Collecting Elm trees affected pests

[Keels]

Today a friend mentioned i could collect these elm trees from his joint. I went and looked at them this afternoon. They all seemed to be infected by some pest. I believe it could be elm leaf beetle? Not 100% sure on that though.

My question is if i took a risk and collected them in winter removing all soil before bring the trees home would this stop the infection of the leaf beetle?

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[regwac]

That is elm beetle . Your idea of collecting in winter and taking no soil will minimise the risk of taking them home . They are controllable on Bonsai , the huge elm in the corner of our yard is another story !

[shibui]

Elm leaf beetle grubs eat the leaves then go to the ground to pupate. Adults hatch in spring and summer and lay eggs for more grubs. Adult beetles also eat elm leaves.

I think elm leaf beetle is almost everywhere now so taking some home will probably not introduce a new pest. If you have elms in your yard the beetles will fly in and find them to lay eggs on.
Easily controlled on small trees with appropriate pesticide as Regwac has already said but you don't need the soil around the roots so probably sensible to leave it and any bugs behind.

Not sure whether you have checked the roots on these but you will probably find these are suckers growing from the larger roots of another elm nearby. They may or may not have small feeder roots on the stem depending how old they are. Transplant is usually successful even if the trunk only has a few small roots. You can dig a section of the parent root if it is not too thick but it will probably need to be removed at some time in future.
English elm also grows easily from root cuttings so keep an eye out for nice roots while you are excavating. A nice shaped thick section of root can become a bonsai trunk. Shoots will grow from the top and roots from the bottom if it is planted and looked after correctly.

[Keels]

Thanks for the info shibui. Always a wealth knowledge. Where you in Canberra this weekend? Ill post when the trees have been collected.

[shibui]

Yes, I was at the Canberra Club meeting talking about maples as bonsai and led the workshop in the afternoon.
Always a good day at Canberra club meetings or shows but a long, boring drive along the Hume hwy each way.