Prune - Chinese Elm [1] and Chinese Elm [4]

With some nice weather over the weekend, I thought I would get some hard pruning done on a couple of my elms. The first elm (Chinese Elm [4]), had a nice basic structure with a couple of overly thick branches too high on the tree which needed removing. Here are some before and after pictures.

Front - before prune

Front - after prune

Back - after prune

After pruning the unwante growth and branches from the tree, I thought the apex looked too high on the tree, and was too far to the right for it to look aesthetically pleasing. I decided to draw a virt of my intended apex I will be aiming for in the next few years.

Looking at the apex, it looks like a candidate for an air layer. Depending on the trees response to the prune, I will consider an air layer this year.

Front Virt

I also had enough time to give a prune to my favourite SUMO elm (Chinese Elm [1]). The branches didn't have enough ramification, so I decided not to prune back to a bud as I am confident that the branches won't die back (like on a maple, or a birch). Here are some before, and after shots.

Front - before prune

Front - after prune