So I was wondering...growing up i always heard about pizz Elm. What..technically is that anyway ? Lol. Is it called that because of the way it smells when split/burned...or because of how pizzy it is to split ? Just wondering so I finally know lol !
Yea, sort of like censoring, family site and all, one place I don't mind it is here since I know most guys here swear like me
You're prolly referring to red/slippery elm as pizz elm. It's got an odor and can be a little slimy when splitting; but it's not objectionable to me. BTU's to me. Here's a pic. The picture doesn't do justice as to how dark the middle of this round is...............it's copper/rust colored when first split or cut.
Pizz elm or chinese elm is actually Siberian Elm. Its got smaller leaves than the other two well known elms. It usually has a distinctive white strip run vertically up the tree. The branches are brittle, so wind storms causes them to fall often. Fast growing trees... They do have a distinctive smell once cut and split...
I appreciate that ! Glad to finally know! One of those things that i dont believe i have ever had the pleasure of dealing with. But all the old guys when I was young....would tell me i had it easy..cuz I only had oak and maple to split lol.
It can be... I just split some that was bucked early summer. The bark was basically falling off and it split fairly easily... I'll try to take a picture later on when I go back outside.... The secret is dead standing and bark falling off or buck and let it till the bark starts to loosening up ...
This is exactly how I handle elm. I actually only cut down elm after the bark is falling off or already off.
The reason it’s called pizz elm around here is because one grows everywhere someone takes a whiz. I have seen a lot of people call small mulberry’s pizz elms also.
From fresh split green elm. edIve had fresh split that wasnt the most pleasant smell and ive had standing dead fresh split that smell like hospital bandages (Thanks to Eric Wanderweg for this tidbit)
Most elm is called that because it is so wet and smelly when cut green. I simply do not cut elm until it is dead and at least most of the bark has fallen off. It then makes excellent firewood.
It sounds like bark falling off is the key to Elm happiness ! I guess I've been spoiled in my little world ! Never had to deal with it !
It definitely is the key. Most times one can even split it without hydraulics if he so chooses. I've also posted a video on here a few times about splitting elm to show how easy it can split but it has to be dead and also we wait for the bark to fall off. Actually the top half of the tree can even be burned right away but the bottom still has too much sap and must be stacked for a year.
