JD_Wolfe

So....

I fell ill and there was nobody available to care for my Chinese Elm for a week. As a result it dried out, some of finer twigs died, all the leaves dessicated and the trunk developed deep, leathery, creases. I scraped below the bark and the cambium was still green. I immersed the tree overnight and let it drain this morning.

Now I wait.

Is there any thing else I can do?

What do you think my chances of bringing it back from the brink?

While the tree was actively growing it was very easy to determine its water requirements. Approximately every one to two days the tree needed water, which I determined by the chop-stick method. Since dormancy has set in, watering requirements have been tough to measure. After two days or so the stick is nearly dry, but I found that if I watered at this point the tree showed signs of over-watering (leaves drooping, curling).

Generally, another two days more and it's ready for water, but this is not something you can really count on and I haven't really been able to figure out what works consistently. The soil mix I use is very fast draining although some of the root ball contains loam from the previous owner (it was a late season repot so I didn't want to push it too hard by bare-rooting).

Are there are any tips on watering during dormancy (p.s. this tree is indoors in a cold room)?

Thanks,

JDW

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