Yatsubusa Elm awakening in December

[Maiden69]

I received this Yatsubusa Elm from Brent last week along with 4 varieties of Japanese quince. The tree had already gone through fall as it arrived with no leaves on it. I talked to Brent about the weird climate we are having in Central Texas and he advised me to place it in a location where it will be mostly shaded. The tree was fine but between yesterday and today, we had temperatures reaching the low 80's. I was looking at the trees to see which needed watering, as most of them are still actively growing, and noticed that the Elm got confused and thought Spring was already here and decided to show green buds all over the tree.

How screwed am I at this moment? I am sure that I will be doing the shuffle with this one now. Heck, my Ficus tiger bark is still outside as we had just 3 days that temps dipped to 39. This weekend we are forecasted to receive some cold, lows in the lower 30's... so I will be moving them in Friday afternoon. Should I move the Elm and leave it in the grow tent with the Ficus the rest of the winter?









Pictures of the Pink Beauty J. quince, as it was the only one received with flowers. And a peeking branch from a chojubai cutting I bought from BVF.

 

[Maiden69]

One more question... I was planning on repotting it into a grow bag in Spring... I guess that's out of the question now? The pot it's in is not full (rootball is not intact), so I guess it may be able to stay there till next year.

 

[leatherback]

I do not know what winter you are expecting to get. Normally, trees in this stages in my garden stay out when it freezes a few degrees. I find that a gentle frost is of no concern. Of course, continued deep frost to be avoided.

 

[rockm]

I received this Yatsubusa Elm from Brent last week along with 4 varieties of Japanese quince. The tree had already gone through fall as it arrived with no leaves on it. I talked to Brent about the weird climate we are having in Central Texas and he advised me to place it in a location where it will be mostly shaded. The tree was fine but between yesterday and today, we had temperatures reaching the low 80's. I was looking at the trees to see which needed watering, as most of them are still actively growing, and noticed that the Elm got confused and thought Spring was already here and decided to show green buds all over the tree.

How screwed am I at this moment? I am sure that I will be doing the shuffle with this one now. Heck, my Ficus tiger bark is still outside as we had just 3 days that temps dipped to 39. This weekend we are forecasted to receive some cold, lows in the lower 30's... so I will be moving them in Friday afternoon. Should I move the Elm and leave it in the grow tent with the Ficus the rest of the winter?

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Pictures of the Pink Beauty J. quince, as it was the only one received with flowers. And a peeking branch from a chojubai cutting I bought from BVF.

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Your elm has broken dormancy as it appears there are leaves unfurling from the buds. That means the tree has lost the vast majority of its ability to withstand freezes. It must be protected from frost and freezing in particular all winter.

We're also getting very warm temps here in Va.-like 20 degrees warmer than average-for days. Important to keep trees out of the sun and expose them to temperatures below 40--so I'd unmulch these trees at night when that happens if possible and expose them to colder air, then mulch them back over during the day.

FWIW, the grow tent is completely unnecessary for the elm in your climate. It is likely the cause, or a huge contributor, to its early bud break...

 

[Shibui]

It is normal for Chinese elm to bud from mid winter here. They are always the first to shoot. Like @leatherback I have no problem with night temps often just below freezing here after the elms have started to bud so unless you get really cold nights I'd just leave that one out.
Likewise repotting is no problem with small shoots on the elms. I routinely repot and root prune them up to a few leaves full open. In warmer areas where Chinese elm is not deciduous and appears to grow all year round growers repot any time of year and have no problem. I'd certainly be happy to root prune and repot that one at that stage of growth and further advanced and would also do the same in mid winter here. The fact that it is growing means the temps are warm enough for it to continue so should not have any problem.

 

[Maiden69]

Your elm has broken dormancy as it appears there are leaves unfurling from the buds. That means the tree has lost the vast majority of its ability to withstand freezes. It must be protected from frost and freezing in particular all winter.

We're also getting very warm temps here in Va.-like 20 degrees warmer than average-for days. Important to keep trees out of the sun and expose them to temperatures below 40--so I'd unmulch these trees at night when that happens if possible and expose them to colder air, then mulch them back over during the day.

FWIW, the grow tent is completely unnecessary for the elm in your climate. It is likely the cause, or a huge contributor, to its early bud break...

Thanks, I haven't mulched the trees yet, the ones you can see in the picture are from my "grow bed", they are in Rootpouch bags and mulched around instead of dirt or other material. I wanted to use pumice, but it is not available in large quantities in my area. The area they are located now don't receive sun all day, just 2 hrs from around 3-5pm, and the Elm and other trees that I received were under dappled sun underneath my Bald Cypress, Trident Maple and Yoshino Cherry. I guess I can place the shade cloth I use in the summer back up to reduce the sun further.

Yes, we have the same here... around 20 degrees difference from last. I ordered my trident and Seiju Elm around this same time last year and they stayed dormant till after the snow we received in February. This kinda blows... but I guess I'll just have to move the tree around if we get temps below 30.

 

[sorce]

I wouldn't worry about it at all.

That tree is smarter than your electrical grid.

Sorce

 

[jackeill]

I have really similar problem with my elm - it was whole spring and summer outside. I am in central Europe, so I took it inside in October, put it in colder room (15c/60f). It changed colors really beautifully.



And now I was just about to take it to cold garage (5c/40f) so it could spend the winter there in dormancy but I have discovered it already started budding. Lots of new buds just underneath these yellow leaves.

And I do not know what to do now:

Should I keep it inside, move to warmer place and let it grow? If yes, can I prune it now as that was my intention - to prune it in late dormancy, before spring?

Or should I get it to garage anyways and let it go to sleep for 3 months?

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Leave it outside. I would only bring it in if you were expecting freakishly cold weather < 25 degrees.

 

[jackeill]

Leave it outside. I would only bring it in if you were expecting freakishly cold weather < 25 degrees.

Well I am in central Europe. Right now it is colder than -5c/23f. In January and February it will go even beyond -17c/0f.

And the question is what to do now. Let it grow, or force it to sleep in lower temperatures.

 

[leatherback]

Well I am in central Europe. Right now it is colder than -5c/23f. In January and February it will go even beyond -17c/0f.

And the question is what to do now. Let it grow, or force it to sleep in lower temperatures.

Hey Jackeil,

If you click on your usename, you can adjust the climatic zone you are in. (Search for USDA climate zone) which will help people give you more accurate answers. And note, on this forum in general people avoid jumping into an existing thread with questions on your own thread: Starrting a separate thread for your tree will get you better responses.

 

[Maiden69]

Leave it outside. I would only bring it in if you were expecting freakishly cold weather < 25 degrees.

Left it outside... He's happy, the rootball is still not intact, but debating whether to repot it. I know we are outside the window so I'm not sure I want to risk it. I want to place it over a tile to attempt to widen the nebari.



Close up trunk

 

[Maiden69]

The yatsubusa is doing great, close up of the trunk today. Not happy about that huge knot, but I think that eventually, I will end up air-layering that section. The tree is going to be moved into a Rootpouch coming spring and moved into a grow bed with my seiju.

 

[Maiden69]

This one is also waking up now... the seiju is the only elm left to break bud here.