noob - Chinese Elm pruning

guycross

Hey guys, sorry for being new.

I have recently bought two little chinese elms, the smaller one i bought from eBay to see how I liked bonsai - and then the larger I bought because it was lonely in a bargain box in a local store (for $10/£5, I am in the UK)

Anyway

I am concerned that my little trees are looking a little shabby, I wanst to prune them and I think the larger one will be an okay triangle shaed tree and the smaller one i think will fit into a broom shape... but i am not that good at making things look nice...

what do you think any good places to read for pruning advise... i would rather have raggedy tress than dead ones, so i am being cautious...

they seem healthy enough, i am water about once or twice a day whenever the top of the soil is dry... they live on a window sill and will be getting a decent amount of sun at the moment, but that wont last... i live in Scotland!!!

thanks in advance guy

PHOTOS:
(the two individual photos are the most recent)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sleepywhisper/2486660145/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sleepywhisper/2487476082/

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ficusfanatic

good stuff to start with there. i do like the little one as a broom and the larger as a informal upright. these trees can take a beating but start slow.

generally. remove any crossing branches. i see one on the little guy that goes all the way across the canopy (right to left in one of the pics) i also remove branches that grow straight up, or straight down. that'll give you a place to start.

you can also practice pinching new growth. on the bright green new shoots, pinch off the growing tip after two or three leaves. the last leaf you leave will send a new shoot, in the direction of that leaf. it's a good way to encourage growth where you want it.

but please continue reading. so much info on this site! have fun! (but not at the trees expense) keep us updated...

__________________
-chris-

saxamania

Hey i'm from the UK too, I've got 2 chinese elms in my collection, my little one came to me looking a bit shabby so everytime it had new growth i cut it back to 2 leaves on that shoot. It looked a bit bare for a while but now it is very happy and healthy and has lots of small leaves. If you let it grow on its own for too long the leaves with start to become bigger which you dont want.

If you can try and get them outside as much as possible when it is warm.

If you do prune only take a maximum of a 3rd of the leaves off in one sitting dont do what my boyfriend did the day he got his home and take off all but 10 leaves, i really shouldnt of let him have one since i'm the one going to have to nurse it back to health.

Hope i have helped.

wicksy

yeah i agree, nice trees i would also start thinking of refining the shape you wont. The larger one needs some direction pruning by removing the branches etc that spoil the finish product. You follow the general guide lines of side,back,side,then the same with more at the top. You can then work with what you have and achieve a fine end result thats what you should be thinking about. Also in winter you could wire it to spread the growth, and get flat foliage pads. The continual pinching should take care of any large leaves, if you have any that spoil the look you can leaf prune in early summer, cut thru the leaf stalk and presto you get new smaller ones. Dont forget some light fertilizer start in mid spring thru to autumn, high nitogen type till autumn then low nitrogen till end of autumn. Sounding good hey you can almost see the end result. The smaller one bout the same train into broomy as chris said. Look to get a well rounded broom head on it, its not hard with elms they respond so well to pruning. I would let the base of the head grow wild for at least half a year, and prune the top hard. this makes the top grow well as this is the area that grows the quickest. Trim the base area back to fit the shape twice a year. In the dormant period you an tidy up the middle to top part. follow the general trimming rules remove crossovers,straight ups, use your eye to achieve the placment. You should get a nice surprise when it shoots in spring lots of growth to work on, remember pinch pinch and more pinch.

good luck
glenn.

sweety

Nice looking trees I'm a bit further south from you & have 3 Chinese Elms living outside & they love it. If you have a nice sunny spot in your garden they will love it & will grow very nicely. I do bring mine in over the winter & place them in the bathroom to give them protection from the low temps outside.

guycross

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sleepywhisper/

in a huge hurry, if you look at my flickr site you can see the results of my pruning

ficusfanatic

good work. all tidy now. barely recognize the larger one. not a weeping willow anymore

__________________
-chris-