Growing and Caring for Chinese Elm Bonsai Trees

The Chinese Elm, Ulmus Parvifolia is an extremely popular tree and an ideal choice for the beginner.  They are native to China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan and usually deciduous, but when they get enough light and warmth year round they’ll hang on to most of their leaves.  What makes Chinese Elm quite unique is that they are a hardy outdoor deciduous tree that can be grown as a semi- evergreen indoor tree.

When grown outdoors they tend to be a little more robust than their indoor cousins and while they’re very hardy, should be protected from the harshest winter weather.  They can also be kept outdoors in the summer and brought in for the winter where they will happily thrive on a cool, bright window sill.

Even if it’s indoors all year, there is still a seasonal variation with a Chinese Elm and lowered light levels will signal a needed winter rest when the tree will probably drop a few yellowed leaves and should be moved to a cooler spot than in the summer (pretty easy to do as a rule). In the winter you’ll also reduce the watering and fertilize lightly once a month or withhold fertilizer altogether until spring.

During the winter, your tree will not take up the water as quickly as in the growing season and so you won’t need to water as often.  Let it very slightly dry out then water it thoroughly using water that has been standing for at least 24 hours to remove the chlorine.  Don’t ever let your tree get really dry – even in the winter.

At certain times throughout the year some leaves will show sign of yellowing, usually with black spots appearing followed by varying shades of brown. These leaves will drop off during the growing season, but stay on the tree during the winter.  It’s just the way Chinese Elm is! It discards leaves through the year – mostly in the Fall

and Winter as light levels change and also will often discard old leaves after a flush of new growth has come in to take their place.  Not to worry. If the falling leaves are soft and yellowish, it’s just a normal thing.  If they’re shriveled up and brown then it’s probably a sign that you’re not watering enough.

In the spring, new buds will appear and fresh leaves will emerge from just about anywhere on a Chinese Elm. Start to feed the tree using a well diluted balanced fertilizer once every week or so.  When the plant is actively growing and getting watered more often, you’ll need to feed it more often as well.

The shape your tree takes is totally your choice and pruning is almost as simple as removing what you don't want. Almost.  With Chinese Elm if you cut a branch beyond a certain point, the tree will give up on that branch and put its energy elsewhere.  Therefore allow the new shoots to put out at least 5 leaves before trimming back to 1 or 2 leaves depending on which direction you want it to grow.  Keep this process up through the growing season to keep your tree vigorous.

Repot once every 1-3 years depending on the age of your tree and how quickly it’s growing.  Don’t prune and repot within a month of each other to avoid over stressing the tree.