chinese elm question

Doddins

I live in the Uk and currently its autumn although the weather seems to not be able to make its mind up, we have cold days then next really hot days. anyway im here witha question regarding my chinese elm that i have outside.

it has started to loose leaves, from what i know please correct me if im wrong but is the chinese elm not an evergreen? meaning it keeps its leaves all year round?
If so could the reason for the leaf loss be due to the colder weather and should i start to bring it in doors into my conservatory where i wintered it last year.

this is my first full year with this elm and im still very new to the whole bonsai thing so forgive me if anything seems abit stupid in what i have asked.

hope someone can help me understand this.
thanks in advanced
Adam

Advertisement

BSteiger

From what I understand, Chinese Elm are 'semi'-deciduous. They'll drop leaves at the end of the year, but only for a short period of time.

AndyWilson

Well, chinese elm come in all sorts of varieties, and are capable of handling a wide range of situations. i have a few, some keep their leaves all year round, others lose them during winter.

They can be evergreen and they can go through dormancy, my elms stay outside all year round, but are protected against anything under about 5 - 0 degrees celsius.

Doddins

thank you for the replies

would you suggest me just keeping it where it is outside then n just protecting it from frost?
or would i be best to leave it outside abit longer then bring it into the conservatory

sorry for my "newbie'ness"

thanks again

Mcspeed

What kind of indoor conditions are you talking about? Normal in home conditions aren't that conducive to growing plants( ie. heating dries the air, cooling dries the air, light levels are not even close to outside on a cloudy day etc.).

Outside protected from weather is going to be best for your plant. Indoors will work, but won't necessisarily be healthy living, it all depends on the outdoor enviroment that you can create indoors.

__________________
If at first you don't succeed -- skydiving is not for you.


Always remember that you're unique -- just like everyone else

Enjoy this day.
Bill

Doddins

wen i say indoors i dont mean inside my house, i know thats a big no no. its to dry n not sutable for bonsai indoors, that much i know.

the conservatory gets sun all day long n isnt heated due to this reason. n most of the time with people being in there the door is open. im not sure on temperature although i could check n find out if need be.

i think wot ill do is find a sheltered place in my garden n raise it off the ground slightly to avoid any frost damage n durin severe cold ill put inside a garden tub n cover with soil so far up the trunk (something i saw on a site else wer) keeps the bonsai insulated. whether it works or not is something i aint spoken to people about so i wouldnt know

treebeard55

How cold does it get where you are? Chinese elm can take temperatures down to almost -20 C in the ground; call it -10 C in a pot. An outdoor spot where it's protected from 1) mice, voles, whatever-have-you, and 2) wind, which dries anything out, is what you want. No direct sun; you want your tree to go dormant and stay that way until spring. If the rootball freezes, it won't hurt the tree; what will hurt it is a repeated cycle of freeze-and-thaw, which breaks roots. (Altho freezing may break the pot, depending on its shape and what it's made of.)

Yes, Chinese elm is quite adaptable, deciduous in cold climates and retaining its leaves in warmer ones.

__________________
Treebeard 55

"To do bunjin is easy. However, to do a bunjin masterpiece is difficult." -- Susumu Nakamura, at MBS '07

Deb

They are also evergreen, or they are deciduous. Just depends.

Deb

[QUOTE=Doddins]wen i say indoors i dont mean inside my house, i know thats a big no no. its to dry n not sutable for bonsai indoors, that much i know.




Inside isn't a big no-no. I had a couple that I grew in my kitchen on a north west facing window sill for a couple years and they thrived. They got great light there, and I never turned on the heat register under that window and it was a very drafty window as well. They grew, a bit slower, and were healthy. I know some plants would not do well indoors, but chinese elm can do it.

I also had one that spent its winters outside and like someone else said, protected areas, no wind, no sun to warm it in the middle of winter, etc.