Chinese elm leaves

[woollin]

I was bought a chinese elm bonsai for christmas by some friends, and I'm not 100% sure about caring for it. I think I've got the watering and feeding sorted, it's just the trimming. Not long after getting the tree all the leaves dropped off, thankfully they have re-grown, so I assume it was a climate change thing.

What's bothering me is the size of the leaves! They're huge in comparison to what they were before. Originally they were small, maybe less than 1cm long, but now they're bright green, maybe 3cm long and quite broad. Is this normal or do I need to trim back these giant rogues?

[The Helpful Gardener]

A regular leaf trimming on these trees is part of the upkeep on these and encourages ramification as well as keeping a uniform look. Keep in mind that bushier, shaggier growth helps add caliper, so if you are not showing the bonsai sometimes it can be beneficial to allow for a little rampant growth, especially early in development of the tree...

Scott

[woollin]

Thanks very much, I've given it a little trim and some shape. Thankfully it's not died on me yet, that was my major worry if I went around clipping.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Just plucking oversized leaves is a good practice now; leave big haircuts for spring...