I have a chinese elm that is eather dormant or possibly dead, a month ago I posted saying it was in a harsh cold snap and all its leavs went brown but stayed on. and was happy to hear it was most likely dormant.
a month later brown leavs are still on branches, but to me the tree just doesnt look healthy, or has any kind off life.
I'm woundering what are some indicators of the tree being dead vs dormant. other then loss of leaves
iv scratched a few upper branches and found no green under the bark, just white/light brown color. I also scratched the trunk and it was brown. (thogh I didnttry and scratch to deep)
I'm I just paranoind? thanks for the help
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bewildered_nmsu
- Senior Member
- Posts: 118
- Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2008 1:39 am
- Location: Las Cruces, NM
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bewildered_nmsu
- Senior Member
- Posts: 118
- Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2008 1:39 am
- Location: Las Cruces, NM
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bewildered_nmsu
- Senior Member
- Posts: 118
- Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2008 1:39 am
- Location: Las Cruces, NM
Perhaps I approached that a little hastily. If there are some signs of life it might be a good idea to bring it into an unheated part of your home (perhaps your garage) to avoid the colder nights. Considering how cold it is where you live you might have done this before your first hard frost. Cold weather could be what killed (or nearly killed) your tree.
I'd agree with bringing it to a place somewhat warmer, but not into the house. It could very well be that your elm was one of those destined for indoor cultivation. It's impossible to really know for sure, and you only have to hope that the person selling you the tree can and will tell you the truth about its origins. Chinese Elms are funny like that, there are some that can live out a full harsh winter and might gradually fail indoors where there are others that thrive indoors and fail outside.