the feeding not the other way round.

 

So the more canopy the better.

[skyhuck]

My understanding is that the beetle goes in the cambium, when the trees are young or slow grown (like weepers) the cambium is too thin for the beetle.