Hard root prune

[vcnsiqueira]

Hello guys. Yesterday one of my Chinese elm seedlings was not in the normal upright position in the pot. The night before it was winding a lot and I think the roots were still not wee fixed in the pot.

The point is that, since it was almost falling from the pot I decided to repot but when I was looking at the roots I realised it had a bigger root going to the bottom of the trunk. I remember that I read about Chinese elms having strong leader roots that needs to be printed so I decided it was a good idea to prune the roots before repotting it.

Well, during the day I realised the leaves were down as if the tree needed water, which is not the case since I watered well after repot. So I think the tree felt the root pruning or maybe it was more than I should have done. I only did that cause Chinese elms are supposed to be really strong. But now I don't know if the tree will survive.

Any help will be useful. Here are a photo of the tree. Many of the leaves are dried.

 

[Wulfskaar]

I did a summer emergency repot on mine 2-3 years ago. It lost all it's leaves and then grew them back.

Chinese elm are very hardy, so there's a decent chance it will recover. Good luck!

 

[Shibui]

Agree that you are probably seeing an emergency reaction to reduced water supply. The tree has shut down the leaves to save moisture loss until it can grow enough roots to restart growth.
I'm almost certain it will shoot again in a few weeks but occasionally they can feel winter approaching and don't bother growing until spring.

 

[Betula1]

You could always place a large polythene bag over it to create a greenhouse effect, but keep it out of direct sun.
Are you keeping it indoors or outdoors?

 

[vcnsiqueira]

I've been keeping it outdoors. I put it in the shade today. But yesterday I didn't realise this situation and it was under the sun.

 

[vcnsiqueira]

Many leaves lost! Totally burnt!

I'll keep it in the shadow for a couple of days! I will defoliate these burnt leaves and hopefully, new leaves will come.

Maybe only next year. Cause in a few weeks it will be cold here

 

[vcnsiqueira]

Well, I defoliate the entire tree!

I hope it recover! I don't know if it will shoot new leaves this season or only next spring. I hope it survives. I don't want to loose it!

 

[Orion_metalhead]

Watch your watering! With no leaves transpiring it can easily get over watered. Good luck!

 

[The Barber]

I'd expect the tree will be fine. When I first started into bonsai I had an elm that I would forget to water and it would drop all of its leaves. It did that 3 times in probably 6 months and still had enough energy to pull through and completely leaf back out somehow.