Is my Chinese Elm bonsai dead?
- Thread starter Fairy
- Start date
penumbra
Imperial Masterpiece
Need your location. Please add to to your profile. Also a picture would help.
Paradox
Imperial Masterpiece
Hard to tell without pictures
WNC Bonsai
Omono
Also tell us what you’ve been doing to it: watering, styling, keeping it inside
, etc.
, etc.
ShadyStump
Imperial Masterpiece
What they said.
Could just be fall colors, could be dying because you kept it inside too long, could arboreal syphilis. Can't tell if we can't see, or at least have an idea what conditions you're under.
Shibui
Imperial Masterpiece
Chinese elm are semi deciduous so it is normal for the leaves to turn yellow and fall off in fall so for UK at this time of year this looks normal.
The others have asked for your location in order to give much better advice. Chinese elms are quite hardy in most places and can stay outdoors all winter but in colder places they will need some protection. In most of the UK it will be fine outside through winter. Mine experience down to -5C a few nights each winter without any problems.
Once or twice a week does not sound like much water but could be Ok as days are shorter for you and cooler now. Do you check soil moisture each day to decide when it needs water? yellow leaves can also be a sign of stress and not enough water can cause that.
The others have asked for your location in order to give much better advice. Chinese elms are quite hardy in most places and can stay outdoors all winter but in colder places they will need some protection. In most of the UK it will be fine outside through winter. Mine experience down to -5C a few nights each winter without any problems.
Once or twice a week does not sound like much water but could be Ok as days are shorter for you and cooler now. Do you check soil moisture each day to decide when it needs water? yellow leaves can also be a sign of stress and not enough water can cause that.
AshleyMammal
Mame
I'm in the UK (midlands) and my chinese elms stay outside all winter without batting and eyelid - they're all currently still in full leaf.
I think i would put this one back outside and hope that bringing it in hasn't shocked it too much. I've had elms worse than that come back in to full growth but you might be waiting until spring
I think i would put this one back outside and hope that bringing it in hasn't shocked it too much. I've had elms worse than that come back in to full growth but you might be waiting until spring
ShadyStump
Imperial Masterpiece
All good guidance so far.
Chinese elms are a subtropical species, so they can survive indoors, but you need to give them ALLOT of light. More than a window, like a window and a grow bulb.
Watering; try the chopstick trick. Jab a wooden/bamboo chopstick or skewer into the soil all the way to the bottom of the pot, and leave it there. Use it like a dipstick to check soil moisture, and water when it's all but dry.
Chinese elms are a subtropical species, so they can survive indoors, but you need to give them ALLOT of light. More than a window, like a window and a grow bulb.
Watering; try the chopstick trick. Jab a wooden/bamboo chopstick or skewer into the soil all the way to the bottom of the pot, and leave it there. Use it like a dipstick to check soil moisture, and water when it's all but dry.
penumbra
Imperial Masterpiece
I would not call Ulmus parvifolia a subtropical plant although it will survive in the tropics. It is native to Northern to Central China, Japan, and Korea but has also naturalized in Vietnam, India and elsewhere. It is hardy from zone 5b to 10b.
Personally I would never recommend growing one indoors, though all things are possible. The only one I ever managed to kill was being kept indoors. It lingered quite a while but eventually died.
Personally I would never recommend growing one indoors, though all things are possible. The only one I ever managed to kill was being kept indoors. It lingered quite a while but eventually died.
ShadyStump
Imperial Masterpiece
Looks like it may be coming back.
Just let it grow for now. Once it wakes up a bit more, puts on some more foliage, give it a bit of fertilizer. Start with low doses once a week or so because it may still be weak, and fertilizing a sick tree can cause more stress.
Just let it grow for now. Once it wakes up a bit more, puts on some more foliage, give it a bit of fertilizer. Start with low doses once a week or so because it may still be weak, and fertilizing a sick tree can cause more stress.
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