As per some more reading, I decided to go back to this elm and "ring bark" it. The wire tourniquet method would've been less drastic as I started to do but you would have to wait for the trunk to swell and the wire to cut in to the cambium in order for a new root system to emerge (or the bark to simply grow around the wire which I don't want). The "ring bark" method as shown in the photos was what i just did to it yesterday. I used a sharp knife to cut the bark off around the tree about an inch high. I used a dremel to get into some hard to reach areas. I then surrounded the trunk with my mesh lathe stuff again and filled it up with "soil." Roots should emerge right along the upper cut. This will have to probably remain on the parent tree for one year before it establishes itself enough on the new root system. In the meantime I will fertilize heavily and allow as much top growth as possible to force the roots into growing.
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