New Chinese elm

[kcpoole]

I put a few layers on a Dwarf English Elm about 4 weeks ago and many of the leaves yeallowed oiff in all the hot weather before Chrissy,
It now has lots of new shoots all over, so all is good,

It also has lots of roots on 1 of the layers already so happy dayz

Ken

[Homer911]

I put a few layers on a Dwarf English Elm about 4 weeks ago and many of the leaves yeallowed oiff in all the hot weather before Chrissy,
It now has lots of new shoots all over, so all is good,

It also has lots of roots on 1 of the layers already so happy dayz

Ken

Super, cheers ken. That puts my mind at rest.

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[Homer911]

OK, it's been 4 weeks now since the layer was applied. Still no sign of any roots.

I have seen something strange and possibly worrying. From the layer up all of the leaves are a lighter green than the lower half. I'm not too worried because there are still small shoots on the top growing.

Anyone experienced this?

[mcgee]

Hey homer i layered my elm on the 1st of jan and ive got the same.. plenty of new growth but slightly a lighter green.. havnt taken the foil off yet to look to see how its going for roots.. ill have a look tomorrow if i remember and let you know

[Daluke]

I had the same experience with a Zelkova that I had layer on.

The leaves are a lighter green in comparison to the rest of the tree. The leaves are bigger as well.

I wonder if it is a sign that the layer is working and it's transitioning as new roots are forming??

[mcgee]

Just had a sneak peek at my layer, its quite hard to see as i used freezer bags as my wrap so its a bit smokey haha, but i think i can see some small white roots... ill leave for a couple more weeks before opening it and having a good look

[Homer911]

Just had a look yesterday.

It's looking positive...... I see some signs of life in the undergrowth!, 3-4 more weeks and it should be good to remove I think.

[Pearcy001]

How did you end up going with the layer Homer?

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[Homer911]

Hey Pearcy, not great I think!!

The spagnum moss got really dry so i ejected some water/seasol into it. But i think i put too much in and it stayed very wet for a while. I think it killed some of the roots.

The roots weren't established enough to remove and i thioght that it would be better to renove in the end of winter/start of spring.

There are a lot of yellowing leaves on the layer but not on the lower section. All the leaves havent all died just yellowing so maybe all the roots havent died.

There is still a lot of growth on the lower half.

I will wait and see in spring.

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[Pearcy001]

Maybe the yellowing leaves are from the over watering in the layer? Did you squeeze out the excess?

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[Homer911]

Yeah, i was thinking the same. I did give it a light squeeze but I didn't want to damage to roots so didn't squeeze to hard.

I did add a little more dry spagnum moss to the outside to try soak up the excess water.



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[shibui]

Maybe yellow leaves are normal for this time of year. It is May. All my Chinese elms are turning yellow and losing the leaves as normal for this time of year.

I can't imagine how you can put too much water in this layer. Excess water usually just drains out the bottom of the plastic where it is tied around the trunk.

[Pearcy001]

Maybe yellow leaves are normal for this time of year. It is May. All my Chinese elms are turning yellow and losing the leaves as normal for this time of year.

I can't imagine how you can put too much water in this layer. Excess water usually just drains out the bottom of the plastic where it is tied around the trunk.

My understanding from homers explanation was the leaves above the layer are yellow, while leaves below are green?

If it was just seasonal wouldn't the whole tree be changing not just above the layer?

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[Theodore]

The top half has been under more stress so not unusual if this half turns colour first in my limited experience.

Theo


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[shibui]

If it was just seasonal wouldn't the whole tree be changing not just above the layer?

Not always. Parts of a tree under stress will often colour and lose leaves earlier than the rest of the tree. Layering - cutting off food source - will certainly stress the section above the layer, even if it has grown a few small roots.

I'm not asserting that this must be the case, just pointing out another possibility to consider.
Rather than immediately jumping to a worst case conclusion always look for other possibilities

Bugger Theo beat me to it