Chinese Elm Question

Chung_Moo

Hi,

I'm a new member, as well as a new bonsai care-giver. I have just recently gotten my first bonsai, a Golden Gate Ficus, and Chinese Elm. I have both outdoors in a spot that gets morning sun, and diffused light thru the day.

I live in Illinois, close to Chicago. I have just given both trees fertilizer today, and I got them on July 5th. I was wondering if I should treat the Chinese Elm like I would a Ficus? Bring it in when the temperatures begin to drop, in fall.

I couldn't find a clear answer from searching.

I really appreciate and tips, or help! I'm still quite new at this! I will be posting photos of both, soon.

Thanks, again.

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PinkFloyd

BrianBay9

If you leave the elm outside during Chicago winters, you'll probably want to give it significant protection from the wind at least. You can put it on a sheltered side of your house, and bury the pot with mulch.

Brian

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wolverine

Yes covering it is a good idea,I live right on the creek and when I started bonsai about six years ago I started with a few chinese elms then at the end of summer I planted them in my garden and that cold wind off the creek cased alot of branch die back,Im lucky thats all that happend

Ralph

Hey Chung,

I live in Dallas in zone 8, but I think my situation can be very pertinent to you. I was taught how to over winter my deciduous trees by a club member who posts here often. What I do, is when the tree goes into dormancy and loses all it's leaves, I bring it into my garage. A deciduous tree in dormancy has no need for light, you just need to water it enough to keep the root ball from drying out. Now of course my garage may not get as cold as yours, mine will never go below 35 degrees farenheit, but you can make adjustments as well, perhaps you have a basement that will serve the purpose. You still want it to get cold/cool, but not below 25 degrees without additional protection. Your ficus needs to come inside when temps outside drop below 50 degrees farenheit. Ideal inside for your ficus would be some kind of protected area where you can control air flow, humidity, temerature, and light. A few of the members here have built some outstanding tropical indoor grow areas, if you search for them.
An example:
http://forum.bonsaitalk.com/showthr...ht=indoor+setup

Your elm should stay dormant and overwinter until your outside temperatures stay consistenly above the freezing mark. If you bring them out early, or they awake out of dormancy early, and you are forced to bring them out, a late freeze will kill any new growth, and possibly all the dormant buds on the branch as well.
If they come out of dormancy early (this happens in my zone because of the warm winters, in which I am forced to repot earlier), you need to watch your temperatures and bring them inside when it drops below freezing. Back outside when above freezing again.

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Bonsai trees burst buds anew
Spring is upon us!


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malsteen

i have the same tree at home in australia and i think u have made a good pick i think the elm would be ok , may need some protetion for the roots in winter and from the frost other then that it should be ojk o think all the best

Chung_Moo

Thanks for the tips, guys. Really helpful! I got in-touch with a few people at the bonsai club I am planning to visit, early next month. They suggested to put the Chinese Elm in a attached garage, on the house side. They also said you may need to bring it in the garage at night when it is frosting outside, and this can be an of & on process.

I really appreciate your guys responses, they are very helpful! I'm sure i'll have more questions in the near-future. Thanks again.

moloko

I have a question regarding this. I kept a young chinese elm outdoors (living in washington DC.) I only did this for 1 year. What is the best technique for watering a winterized tree in freezing weather? It gets below 30f several times in the winter and I thought water in the roots would kill the tree also.