Need help identifying problem with Siberian Elm seedling

[ssvvss]

Hey I’m ssvvss, I’m new to Bonsai and sowed some seeds from the bunch I got a Siberian Elm and by the looks of it it’s not doing so good, the leaves started yellowing and wilting.
I water it every week or every other week
It gets light from a grow light since it was started from seed indoors
Any suggestions or advice would be welcomed.
Thank you.

 

[Shibui]

Most trees do far better growing outside with sun and fresh air. Some species just can't live indoors for extended periods, even if they have good artificial light. If you really need an indoor tree try one of the tropical species - Ficus, Schefflera, etc.
If you are only watering every week or every other week I suspect the container has no drainage holes. This is also a recipe for problems either from root rot or toxic mineral build up as excess minerals cannot wash away with drainage water.
The yellow leaves with green veins is a classic sign of nutrient deficiency - Either iron or zinc? What fertilizer have you been using on this tree?

 

[rockm]

Hey I’m ssvvss, I’m new to Bonsai and sowed some seeds from the bunch I got a Siberian Elm and by the looks of it it’s not doing so good, the leaves started yellowing and wilting.
I water it every week or every other week
It gets light from a grow light since it was started from seed indoors
Any suggestions or advice would be welcomed.
Thank you.View attachment 543439View attachment 543440

you don't say where you are in your avatar. That info is extremely important for anyone to offer advice on what to do.

Overall, though, keeping a temperate zone tree indoors is mostly a death sentence for them. The seedlings are showing signs of extreme stress, either from overwatering and not enough light to underwatering and not enough light.

Bottom line--The tree needs to be outdoors in a pot that drains in better soil.

 

[ssvvss]

I’ll update my avatar once I get home, I live in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. We just got out of winter I had the seedlings inside to protect them from the freezing temperatures, it’s now spring and temperatures are warming up I’ll keep them outside from now on.
Should I repot it right away or wait for it to get used to being outside.

 

[ssvvss]

There are drainage holes in the pot but I’ll inspect them when I get home.
I got some pellet fertilizer off of Amazon I’ll take a picture of that when I get home as well.

 

[TrevorLarsen]

I wouldn’t repot since its leaves are out. I would keep it in the shade for a week or two at first until it gets used to full Sun.

 

[rockm]

I’ll update my avatar once I get home, I live in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. We just got out of winter I had the seedlings inside to protect them from the freezing temperatures, it’s now spring and temperatures are warming up I’ll keep them outside from now on.
Should I repot it right away or wait for it to get used to being outside.

Siberian elm is hardy to USDA zone 3-5, depending on your info source. It's a pretty tough tree. It's native to northern Asia, that's where it gets its name--Siberia. It's very invasive and hardy here in the States and I think it is also invasive in Canada, including Toronto and Montreal areas and other areas. Those seedlings should be fine outside under a thick covering of mulch in the winter. Trying to shelter them inside under tropical-ish conditions is not helping them

 

[ssvvss]

Most trees do far better growing outside with sun and fresh air. Some species just can't live indoors for extended periods, even if they have good artificial light. If you really need an indoor tree try one of the tropical species - Ficus, Schefflera, etc.
If you are only watering every week or every other week I suspect the container has no drainage holes. This is also a recipe for problems either from root rot or toxic mineral build up as excess minerals cannot wash away with drainage water.
The yellow leaves with green veins is a classic sign of nutrient deficiency - Either iron or zinc? What fertilizer have you been using on this tree?

@Shibui I’ve used a couple of pellets in October if i can remember correctly

 

[ssvvss]

@Shibui I’ve used a couple of pellets in October if i can remember correctly

I got this but haven’t used it yet. It does say from May to November and I got a Juniper it came in a Kit.

 

[ssvvss]

Siberian elm is hardy to USDA zone 3-5, depending on your info source. It's a pretty tough tree. It's native to northern Asia, that's where it gets its name--Siberia. It's very invasive and hardy here in the States and I think it is also invasive in Canada, including Toronto and Montreal areas and other areas. Those seedlings should be fine outside under a thick covering of mulch in the winter. Trying to shelter them inside under tropical-ish conditions is not helping them

@rockm They’re outside from now on right next to my Juniper. As @TrevorLarsen said I’ll wait a few weeks until they get used to the Sun before I repot the yellowing one.
Do you guys notice anything with my second seedling it’s color is a bit off comparable to the third while they were in the same conditions, same grow tent, same water, same light.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

@rockm They’re outside from now on right next to my Juniper. As @TrevorLarsen said I’ll wait a few weeks until they get used to the Sun before I repot the yellowing one.
Do you guys notice anything with my second seedling it’s color is a bit off comparable to the third while they were in the same conditions, same grow tent, same water, same light.

The second one looks chlorotic. Did you put it out in the sun immediately without any shade time for a couple weeks?
If not, it's a soil pH issue, probably too low of a pH, or too high (but that's less likely). If either of those two is the case, keep watering it with regular water at regular intervals, and new growth should come out normal at some point.

Indoors to outdoors is always an hassle, which is why I quit doing it.

 

[ssvvss]

The second one looks chlorotic. Did you put it out in the sun immediately without any shade time for a couple weeks?
If not, it's a soil pH issue, probably too low of a pH, or too high (but that's less likely). If either of those two is the case, keep watering it with regular water at regular intervals, and new growth should come out normal at some point.

Indoors to outdoors is always an hassle, which is why I quit doing i

The second one looks chlorotic. Did you put it out in the sun immediately without any shade time for a couple weeks?
If not, it's a soil pH issue, probably too low of a pH, or too high (but that's less likely). If either of those two is the case, keep watering it with regular water at regular intervals, and new growth should come out normal at some point.

Indoors to outdoors is always an hassle, which is why I quit doing it.

@Wires_Guy_wires nope its been under the grow tent like the rest so it’s a soil ph issue I’ll take your advice to heart and I’ll keep watering them at regular intervals thank you for the help.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Could be LED bleaching then. Can be resolved by putting it farther away from the lights.

 

[Shibui]

Either soil pH or nutrient deficiency or a bit of both as pH can affect what nutrients are available to the plant.
It appears to be the same problem as the first tree but not yet as bad. Notice the colour pattern on the leaves - yellowing between the veins but all the veins are still green. Also note that the older leaves are worse than the newer leaves. That means the tree is moving nutrients from the oldest leaves to support the newer ones and that's also an indicator because some nutrients are movable and some are not. Iron is not mobile so we can probably rule out iron deficiency in this case. Nitrogen and Magnesium are both mobile plants and both show up as this pattern of green veins and yellow between. As the plants can move both around the symptoms appear in older leaves first.

My guess is a 'couple of pellets last October' maybe is not enough to keep rapidly growing trees well fed. The second pert you have appears to be a liquid. Liquid fert is already dissolved in water so is available to the roots as soon as you apply it. That's what is required now. Give all the trees a dose of that today or ASAP. It is also an acidifying fert so will help if the soil has become a little alkaline (high pH) which is also likely. I won't go into the ridiculous 20.20.20 ratio now because the plant needs nutrients soon. Mix as directed on the pack and give all the pots a good soaking with the solution.
You can also add some more pellets of the former fert to each pot as well. It's a slow release so keeps feeding the plant for a few months (release rate does not appear to be specified on the packet?)
These young seedlings are trying to grow fast so they need lots of nutrient to fuel that growth. Feed them well during all through the growing season. Every 2 weeks is usual, especially if we are watering a lot.

 

[ssvvss]

Either soil pH or nutrient deficiency or a bit of both as pH can affect what nutrients are available to the plant.
It appears to be the same problem as the first tree but not yet as bad. Notice the colour pattern on the leaves - yellowing between the veins but all the veins are still green. Also note that the older leaves are worse than the newer leaves. That means the tree is moving nutrients from the oldest leaves to support the newer ones and that's also an indicator because some nutrients are movable and some are not. Iron is not mobile so we can probably rule out iron deficiency in this case. Nitrogen and Magnesium are both mobile plants and both show up as this pattern of green veins and yellow between. As the plants can move both around the symptoms appear in older leaves first.

My guess is a 'couple of pellets last October' maybe is not enough to keep rapidly growing trees well fed. The second pert you have appears to be a liquid. Liquid fert is already dissolved in water so is available to the roots as soon as you apply it. That's what is required now. Give all the trees a dose of that today or ASAP. It is also an acidifying fert so will help if the soil has become a little alkaline (high pH) which is also likely. I won't go into the ridiculous 20.20.20 ratio now because the plant needs nutrients soon. Mix as directed on the pack and give all the pots a good soaking with the solution.
You can also add some more pellets of the former fert to each pot as well. It's a slow release so keeps feeding the plant for a few months (release rate does not appear to be specified on the packet?)
These young seedlings are trying to grow fast so they need lots of nutrient to fuel that growth. Feed them well during all through the growing season. Every 2 weeks is usual, especially if we are watering a lot.

It rained last night so couldn’t water them with the fertilizer but I’ll do so thank you so much for the help I’ll follow diligently

 

[ssvvss]

Either soil pH or nutrient deficiency or a bit of both as pH can affect what nutrients are available to the plant.
It appears to be the same problem as the first tree but not yet as bad. Notice the colour pattern on the leaves - yellowing between the veins but all the veins are still green. Also note that the older leaves are worse than the newer leaves. That means the tree is moving nutrients from the oldest leaves to support the newer ones and that's also an indicator because some nutrients are movable and some are not. Iron is not mobile so we can probably rule out iron deficiency in this case. Nitrogen and Magnesium are both mobile plants and both show up as this pattern of green veins and yellow between. As the plants can move both around the symptoms appear in older leaves first.

My guess is a 'couple of pellets last October' maybe is not enough to keep rapidly growing trees well fed. The second pert you have appears to be a liquid. Liquid fert is already dissolved in water so is available to the roots as soon as you apply it. That's what is required now. Give all the trees a dose of that today or ASAP. It is also an acidifying fert so will help if the soil has become a little alkaline (high pH) which is also likely. I won't go into the ridiculous 20.20.20 ratio now because the plant needs nutrients soon. Mix as directed on the pack and give all the pots a good soaking with the solution.
You can also add some more pellets of the former fert to each pot as well. It's a slow release so keeps feeding the plant for a few months (release rate does not appear to be specified on the packet?)
These young seedlings are trying to grow fast so they need lots of nutrient to fuel that growth. Feed them well during all through the growing season. Every 2 weeks is usual, especially if we are watering a lot.

Fertilized and added pellets