Hi
Im pretty new to the game aswell, One of my first trees was a chinese elm. It was one i got from a garden centre that looked a bit tatty and was going cheap. A good feed and a water soon brought it back. Iv had it a couple of year now and it's one of my favorites. It always looks healhy and just like it should. I keep it outside it loves it. When it gets rearly cold i keep it in a little mini green house i got for a tenner at a local garen centre. Just to keep the frost off and there quite happy there. I wouldnt put your outside yet tho. Wait till it warms up a bit the shock will proberly kill it. Keep it in the shade when it gets really hot, and repot it once every 2 years or so and you cant go wrong.
What iv just done with mine was to cut a few of the new shoots off and put them in a propergator to see if i can get some cuttings. Like you im totaly new to it and hooked. so i want to have a go at making a bonsai my self. hope this helps.

hi steve,many thanks for your advice i will try putting 'her' outside maybe in a month or so as we ve snow at the mo,mine already has a few yellow leaves that just rop right off if i touch them.im ging to put her in the kinda utility room which has a window and the temps quite cold.....hope im as successful as you have been!!! thanks again!

Hi guys,

It would probably be a good idea to wait till April or May to put your elm outside. As steve says, if it isn't aclimatised correctly it won't do the tree any good. Late spring means you are well past the potential of a frost.

Chinese elms and Zelkovas have a tendency to go mad when the growth season starts and you will need to keep it in trim by cutting back to the 2nd or third leaf on each shoot. I think it's a bit early for cuttings to root at the moment but as I have indicated if the tree is growing well you'll have plenty of cuttings to keep trying with. (trim the cuttings to just below a leaf node and only about 3 leaves long)

As far as the bosai fertiliser is concerned, read what it says in the bottle, and don't over do it. Too much is just as likely to do damage as none at all.

Your best bet to get more into the hobby is to find some books in the library, and if you want to try to develop a bonsai of your own, seek out raw material from nursaries as well as some of our large UK shop chains, e.g. Wilkinsons, Woolworths, Morrisons. They have very affordable and suitable plants.

Oh, and the snow is fun isn't it!!

Good luck

Nick

thanks very much nick! i will wait till at least may and will then put the elm outside and look for a minitaure greenhouse for those cold nights! i do have leaves which just fall off when i touch them although i also have new green leaves coming through so i must be doing something right! many thanks for your help,enjoy the snow!!

After the danger of a hard freeze has passed (before May I would think, but perhaps not), put the tree outside. Do not put it in a greenhouse for those "cold nights". Leave it alone. As fall and winter approach next year, give some thought to protecting it from severe freezing (and freezing wind), but don't be concerned about a light frost, it won't hurt the tree and is actually beneficial.
Good luck,
zube

Here's some information i found. Hope this helps

Chinese Elm - Ulmus parvifolia

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General Information: Chinese elm is fast growing, deciduous or evergreen depending on its location, forms a graceful upright rounded canopy with shiny, dark green leathery leaves. elm is moderatly salt tolerant. Several dwarf varieties, sports of Ulmus parvifolia, exist which grow slower than the ordinary Chinese elm but it produces a much finer network of twigs and branches. It is these sports which are used for bonsai.

Family: Ulmaceae.

Lighting: Will grow in full sun or partial shade.

Temperature: Zones 5B - 10A. More restricted zones may apply to some of the dwarf varieties.

Watering: Needs a lot of water.

Fertilizing: To retain and produce small leaves, do not feed high nitrogen fast-acting fertilizers. Feeding three times a year is sufficient to maintain good color and healthy growth without enlarging the size of the leaves.

Pruning and wiring: Most shaping can be done by pruning. The bark is thin and may be damaged easily.

Propagation: Because these dwarf varieties are sports of another plant, they can only be propagated by cutting or layering. Cuttings may be made from new tip growth taken in early summer.

Repotting: They transplant well. Any type of soil with good drainage seems to grow them well. They have heavy root growth so must have root room.

Pests and diseases: Boreres and chewing insects seem to be the only pests bothering the plant. Cankers may develop on young trunks where soil is excessively wet.

Some species suitable for bonsai:

Ulmus parvifolia, var 'Catlin', is a sport of the common Chinese elm. It is partly evergreen in mild climate and evergreen in the south. Its leaves are a 1/4" to 3/4" long and are a shiny dark green, lanceolate and smaller than zelkova. John Catlin, a landscape designer in California, found this sport on an Ulmus parvifolia or Chinese elm in a nursery in about 1953. Jim Barrett named it Catlin Elm to honor the man who found it and to separate it from the Chinese elm.

Ulmus parvifolia ,var 'Drake', USDA Hardiness zone 7 to 9. has small, dark green leaves, sweeping, upright branches forming a rounded crown and greater leaf retention being almost evergreen in CA and FL.

Ulmus parvifolia, var 'Dynasty', has smooth dark grey bark, smaller leaves and is vase-shaped, with red fall color in the north.

Ulmus parvifolia, var 'Frosty', has a small (.75 inch long) white-margined leaf which may revert back to green.

Bibliography:
USDA Fact Sheet ST - 652

hi steve,thanks very much for the info,i think my elm is the drake type with the dark leaves,although some are yellow but after previous advice i think i can cure this (fingers crossed!)..once again many thanks...steve

I have a similar question to Steve's. I live in Charlotte, NC (zone 7) where the weather is moderate throughtout the year. For the past year I've had my Chinese Elm tree indoors because I lived in an apartment. It did very well for the first eight months. It shed it's leaves about every two to three weeks. Is that normal? Since winter, I have put in in a cold place for a month and then brought it out by the window. So far I it has not sprouted a single bud, but I water it roughly every two-three weeks. How long does the tree stay in its dormant phase? How do I tell if it's dead? Fortunately, I recently moved to a house. Should I place the it outside now? Any advice would be much appreicated.

Thanks

Hi,
Its a little hard for me to answer that one, Im far far from an expert. So if anything i say is wrong please correct me. Im still learning my self. I can only tell you about my little tree, its seems to be happy enough so im doing something right. I keep mine outside all year. I dont know what the climate is like where you are.
All i can say is that when i first had mine i kept it in doors. It grew but the leave were quite big a lightish green and quite flimsy. I heard that it would be far better to keep it outside. So i put it outside. The second the sun came out the delicate leaves shriveled up and fell off! It was early summer so they soon came back. The leaves grow alot smaller now. There a deep glossy green and has leaves on it all year, So long as nothing drastic happens like not watering it. I dont feed it over winter just once a month from early summer up till around september.
I think in the case of yours id say put it outside so long as it not to cold. like i said im not sure of your climate. you dont want to shock it. But i think if you carry on watering it only when it needs it, to much can rot the roots. It will get buds on it, mine hasnt started growing much yet.
Good luck with it anyway hope some of that helps.
STEVE

Aboyd

At a guess the tree has been shedding leaves either because of too much or too little water, most likely too little.

Bonsai, during summer months, require watering 2-3 times a day, depending on temperature. Because of the size of the bonsai pot, soil can dry out very quickly. Generally speaking, conditions inside a home are warm and dry, particularly so where central heating comes into play. It may be possible to equate the 2, i.e. being indoors may be similar to continuous summer. The soil should remain slightly damp at all times. When watering, ensure the soil is given a good soaking, preferably by inserting the pot in a bowl of water up to just above the soil level, and leaving it for 10 minutes or so to ensure the water permiates thoroughly, (note: there are some modern growers who do not hold with this view). Then when the soil has just a hint of dampness water again, no matter how long or short a period this is.

Another cosideration is the state of the soil which, depending on the source of the bonsai, may be peat based. Once a peat based soil has dried out it is virtually impossible to re-hydrate. So I suggest a check of the soil and the roots, together with a re-potting if necessary.

Regarding checking if a tree is still alive, the simple method is to scratch the bark back a little with a finger nail, if green shows through (the cambium layer) the tree is likely to still be alive.

Periods of dormancy tend to be linked to the tree species and weather conditions so can be unpredictable.

Nick

I think that some bonsai, in fast draining soil and in very small pots need to be watered 2-3 times a day in summer, but certainly not all bonsai. Many evergreens won't need as much, and even some deciduous, particularly those in larger pots, won't. And (as Nick pointed out) it's been a long time since the majority of people doing bonsai agreed on watering by immersion, rather than from above, as sitting pots in water does not allow salt and fertilizer to wash away as well as from-above watering, and can compact the soil in the pots faster. It's ok if the top 1/2" and more of soil dries out in many cases, and even if a tree's been potted in a good mix, keeping the soil (especially lower down in the pot where it is not as dry as the top) constantly damp is not a good idea. And it is important to figure in the light, temperature, individual setting, etc.