Ron, how close to the house are we talking? Also what is your yard like, wet, dry, hilly, rocky? Bald Cypress is a tree I love. It is a different shape than your elm though. Conical for the most part. You can prune the branches up. Its a good choice for a tighter spot. I'll assume if you have an old elm tree its a fairly "normal" yard in an older development. IF you're sure you'd like that big of tree my favorite near a house are the upright oaks. Pin Oak, Red Oak, them fellas. Although some pin oaks in St. Louis are beginning to annoy me with turning yellow (due to an iron deficiency i think?). Where are you? Like zone 7 West Coast or down south of me in Arkansas where almost everything grows? After removing two big white ash which were over my house I am a bit more conservative with my recommendations for trees over houses. Liking trees though I understand the attraction.

The top of the soil the tree came in shouldn't be covered with additional soil. Some mulch (organic or rock) is OK but better to keep it at least a couple of inches away from the trunk for good gas exchange, less rot danger. It sounds like your's isn't covered with soil, just water for short periods. Sounds right to me. It's OK for the water to flood the tree for the 20-60 minutes it takes to soak in. That's the purpose of the well design. And I'm liking this watering method for trees alot better than drip. If the tree was being flooded everyday from rain, sprinklers or something you could knock a break in the well's wall so the water doesn't stand. Don't know anything about the graft.

Rb, you don't tell us because you don't want us to know or because you don't know? Just kidding (gggg). Re: dieback. It's my understanding that PG trained as a standard and left to its own for years (typical example would be old PGs growing at cemetaries) could become very unkemp looking by the reason I call 'visual dieback'. I have an unsubstantiated theory about this and would be glad to have everybody's opinion about it. As branches become thicker and thicker bark on them become thicker as well, leaf buds can't penetrate it and new growth occures only at the tips of the old long branches. Some adventurous buds that still will be able to grow thru the old bark spend most of their energy to do so and are not productive. Since new growth is not produced anymore neither from the base of the tree nor from the most of the lenghts of the old branches you'll see new growth and flowers only on outside part of the plant. That is creating how I call it a 'visual dieback' effect. In a PGs trained as a trees this effect could ruin the whole appearance while in a shrub form it doesn't play such role. Hope you remember this pictures I posted here a few times Obviously nobody pruned this, planted in 1978, shrub for at least last 20 years. I got a chance to see it very close. Upon close inspection the main trunk become a 6 or 7 trunks growing together sometimes splitting, but sometimes growing one into each other. Nevertheless, of all 15-16' width of it, only outer 4 to 5' has viable buds in a spring, but that is enough to cover all ugly insides and create the most stately and gorgeous PG I ever saw.

Root starters not really fertilizers but are typically plant growth hormone-based and sometimes with additions of various vitamins (like B1). For the most part, they are really quite unnecessary (especially the B1) for already growing plants but can be helpful when taking cuttings and propagating. They tend to be promoted by nursery staff as add-on sales but without any real understanding of what they can and can't do. One of the reasons that fall planting of trees and shrubs is so often recommended is that these plants in fall naturally undergo an extended period of root growth and root extension that will continue until the ground gets too cold. Plant roots are quite capable of growing perfectly well on their own without us messing about :-) In more than 30 years of professional gardening and countless 100's of trees planted, I've never used a root starter or stimulator product and never had a tree not do well from just a proper planting technique and adequate water. Just make sure you rough up the rootball or release any circling roots - that is ALL the stimulation or encouragement they need!! Myth of root stimulators.