# Moving a large chinese elm



## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

Seriously?

Cut it down!

I have two of them in my front yard. They are junk trees. The limbs grow fast and very long making them weak. A majority of the weight is out toward the end of the limbs. 

Both of the trees are next to our driveway, so I have to move the cars every time the wind blows. Twigs and/or branches fall every time we get more than a breeze. Occasionally a big limb falls with no wind at all. 

If that's not enough to convince you, here's more. Around here (West Michigan), they still have a lot of their leaves until mid-December. A heavy/wet snow will bring branches down almost every time.

When we moved here, an October snow storm destroyed an old Chinese Elm that was in our back yard. My neighbors had to have 5 of them removed from their front yard from the same storm.

If I had the ability and a chain saw or the money to pay someone, I'd have them both taken out. They're not worth the trouble.

But they are pretty when they're small. 

JMO FWIW.


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

you mean a CHINESE elm is JUNK? lol

DM


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## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

The one's I have sure are. The one's that used to be across the street were too. Do you have some on your property that you're happy with?


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## Stillwerkin (Nov 24, 2008)

I hope you have a big yard, because those trees shouldn't be within 100 feet of the house.
-They have multiple, weak, spindly trunks that branch off close to the ground. These break will off easily, and then introduce disease into the rest of the tree. The wood is soft and porous
-The leaves shed year-round, and are dirty.
-The bark peels off easily.
-Branchs fall off continously(as the car will attest to). 


We bought our house 2 years ago, and immediately cut down three of them(Siberian elms). 
Two were growing right next to the foundation, and the third was ready to take out the power lines for the entire neighborhood.
Only a couple more to go-but they are on the neighbor's property.


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## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

They are definitely messy! They drop little round paper-thin seed pods for several weeks in the spring/summer. If you've just washed your car or it rains, the seed pods make your car look like it has chicken pox.

Plus the little pods stick to any broad-leaf landscaping plants in the yard. And they get tracked in the house on people's shoes.


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

Being that I was in the tree care industry for 25 years or so and love trees,I am afraid I would have to agree with the rest and do not attempt to move it unless you have a very large lot and can put it far away from anything that you value. It ranks right up there with silver maple, not good.:no:That said, my CRAZY neighbor dug one out of his gravel driveway 4 or 5 years ago that was 15 to 20 ft tall and moved it to his front yard.I told him( being the expert) that no way was that tree going to survive the stress of moving it being as it was too large. The damn thing is now about 60 feet and growing like the weed that it is!


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## Thurman (Feb 9, 2009)

If you do decide to move the tree, just remember the one rule of tree/large shrub moving that my Granddad and Dad taught me: Move a tree or large shrub one week before or one week after Christmas Day and it will live. I've never had this method fail on me yet. Thanks, David


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Whose got a pic of one of these?


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## Tsal (Aug 30, 2009)

*RE: Chinese Elm moving...Christmas not an option....*



Thurman said:


> If you do decide to move the tree, just remember the one rule of tree/large shrub moving that my Granddad and Dad taught me: Move a tree or large shrub one week before or one week after Christmas Day and it will live. I've never had this method fail on me yet. Thanks, David


We live near Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada. At Christmas the ground would be frozen like a rock, however, October might be a good bet I'm guessing. What temperatures were you referring to near Christmas where you live?


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

I think Georgia could be 50-60 at that time of year


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## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

> Whose got a pic of one of these?


I'll try to post a picture of mine tomorrow.


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## Thurman (Feb 9, 2009)

Dave's right on temps in S.W. GA. at Xmas time, for some years. I was not thinking about Xmas time in the extreme Northern States which, I'm sure, could be frozen ground and not exactly the outside weather to be transplanting trees. Down here we get a wide variance in temps during the Christmas Season, some years it will be cold to us, in the high 30's-low 40's, and the next year it may be in the 80's. It used to depend on whether or not we bought the kids new bikes or not. If we did, then it would be cold, if we bought inside toys, it would be great outside weather. I also would like to see a picture of a "Chinese Elm". Thanks, David


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## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

This isn't a great picture because you can't see where branches have broken off. But you can see how thin the canopy is, especially considering the fact that there are two trees close together.


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## Caliski (Nov 8, 2008)

That picture does not look like a Chinese elm to me. We have them on the west coast, although we call them Chinese evergreen elms, I don't know if there is a difference. Anyway, it's funny listening to you east coast dudes trash this tree, because on the west coast they are prized for being fast growing, drought tolerant, and small in size for residential use. I guess it's just a matter of perspective. 

Oh and they are resistant to a number of diseases to include dutch elm disease. And they are also used in Bonsai.


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## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

I think we are talking about a different tree. There's nothing small about these and I can't imagine how they could be used for bonsai. The two in the picture are taller than my house. These trees should not be growing near a house or power lines.

Can you post a picture of the Chinese Evergreen Elm you have there?


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## Stillwerkin (Nov 24, 2008)

gma2rjc- I'm pretty sure what you have is a Siberian Elm, same as mine.
I previously thought a Siberian and a Chinese was the same until looking them up on google images.
The Siberians are bad. No experience with the Chinese.

Tsal- you might be able to shovel around it, throw some chains under it, and move it with the bobcat or drag it on a tarp.
I can't think of other ways at the moment. 
I'd expect it would be best after the first thaw going into amended dirt.


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

I have a tree I like but its in the wrong place
Too big to move so instead I have started a seedling (several actually) from the tree
In a year or two I'll cut the old tree down


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## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

Stillwerkin, you are absolutely right. I googled the Siberian and the Chinese Elm's and the two in my picture are not Chinese. In fact, the map I found doesn't even show them growing in Michigan. There are several other differences as well. Thanks for letting me know!

Tsal, sorry about the bad advice. Looking at the pictures I saw, I can see why you'd want to keep it. Good luck with it!


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Yup, this shows a Chinese Elm according to Google










and a bigger tree


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