Why the Hokkaido Elm!

malik

Hello,

I have a catlin elm forest, a weeping chinease elm, and two hokkaido elms. Lately I've sadly realized that one of the hokkaido elm started losing all its leaves and now is sadly baren. I'm not sure what went wrong because the other elm is doing fine. There are no signs of pests and I can't imagine it isn't getting enough sun. Watering isn't the problem either. I'm wondewring if I can get some tips about this specie of elm.

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Robert

I have a number of elms, of various types.....and I've had the same thing happen to some of mine; they just go bare for reasons not apparent to me, but don't give up hope, in my case I just let them sit a while, watered them regularly, and in all cases new leaves re-appeared in time....and the tree continued leafing 'til it became full and beautiful again. I have no idea what causes this, and I think I could well have discarded that tree (when it was bare), but I'm glad I didn't.
I wish I could give you a more knowledgeable answer, but at least I can give you some hope.........try it.

Robert......in Santa Cruz

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Robert.........in Sta.Cruz

theelmboy

hokkaidos are very hard to work as bonsai because trimming is risky with this tree and should be done over a long period of time(they seem to shock very easily). i have had a couple die on me, for me it is just not worth the hastle. funny how elms are such hardy trees for bonsai but this specie, you do a little work on and you end up killing it

malik

So should I keep it out of intense direct sun or the more sun the better? I mean, it's almost 98F here and full sun might be too much. Also should i use superthrive or it's a waste of time?

Joanie

Just one opinion here.... get other opinions as well. I'm not very experienced but I would put it into morning sun, dappled or shaded in the afternoon if possible. Don't overwater, since it has no leaves it won't transpire much. You can Superthrive if you have a bottle and you want to, it won't hurt it. Some people swear by it, some just swear AT it, but it won't hurt. The main thing is not to over-baby it. Hokkaidos generally like full sun, but full sun may be too hot for the roots. How hot is the pot getting? Shade the pot if possible. You could cut a square of cardboard larger than the pot, with a circle cut out for the trunk, and place it over the pot and soil. Anything to keep the blazing sun off of the pot.

Again, just one opinion. Good luck!

Joanie

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BrianBay9

I second that....had a hokaido do the same thing on me a couple of years ago...never knew why.

BB9

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