Chinese Elm Issues

[Cristian]

Hello Everybody,
I have 4 bonsai trees, but I am still new to the art. I recently purchased a Chinese Elm from a reputable nursery in Northern Virginia (or so I was told)... The tree has a general lack of foliage, but I was told this was due to a recent pruning/trimming. When I brought the tree home, I noticed that the nice bonsai soil was only a 1 inch top dressing, and underneath that was a nasty soggy layer of poor quality soil. I immediately repotted to a quality bonsai soil 3 days ago. I am concerned about the lack of foliage, as well as a cavity in the top of the trunk which has soft wood inside, and appears to have slight algae growth. The trunk also has slight algae growth. Should I not water from above, and only water the soil to avoid further water damage? Should I move the tree outside immediately, or should I gradually move it out when the weather is nicer. It is currently 65-75 during the daytime, but night time lows are usually above 50 at this point. Please help, I love this tree but I am worried that I made a mistake in purchasing it. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

[M. Frary]

Get it outside. 50 degrees is nothing.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

Northern Virginia, eh? What nursery?

This is an outdoor tree, so it should be outdoors year round. 50 is not too cold at all for this tree and it can go outside right away.

 

[Cristian]

I got it from Wolf Trap Nursery. I spoke to a few people and heard good things about their larger bonsai, but now I'm not sure. I am just concerned about putting it outside it its fragile state. Any suggestions on the algae/top of trunk? Should I leave that alone and keep it dry?

 

[Redwood Ryan]

You may have to dig in there and see how much rot is in the trunk, but I wouldn't be super concerned about it.

I wonder what the tropical selection is like at Wolf Trap...

 

[Cristian]

I did, and it doesn't go that far down, should I scrape out the algae? They have some nice trees there at Wolf Trap, certainly nicer than anywhere else I have been around here. They have a really nice Ficus Retusa there that is 95 years old. Would you suggest keeping water out of the cavity and off the trunk for the time being? I am hoping that the move outside will help the overall health of the tree.

 

[Redwood Ryan]

I did, and it doesn't go that far down, should I scrape out the algae? They have some nice trees there at Wolf Trap, certainly nicer than anywhere else I have been around here. They have a really nice Ficus Retusa there that is 95 years old. Would you suggest keeping water out of the cavity and off the trunk for the time being? I am hoping that the move outside will help the overall health of the tree.

Hold on, they have a what now?! It's probably insanely expensive...

I'd try not to water directly into that spot for the time being.

 

[Cristian]

Ok I will keep the water away from that spot until the health improves. Yea man its amazing, $2,800 though. I thought it would be more than that. You should check it out it's a beautiful specimen.

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy!

Reputable?

Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

Sorce

 

[Redwood Ryan]

I'm definitely going there tomorrow. Hopefully they have less expensive Ficus...

Elms are good, tough trees. This one should be fine once you get it outdoors, which you can do at any time now. They're totally outdoor trees.

 

[Cristian]

Thanks everybody for your help, I will move outside tomorrow. Would you recommend holding off on fertilizer for now? Or is now an important time to fertilize?

 

[KennedyMarx]

I would fertilize it. Some people think you shouldn't fertilize a weak tree (huh?) or one that's recently been roots aren't going to get "burned" by the fertilizer unless you use waaaay too much and there's a lot of salt build up in the root system.

https://www.evergreengardenworks.com/fertiliz.htm

https://www.evergreengardenworks.com/overfert.htm

Get a soft bristled toothbrush and that gunk will come off the trunk with a little water and gentle scrubbing.

 

[Eric Group]

Not really advisable to repot a tree if you don't know when it was last repotted...

As others said-
1- OUTSIDE
2-prolly not a big deal at all that little bit of rot
3- you will never get all the "algae"/ moss off the trunk of an Elm. Don't worry about it either.

When you move it outside, water or heavily until water runs out the bottom, wait a minute then do it again. Don't let it dry out completely between watering a and don't do any of this baby the tree misting BS- broad leaf don't need that and it can cause the tree to absorb water through the leaves/ branches which keeps it from forcing the roots to take it up, slowing root development... No need to AVOID getting any water on the top, just make sure your focus is on a good soaking of the soil- TWICE- each time you water to completely flush any old stagnant air out of the root mass.

Ferts are fine, this is the time of year to do it! Start a little slower and work your way up... Any ferts are fine as long as you are offering them...

Tree has green growth, should be ok unless it was recently repoted and craps out due to too much root work too soon.

Good luck!

 

[Cristian]

Thanks everybody,
I do know that it had been at least 1 year since the last repotting. Tree iss outside now and hopefully will see some nice growth soon! Thanks again for all of your help