So you're saying it definitely needs a certain amount of cold days? Hmm, this wasn't really something I wanted to take on. Winter here can get to negative 20° Fahrenheit. I'm guessing that's much too cold for this guy? I could put him in a shed. Might stay a little warmer, but it wouldn't be heated at all and would receive no sunlight. I also wouldn't be able to water it as the shed gets snowed in.

any recommendations?

bummer, I was hoping this was an evergreen.

If I give it back to my girlfriends mom before winter, it'll suffer. If I keep it, it probably still won't be able to get what it needs.

Wish it were a ficus benjamina bonsai. That would be much easier. Ha

thanks for your time!

Says hardy to zone 4. Unheated shed should be OK, I think in your zone. You could protect it a bit more using those styrofoam cooler box filled with some dry leaves packed in. If the shed is engulfed in snow all the better - it will be well insulated. If temps come close to freezing you may want to dump some snow on top of the plant. You do not want the pot encased in ice since it will crack.

C'mon. You started with ficus, now experiment with this one. There is nothing like the thrill of seeing it budding in spring from what looks like a dead broom in a pot. And you have all of VT winter to worry and learn about it.

Haha, you're right. I guess I'm just partial to ficus trees though. I dabble in other plants, but the ficus are all I really care about. Guess I need to work on that.

I do have a couple more questions regarding the bonsai, if that's aright? I won't get this thread to 50 million like my last. :)

I've read some of these elms are from southern China and can stay inside all year. I've also read, if you keep these elms inside all year they will be fine. But not to put them in the cold some years and not do it others. Others say they need x amount of cold days to year or they'll die.

Theres a lot of confusing info on the Internet!

Looks like you are right - at least as far as google info is concerned. May be they can be kept indoors in winter but I have never done that. Someone else more knowledgeable about elms can pipe in, hopefully. I also wonder how well they will do compared to being outside.

Thanks! Anyone else have anything to share?

Deciduous trees sleep in the winter.

Here is a response I got from the original place the tree was purchased:

Dave,

This is indeed a Chinese elm. I have sold these in the past as "indoor" trees in that they seem to do pretty well when kept indoors in the winter as long as they have plenty of sun. My own Chinese Elms are treated as temperate plants and I keep them in a 36 degree greenhouse for the winter. Since this tree was grown indoors for 5 years you think, it probably is a little tired and could use a good winters sleep. Two cautionary notes; this is an evergreen elm and is not supposed to lose all of its leaves even in winter and secondly, this is a tree that retains a lot of moisture in its system and so, if it gets too cold, will actually rupture or split when the vascular water freezes. So, if you are thinking of your garage, make sure it is not significantly going to freeze.

This is an awkward time of year to be resuscitating a sick tree. If you feed it up to get it healthy, it will have too much new foliage to go into cold storage. If you don't feed it up and baby it back to health, it may not survive cold storage. I would get it healthy and then figure out what to do next.....moderate cold storage from Nov-March would be good.

I am attaching a generic care sheet for this tree....it is based on the assumption that you are NOT going to put it into cold storage.

Let me know if you have other questions.

My Chinese elms lose all their leaves in winter. One of them is in a big pot (5 gallons) dug in the ground and stays outside and survived -10F with no problems. I have had it for the last 15 years like that. The smaller one stays inside a cold frame in the winter. Inside the cold frame probably gives a 5F advantage at the most.

I had always assumed, may be mistakenly, that they are hardy deciduous. Seems like I need to do some research on this.

I figured the same. However, there seems to be so much contradicting info about these out there!

i may pay this person $50 to keep it in their 36° greenhouse from November till April.

Well ! There are many so called Chinese Elms. Many are Zelkova species. However I have been caring for these since 1972. That was when I was told it was an inside tree. It does not like overwintering inside : it gets dried out for one. This tree likes light as do most Bonsai , and plenty of it. I always keep these trees as normal outside trees, over wintering outside with a small bubble wrap cover. They need to lose their leaves just like any other broadleaf tree. Since I used this approach , I have never lost one. All my bonsai get a daily watering or two in a hot summer. Best is one early morning and another late afternoon. The Chinese Elm is just the same and loves this. I live in England near Warwick Castle. I prune these trees quite often and feed with Bio Gold solid blocks--2-3 each. This is a natural feed and you should never lose these to over feeding. These trees also need Oxygen for their roots so a fairly loose soil based on Akadama and Lava with a little compost and bark flakes.. Hydrogen Peroxide is excellent to improve Oxygenation is your soil is too soggy (repot ). You will need to dilute 3% HO2O as it can burn your roots if too strong mixture is used. I use a table spoon per 1/2 pint jug.. Most deciduous trees are hardy in my climate. So don't overdo the cocooning during winter.....during this time they don't need light at all , but should be kept just moist and no feed !!! or you will encourage growth during the winter , not what you want. So good luck . I hope this helps.