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Why is my Chinese Elm bark like this?
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Author:  n1ck921 [ 28 Mar 2016, 11:14 ]
Post subject:  Why is my Chinese Elm bark like this?
Hello everyone, this is my first post here so nice to meet you I'm Nick!

I have an 8 year old Chinese Elm and have been wondering why the bark is the way it is ever since I got it, I have not come across another like it through endless image and forum searches. As you can see in the picture the very base of the trunk is thicker than the rest and has very smooth bark, then there is a step down to thinner trunk where the bark is full of cracks and fissures, then after the second bend the bark smooths out again and looks like that of a normal smooth barked Chinese Elm. So my questions are; why does the texture of the bark change up the length of the trunk? and will it always have this variation or will it one day either all be cracked or all be smooth?

Image
Author:  stymie [ 28 Mar 2016, 12:40 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why is my Chinese Elm bark like this?
Hi n1ck.
Your tree may have been grafted. It may have also experienced differing rates of growth in its life. i.e. in a seed tray, open ground and shallow pot.
These are only guesses and some other ideas may be forthcoming. No worries anyway, the tree appears to be in good health.
Author:  Gary Jones [ 28 Mar 2016, 12:50 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why is my Chinese Elm bark like this?
Looks like a graft to me. The bark top of the tree will probably roughen up as it ages (there's signs of this at the top already). The bottom inch will probably remain smooth. Why it's been grafted I don't know - maybe the top part of the tree is a rough barked variety that is relatively weak and so has been grafted onto a more vigorous base but I've not heard of this in CE before.

Rough bark is generally thought of a more attractive so this is no bad thing. If you don't like the smooth bark at the bottom you could possibly layer it at some point but if it was grafted for good reason the first time around then this might be a risky move.

For now I'd leave this healthy tree well alone in this respect and enjoy it's unusual look.
Author:  n1ck921 [ 28 Mar 2016, 14:56 ]
Post subject:  Re: Why is my Chinese Elm bark like this?
Thanks for the replies! A graft does sound like the most obvious explanation and I don't mind the additional character.

I probably should have included this image in the original post but I forgot, this is the opposite side of the trunk and you can see that there is less of a variation in the bark here with some of the rough effect on the very base of the trunk.

Image
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