Yellowing leaves on Chinese Elm

JD_Wolfe

Hello again,

So I'm having more problems with my Chinese Elm...At first I had a problem with black spot that was awfully bad. I dowsed it in Ortho's fungicide (cause you can't get Daconil up here) and then let it rehab indoors under a blue halogen grow bulb. It bounced back beautifully; throwing tonnes of healthy green foliage.

Now, two months later, it's starting to look pretty rough. The leaves droop and look dull and grey. Some of the leaves are yellow and dying. I'm wondering if I might have over-fertilized (I've only been using Green Dream organic pellets at the recommended dose). I water ever 2 days or so (as it needs it) and the substrate is very fast draining.

Any thoughts on what the problem might be?

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Bonsai Barry

I havea a couple of elms doing the same thing. I think its a mild shock. One of them has growth in other areas, so I'm not too worried.

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Bonsai Barry

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PatArizona

"...I think its a mild shock...

That's what I was thinking too...

Pat

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JD_Wolfe

So the best course of action is to wait and see?

eeiko321

yeah
did u move it around any time?
or just bought it?
unless its fungal infection........

it should go away within 2 - 3 weeks if its from shock.

mine had a aphid and caterpillar infestation....... and caused some shock.......

leaves went yellow and rotten looking......


but yeah it recovered itself within 2 - 3 weeks withought fungal sprays etc.

give it some time....

jeremy_norbury

Yellow leaves are not at all unusual - cold weather or reduced sunlight levels will do that (mine are outside and, currently, leafless).

Trees which are less accustomed to the cold will not drop leaves the first few years. Yours could be transitioning.

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JD_Wolfe

I bought it a week before Christmas day. When I purchased it, it was covered in tiny little bugs and fine, dewy webs. I liked the shape and thought I could rehab it. The shop owner was happy to be rid of it.

I sprayed the tree in pyrethrin, then, Neem oil. The bugs went away and the leaves went shortly thereafter. Seems the leaves hadn't yet hardened when the sprays were applied and Black Spot resulted. It got really bad so I applied Ortho's fungicide solution.

Two weeks later it bounced back, and started throwing new leaves. I added a dose of fertlizer cake watered as usual. 5 weeks pass without a hitch. Tree looked great.

About two weeks ago I missed a day of watering. My Elm took a dive; there was some curling and creasing of the leaves but nothing too serious. After three days it started to look better. On the fourth day it suddenly went downhill, lost a several leaves and took on a grey, drooping appearance. I let it go for a week and saw no improvement. That's when I posted my initial message.

Today it's looking a little bit better. Definitely a few dead leaves but no new dead leaves; seemed to be smaller and typically weaker leaves affected. I will continue to keep an eye on it.

Thank you all for your responses.

Regards,

Jeremy

eeiko321

maybe thats why, ive notice that with my Elm. when an infestation happens, it stresses the tree out.

lol looks like u went full house..........
i dont think it was a wise choice to do all that at once or even days apart. neem oil isnt necessary...... oh and come to think of it.......
in 2 books ive read........ it states "DO NOT USE Systemics or oils on Elms..."
i have posted a thread about this somewhere in the "pest & disease" section...
it says they dont respond well with these things....
and loss of leaves will happen.......

The book is - Bonsai Survival Guide - Collin Lewis....
it has about 30 or so bonsai species and it ONLY stated that about Elm and nothing else.

with mine i didnt even dare use systemics, i did a gentle soap wash ...
yeah thats right................. thats your problem there.....

so i would just leave it alone...... that fertilizer wasnt necessary i think...

let it recover......give it 2 - 3 weeks.........
im certain that it will recover just like mine did.