sick Zalkova/Zalkoma

1. What kind of bonsai do you have and how long have you had it?
-It is a Zalkova/Zalkoma (I think Japenese Elm)

2. Where did you get it, and what was its condition at the time you acquired it?
- Garden Centre,
- Healthy leaves but not thick foliage
- The Tree was bought in November

3. When did you notice the problem?
- About a Week ago

4. How have you been watering it and how frequently?
- Watering using a watering can with a fine spray tip, from the top of the plant. Watering until water drips through the drain holes leaving for 5 minutes or so then watering again. Roughly every other day.

5. What region are you located geographically and where are you keeping your tree, indoors or out, full sun, part sun, shade?
- I live in the UK, the tree is kept inside, not in direct sunlight.

6. Does the soil have any unpleasant odor?
- No

7. When was the tree last repotted?
- Unknown

8. Is there any discoloration of the foliage? Would you describe it as turgid and green, dry and brown, wilting, mottled or partially eaten? If you brush the foliage with a fingertip, does it fall off?
- Some Foliage is developing Brown tips, but not all the foliage, in random areas of the tree. some leaves are dieing! I have just pruned the Leaves with Brown tips so tree is looking rather bare again.

9. Is there evidence of pests, like ants or aphids?
- No however there are a couple of leaves have tiny holes or slight rips

10. Can you post a picture of your tree to the forum?
- Not at present

Can you help me please

Advertisement

TreeBay

Zelkova serrata (Japanese Grey Bark Elm) is a hardy, deciduous tree that is best kept outdoors year round in temperate climates.

Zelkova leaves will turn and fall in late autumn sometime around the first frost. *This is in response to the shortening days and the onset of cold weather. *By keeping the tree indoors, you extend can extend the growing season somewhat, but the leaves were not designed to last indefinitely.

It would be best to put the tree outside and allow it to go dormant. * *You can defoliate it manually by plucking away all of the leaves, or you can allow it to do what it will.

Deciduous trees are outdoor plants; they can be enjoyed indoors for a few days at a time, but they need the sunshine and progress of the seasons to thrive. *Some growers succeed in maintaining them indoors with variable success. *It really depends on the climate, growing conditions and individual species.

Regards,

Matt

__________________

Want to be a seller on bonsaiAUCTIONS? Get authorized today!

bonsaiTALK: Over 100,005.36 Megabytes Served this Month!

Matt

Thanks for the information, if you do not mind I would like to ask you
another question. If I am going to place my Zelkova outside now
would you recommend I repot it first? as I am unaware of when it
was repotted. Also we are moving into spring in the UK (very slowly I might add) but it is
still rather cold (but not below freezing) will it still be OK to
move it outside.

Thanks again for the advice.

Simon Wilkinson

TreeBay

No, I don't think you should repot at this point.

If you'd like to have someone repot it for you or would like to give it a try yourself, wait until the new buds just appear, before they open. You could defoliate it entirely and repot it and you would probably be fine, but transplanting is a bit more advanced, and the main thing now is to get the tree in the right environment.

The reason I would not repot it now is that the tree puts its energy reserves in the form of starch stored in the roots. I'm not sure yours even knows what season it is at the moment.

Regards,

Matt

__________________

Want to be a seller on bonsaiAUCTIONS? Get authorized today!

bonsaiTALK: Over 100,005.36 Megabytes Served this Month!