"Lanky" Lacebark Elm and Early Training

Question: Steve, I have a Lace Bark Elm tree that we planted in 2002. It was rather tall and "lanky" when we bought it...We had to tie it up to make it stand and we are still having trouble with it standing upright. The trunk is about 8" around now but it still wants to lay over. Can anything be done with this tree after all this time or do we need to give up and cut it down? I would appreciate any information you can offer.

Answer: Lacebark or Chinese elm is a great tree choice. Some horticulturist believe it will become the street tree of the 21st century, replacing American elm. The tree still can be tricky to train in its early years and often presents problems like you are describing.

Chinese elms with trunks less than about two inches in diameter (about your tree's size) often require staking to prevent leaning and blow-over. I very rarely recommend long-term staking but due to lacebark's heavy crown and unstable root system, saplings often need staking and only minimal pruning. You obviously have gone past that critical training period and not much hope that your tree will improve to display that perfect form it is genetically coded to grow.

Nursery operators often train these trees to a single, straight trunk by staking at an early age. I am assuming you did not do this. You should have left branches on the lower trunk during this training period to encourage caliper development on the lower trunk.

• Consider Planting Elm
• Chinese Elm Management

Young Lacebark Elm Photo - HelloMojo/Wikimedia Commons