Just drilled a Siberian Elm tree at our farm to move a game camera.
Water/sap actually spouted from the hole! This is common during the spring and summer for these trees, which are also called "piss elms".
However, the sap should be in the roots now, since we have had multiple hard freezes.
I think the trees' "will to live" is possibly the reason. We have been unseasonably warm for about four weeks and have had an 11" snow and a 1.25" rain. I think the trees have been trying to pull in that moisture to recover from our 3-year drought. Very impressive survival skills! (Even though I hate these invasive elms. Hopefully our desirable trees are doing the same thing.)
P.S. Our creek has also started running again. It did not start running due to surface water flows. Instead, the pools began rising from below with the increase in the groundwater level. They have coalesced over the last few days and the creek is now flowing. I hope the ground moisture stays around for our trees to access for their spring growth next year.
