Advice for damaged young Princeton elm--and weevils too

4 years ago

Hi all. Two years ago I planted two Princeton elms on either side of the house. This year one grew over 3 feet and is now 10 feet tall. But the other one lagged, and is only about 7 feet tall. Examination of the trunk revealed some damage, even though I had protected (I thought) the trunk with wire mesh. See photos.

My questions are: what are the chances that the damaged one will catch up with its healthier brother? Should I wait and see or transplant it now and let it do its thing, and plant a healthier one with a better chance of catching up?

I also saw quite a bit of defoliation by weevils this year and last. I try to pick them off by hand but they return with a vengeance, having no other elms to feed off, I imagine-- 99% of the elms here in the Catskill Mountains (upstate NY, zone 5) were lost to Dutch Elm disease. How best to keep the weevils at bay, as organically as possible?

I appreciate any and all advice! Thanks!

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Comments (3)

tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
4 years ago
Those may be frost cracks. Which direction do they face?

tj
Farmer Chundo thanked tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
Farmer Chundo
Original Author
4 years ago
North, actually--
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
4 years ago
Two years ago I planted

==>> easily related to digging and shipping from the grower.. though it was so minor at the time it took a year to show.. frankly.. nbd ... i would ignore it ...

if pot grown.. did you bare root and observe the roots at planting ... what did you see ...

weevils.. i know nothing about ...

next .... why is it important to you. that they be exact size duplicates... thats not really the way trees grow ... i would seem silly to dig one up hoping to find one the mimics the other ... not unlike children.. they do their own thing .... not to mention that if you bought a 10 footer... it will then lag due to transplant shock ... and probably;.. just to piss you off end up growing slower than the smaller one now ... its just vicious circle ....

if these were field grown and BB then you really dont know how much roots were in either ball ... and perhaps the slower one needs an extra year or two to grow the root mass to grow to specs ...

regardless.. when they are 50 feet tall ... its not going to be a big deal if one is a few feet short than the other ...

on some level.. trees demand faith .. that if you plant them properly.. and water them until they get fully established.. which is a few year for trees .... then they will perform for the next 50 to 100 years.. with little from you ... but they will not grow exactly the same... so just dont worry about why one established a year faster than the other ...

ken

ps: properly prune off all those stubs.. you dont want an elm bush.. im sure ...
Farmer Chundo thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5