Apprenticeship Session 13: Big Big Elms

I'm finally getting around to updating. You should get 4 updates in the next week or so, some come back and check em out.

This week, which was back in early April, I had the very fun task of pruning a bunch of very big cork bark chinese elms. These are great trees - essentially just trunks now. When Brent is ready to sell them, they will go for around $250-$500 each! I picked out one for myself a few months ago.

Here's a shot of the rows of trees before I started. They have been growing in these pots pretty much untouched for over five years. Many of them had their roots escape from the pot and grow into the ground, which helps to bulk them up faster.



Here's a shot half way through the pruning process.



Here's once of the "sacrifice branches" I trimmed off. These are 3/4 of an inch to over an inch thick, and 4-6 feet long. They really help to bulk up the trunk.



Here's a shot of the pile of branches I cut off - this is actually about half of the total.



I left about an inch still on the tree, and cut horizontally. Hopefully new growth will start from the tip of the cut, giving a great start to the primary branches. Here's a drawing of what I mean.



Here's a shot of the completed pruning. I'm not sure when these trees will be for sale, but they will be some of the best trees in the county. If you've got the bucks, send Brent an email and get on the waiting list for one.