Help my Chinese Elm is dying

Can any one help me?! I have two Chinese Elms that were happy and healthy for the first 2 years that I owned them (kept indoors). Last march I repotted them both and they have been slowly slowly fading away. They live on different windowsills - one keeps repeatedly dropping and regrowing leaves but can never keep them, and the other is slowly losing leaves on one side, with no attempt to regrow any buds. Changing position hasn't helped, I don't overwater them, WHAT SHOULD I DO?!?!

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TreeBay

There are a couple possibilities. You may not have enough light to grow these trees indoors, or they may having an adverse reaction to the climate there. I think Tony has said in the past that it is difficult to maintain Chinese Elm indoors over the long haul.

Is there any chance you can suspend a flourescent fixture with a couple of growlights in it 10-12" above the trees on a timer?

Or maybe you can declare it to be winter and put these guys outside for some much needed rest and recuperation?

What area are you growing in?

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Many thanks for the advice - will try the fluorescent bulb.

I'm growing in the South East of the U.K. where the daytime temp is currently 0 degrees C!! Could they survive those kind of temps outside?

Do you think its worth repotting them both now (even though its not quite March?) - perhaps neither of the trees liked the potting mixture too much, and are both starting to wilt as a result?

Bonsainut

The drop leaves- new leaves cycle is a sure sign of stress and the coming end to a Ch.Elm.
Hopefully yours will have enough strength for one more set of leaves in the spring. I would suggest to strip any remaning leaves, and move them to an unheated garage. The coolness will give a give a rest and may buy you some time.
Check for green under the cambium when things start to warm a little. They need a root trim after two seasons of good growth. Do it, give some good bonsai soil and then get them out in real sun, the brighter the better, then pray.

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Keep growing,---'Nut



Lethal Use of Farce

I agree with the Matt and BN. The tree is trying to go dormant do to the short days and low light of winter but the warm house temperatures are forcing it to put out new buds. This condition will eventually [maybe quickly] deplete the root reserves and kill your tree.

In my experience 2-3 years are about all they can take without going through a dormancy and a needed rest. They;ll do even better growing them outside with a annual dormancy. Since it's winter already I think I would put them in a unheated building or garage and try to keep them just above freezing. There should be time left to give themt a short dormancy before spring comes. Put them outside in the spring and let them grow without pruning to regain their strength.

Tony

Many many thanks. I will put them out in the garage and bring them out around March time.

One question - being a relatively inexperienced Bonsai grower... what is the 'cambium?!'.