mame hokkaido elm

windsweptone

recently purchased and styled a hokkaido elm into a mame. As I am not very familiar with this particular species I would like some advice please. I live in northern Ohio, zone 6 I believe. The card on this tree said it was zone 7. Will I have to bring it in the house when temps. begin to drop? Also would potting it now be a bad idea, as there would be some root pruning involved. If so, when is the ideal time to do so with this species? Will the leaves begin to drop in the fall like any other deciduous tree? Any other overwintering advice for mames is also very welcome. Thx.

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Terry W

Hokkaido elms are hardy to well below freezing. However, in small pots in your area, they will probably need protection in a cold frame or such. (I grow Hokkaido's in zone 8 so am not qualified to offer much on long term cold weather protection. They overwinter fine on the ground here with leaves around the pots.) I would suggest you do not allow it to stay in soggy soil. Your Hokkaido should be root pruned and repotted in spring when the leaf buds start to swell. Hokkaido's seem to be touchy about root pruning...at least for me. I take off as few roots as possible and avoid prunning larger roots as much as I can. Hokkaido's wood breaks easily. Suggest you wire and bend branches with care.

TerryW

RedPine

Roots store energy like a battery during dormancy, it is better to wait until a handfull of the leafs buds have opened for species like elm/ulmas.

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windsweptone

Thx alot for the replies, I was beginning to wonder if this post got lost in the shuffle. Thx for the info. Also, at what temp will the hokkaido enter dormancy? Thx.