Wow – already a week has passed since my last post and still there is work to be done in the nursery! I know the last few posts have been all about Post Flush Hardened pruning but I do think it is worth covering one more popular genus – Chinese Elm.
These probably represent the most featured of trees in our world today. They can be cared for both indoors and outdoors and are mostly tolerant to ‘mistreatment’ 🙁
Let me first clarify one major point. Chinese Elm are decidious trees that thrive in the outdoor environment. All of mine are kept outside and happily survive both sun and frost. Sometimes they shed their leaves and sometimes they don’t. However, whenever I have chosen to keep some inside I can’t help feeling I have chosen to ‘roll the dice’ a little. Please, don’t let me put you off having them indoors – truly they will do well…if correctly located.
Olwyn Elm sits near a window which gets the morning sun. It is a draft free and a well lit location. If their is too much direct sunlight then the tree is moved into shade. Lissy has this magnificent 3ft Elm on a large window ledge – the radiator is never turned on and the windows are kept closed to avoid temperature changes.
Both of these trees were purchased through my nursery and both had been kept outdoors until they found new parents. Lissy’s did suffer leaf drop in the first few months but the last I heard was enjoying life in the ‘country manor’ 🙂
Both of these Elms have been placed in what appear to be suitable locations. However, the radiator at the rear caused one of the bonsai to dry out too quickly (from the bottom up). This meant the owner was unware that the soil beneath the top level was bone dry and killing the tree.
The issue with a wide open window is all about temperature variations potentially upsetting the ‘micro environment’ of the tree. Not a problem when the temperature is constant but certainly something to beware of.
And now for a little bit more pruning...
The principles of pruning remain the same and all you need to be aware is that Chinese Elm can put out at least 3 flushes during the growing season.
I normally let the tree get really overgrown before I start. This tells me that it is healthy and should respond well to pruning. I also make sure to clean out all of the unwanted juvenile shoots in crotches etc…
Once the tree has been cleaned out it is much easier to see what needs to be done. Firstly I recognised that I want a new branch to grow and develop hence one of the new shoots will be left untouched. I can now clearly see the profile of the apex and where I need to remove growth.
This is all about using a ‘clip and grow’ technique. I clip back to 3 leaves knowing that new shoots will grow from the base of two of these remaining leaves.
Most of the time I try to prune back to a desired profile. It’s not quite topiary but there are some small similiarities :()
It is also okay to cut back to bare twigs – so long you can see buds you want to activate. In truth, if it is healthy, the Chinese Elm will back bud profusely the moment it recognises it has insufficient leaves. The real issue, is where it decides to push out new growth!!!
What do you do if?
You have sparse, long and leggy growth – It is likely that your bonsai is not getting the light it needs. It is sending out longer growth to try and find the sunlight needed for photosynthesis. Warm indoor air also encourages leggy growth. SO MOVE IT
Very weak or no growth – To be a succesful bonsai indoors you need everything to be right…most of the time. This is really just a sign that the tree is slowly using up all of its stores of energy. This tends to show itself after a year or more.
The solution is to get it outside in the sun. This should be a few months not just a few days. I do keep some of my elms indoors through winter for decoration but they go straight outside once the sun starts to smile. Darren of GroBonsai explains this brilliantly in his tutorial video.
It looks dead – Scratch the bark in a few places on the branches. If the tree is alive it will be a healthy green. If brown, then that part has died. Again, the answer is to get it outside somewhere out of direct sunlight. And under no circumstances should you feed any tree that looks ill or is struggling. My immediate response is to soak it in a bowl of water until all of the air bubbles have come out (about 5 minutes).
There is an informative YouTube video demonstrating this process on the Species page. thanks to Bonsai by Design for this short tutorial.
Happy pruning and never assume the worst…unless it catches fire 🙂
