Q&A for How to Prune an Elm Tree

Wash the area with clean water and add baking soda paste to dry over the wound. Be careful to take particular care of the joints and the areas of limb weight.

You should prune only during the early spring to prevent elm bark beetles. Only trim your elm tree in the early spring, preferably before March 31st, if you live in the Northern Hemisphere.

Sometimes weather conditions mean that too much cold and air pollution have restricted the plant's ability to recreate its buds for flowers. But it will produce buds later. If you want to make it happen earlier, then there are several sprays available in the market. An elm’s seeds drop from the tree in late spring to early summer. They are pea-sized, round, flat, and protected by a thin green casing.

Elm leaves are double-toothed and often lopsided at the base. The petal-less flowers appear before the leaves and are borne in clusters on jointed stems. There are over 30 species of elm in existence today and each kind has its own range of growing conditions and subtleties in appearance, so be aware of that; maybe look for some online images to compare with yours.

Mulch around the elm to provide shading to inhibit or slow sucker growth. Don't allow the soil around the base of the elm to become waterlogged, dried out or compacted. To create an environment inhospitable to sucker growth, prune the elm regularly and it will develop a healthy, full canopy to reduce sucker growth.