It’s likely that Chinese elm bonsai trees are the most common type and the first one that most people will own. If they don’t know how to take care of them, they are often the last ones they will ever have after they give up after a long fight.
They are tough and able to survive the hazards of life indoors, difficult for any tree. Chinese Elm has very small leaves, rugged bark, fine branches and nice roots. Large trees have real charisma and the wow factor. Small ones can be bought cheaply.
The tree has both summer and winter leaves, so depending on how it is kept, it will either keep some of its leaves or lose some.
To my mind, location is the biggest factor in success when keeping bonsai trees indoors. A coffee table isn’t going to work in the middle of a sitting room. A bookshelf will be too dark. It’s been set up so that the bonsai tree won’t work almost everywhere you see them in movies and on TV. Sorry to burst the bubble, but it’s quite true.
Bonsai need to be in a bright spot, so if you want to keep one inside, stay away from dark corners. Indoor bonsai trees want plenty of light, so a bright sunny windowsill works well. The main problem with this is that in summer, it will be very hot. ideally, you want the light without the heat, which is hard to do.
To fix this issue, you can use bigger pots, bigger trees, drip trays, mist sprays, or move the bonsai tree in the summer. If the pot is bigger than the tree, it will hold more soil. This means that the tree will dry out less quickly and the soil will lose its moisture, making the air around the tree more humid. A bigger tree is more robust generally, as they have more roots. A drip tray underneath the pot will collect some water and more humidity. Again, mist spraying will raise the humidity (you get the idea; they like it when it’s humid). ) If you can, spend a few months outside. Do this in the summer to avoid the dry, hot window.
People sometimes ask me, “Take the bonsai tree with you when you go into the garden in the spring.” When you come back in at the end of summer, bring it back in”.
If outside, the tree is not fussy. I grow them outside in full sun, partially sun and full shade. They are all very happy.
The first time I tried to grow bonsai trees, I thought Chinese Elms couldn’t handle cold weather. I’ve learned over the years and through experimentation that these trees are very hardy and can survive temperatures as low as -10 degrees. Because they aren’t trying to take in as much light as possible by making big leaves, the leaves are much smaller and the growth is much tighter when they are grown outside.
“Remember that terrible winter a few years ago when it got down to -15? That was the only winter I lost Chinese Elms to the cold.” ” Another shop quote.
The Chinese elm bonsai tree, also known as Ulmus parvifolia, is one of the most popular bonsai trees for beginners. Its resilience and ability to thrive indoors make it an excellent choice for those new to the ancient art of bonsai. However, like any bonsai, the Chinese elm requires proper care and maintenance to stay healthy. This guide covers everything you need to know about caring for a Chinese elm bonsai tree.
Overview of the Chinese Elm Bonsai
Native to China Taiwan and other parts of East Asia, the Chinese elm is a deciduous tree that can grow up to 80 feet tall in the wild. It has a spreading canopy with slender, arching branches. The leaves are small, usually less than 2 inches long, with serrated edges. The bark starts out smooth but becomes fissured with age.
The Chinese elm readily forms the typical bonsai style of a miniature tree with fine branching and ramification. With careful pruning and training the Chinese elm make an excellent bonsai specimen. It is very resilient and able to thrive indoors as well as outdoors.
For beginners, Chinese elm bonsai trees have many advantages:
- Easy to care for and quite forgiving of novice mistakes
- Readily available at affordable prices, both trained and pre-bonsai stock
- Strong and hardy, adaptable to different conditions
- Responds well to pruning and wiring
With the proper care outlined below even first-time bonsai enthusiasts can successfully grow a robust elegant Chinese elm bonsai.
Providing the Right Growing Conditions
Chinese elms are adaptable to a range of conditions, but providing an ideal growing environment is key to your bonsai thriving. Here are the main factors to consider:
Sunlight
The Chinese elm thrives in full sun but also tolerates partial shade. If kept indoors, place your bonsai near a sunny southern or western window. Slowly introduce outdoor trees to full sun to avoid scorching the leaves. Rotate indoor trees occasionally to prevent one-sided growth toward the light source.
Temperature
Chinese elms do best with daytime temperatures of 65°F to 80°F and nighttime lows above 50°F. Protect from frost and freezing. Move indoor trees outside after the last frost in spring and before the first frost in fall. Avoid drafty areas and hot radiators for indoor bonsai.
Humidity
High humidity is ideal for Chinese elms. Mist your bonsai daily or set its pot on a humidity tray with pebbles and water. Keep indoor humidity around 40% to 60%. Consider using a humidifier.
Air Flow
Stagnant air encourages fungal diseases. Allow open air movement around your bonsai. Turn indoor trees periodically so all sides receive airflow.
Soil
Use well-draining bonsai soil. A mix of akadama, lava rock, pumice, and organic matter like bark works well. Repot every 2-3 years to refresh the soil.
With the right conditions, your Chinese elm will thrive! Adjust factors like sunlight and humidity based on your bonsai’s needs and your local climate.
Watering Your Chinese Elm Bonsai
Chinese elms prefer evenly moist soil. Water when the top inch of soil dries out. Water until liquid drains from the bottom holes, indicating the entire root mass is hydrated. The exact watering frequency depends on climate, size, pot, and time of year. In warm months, daily watering may be needed for potted trees.
Tips for watering Chinese elm bonsai trees:
- Feel the soil rather than watering on a schedule
- Water thoroughly until draining from the bottom
- Allow soil to partially dry before rewatering
- Increase frequency in hot weather
- Water less in winter when the tree is dormant
- Mist leaves daily to increase humidity
Yellowing leaves indicate under-watering. Do not allow the roots to dry out completely. Overwatering is equally detrimental, leading to root rot, fungus, and leaf loss. Find the right balance for your bonsai.
Fertilizing Your Chinese Elm
Fertilize actively growing Chinese elms every 2-3 weeks during the spring through fall with a balanced liquid bonsai fertilizer. Reduce to monthly in winter. Granular organic fertilizer applied in early spring provides slow-release nutrients.
Never fertilize a stressed tree. Flush the soil periodically to prevent buildup of salts or contaminants. A 25% dilution of liquid fertilizer is sufficient to nourish Chinese elm bonsai trees.
Pruning and Wiring Your Chinese Elm
Pruning back new shoots to just 1-2 leaves stimulates dense ramification in Chinese elms. Pinch off new growth during the growing season. Identify unwanted shoots early before they lignify and harden off.
The best times for structural pruning are late fall to early spring. Remove larger branches using proper technique to avoid ripping the trunk bark.
Chinese elms tolerate wiring very well. Wrap branches carefully with wiring material to train them into desired shapes and positions. Check monthly and remove before the wire cuts in.
Regular pruning maintains miniature size and ideal form for Chinese elm bonsai. Never remove more than 20% of the tree at one time to avoid stressing it.
Repotting Your Chinese Elm Bonsai
Young Chinese elm bonsai trees need repotting every 2 years. Mature trees can go 3-5 years between repotting. Repot in early spring before growth starts. Chinese elms have aggressive root systems that become pot bound quickly.
Carefully remove the tree from its pot and comb out matted roots. Prune back about 1/3 of the root mass. Repot in fresh bonsai soil, gently spreading and orienting the roots. Leave 1-2 inches between the soil surface and the rim of the pot. Water thoroughly after repotting. Keep out of direct sun while the damaged roots recover.
Propagating Chinese Elms
Chinese elms are commonly propagated from cuttings or layering rather than seed. Take semi-ripe wood cuttings in summer from the current year’s shoots. Dip in rooting hormone and set in moist soil or water. Roots should develop in 1-2 months. Layering involves bending and burying a branch while still attached until roots form, after which it is cut from the parent plant.
Troubleshooting Common Problems
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Leaf curling/shriveling – Increase watering frequency, raise humidity
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Leaf yellowing/dropping – May indicate under or overwatering, insufficient light
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Leggy growth – Give more sunlight, prune more frequently
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Pests – Treat aphids, spider mites, scale with horticultural oil spray
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Branch/leaf dieback – Check for root rot and improve drainage
With attentive care, most issues with Chinese elm bonsai can be corrected by adjusting cultivation practices. Seek advice from experienced bonsai gardeners if problems persist.
Enjoying Your Chinese Elm Bonsai
The Chinese elm bonsai is one of the easiest species for beginners to grow successfully either indoors or outdoors. While it requires diligent care and maintenance, it amply rewards the bonsai enthusiast with robust health, graceful shaping of branches, and delightful seasonal changes of foliage and bark textures. Your Chinese elm bonsai will provide you with an endless opportunity to hone your bonsai skills.
Little Flies all over your Chinese Elm Bonsai Tree
If your Chinese Elm bonsai tree has little white or green flies on it, don’t worry. Just one little greenfly making its way to the tree makes it a safe place to live away from things that might eat it. These flies don’t need a partner to produce babies. A single one can cause an infestation. How do I get rid of them? Any way that gets rid of bugs on other plants will work. Insecticide sprays such as Provardo or Roseclear work fine. Other natural remedies are also out there; I won’t list them all here, but they are easy to find on the internet.
Yellow leaves on a Chinese Elm Bonsai Tree
This is the big one! It’s the main question that we get.
“Help, I’ve got this Chinese Elm and all of the leaves are going yellow and falling off!”
Me: “How long have you had it? Where are you keeping it?”
“I’ve just got it, It’s in the house.”
Okay, so here’s how it works: as we already said, Chinese elms aren’t fully evergreen or fully deciduous. Most, if not all, bonsai sellers grow their Elms either outdoors or in greenhouses and polytunnels. When people water these places, usually with hosepipes, the light is very bright and the air is humid from all the water going everywhere. It is usually a very good, if not perfect growing environment – bright, humid and cool. Your house is not like this. For one thing, your house is dark. Even a windowsill is much darker than its previous location. The drop in light levels affects the tree. It reacts to the drop in light. If you’re reading this in the winter, you may notice that some of the trees outside don’t have leaves. Your Elm thinks winter has well and truly arrived.
Since we already said it’s not fully deciduous, that doesn’t mean it won’t have any leaves for months. It normally takes about a month to start growing again. Small green buds at first which burst into new leaves. Remember also that it is hot in your house. What a mess for a tree—it’s getting dark but warmer—is it winter? The answer is that the tree needs to go through a process of adjusting. It has to adapt the the new location. It isn’t easy for it either. People get scared and think it’s the roots, so they try to repot them, which hurts the tree even more at this point. They also often pour water on the tree constantly until the roots have rotted away. Sometimes, they think the tree is cold. Someone once told me they put the tree in the airing cupboard because they thought it looked cold there. Dry, artificial heat from radiators is deadly to them.
What should you do if this happens? Make sure it’s in the right place—bright, away from radiators. Don’t use too much or too little water.
Remember that outdoors, nature can provide these conditions with little fuss. One reason we try to get people to grow bonsai trees outside whenever they can is because of this. It’s so much easier.