Roots
Newly Registered
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed May 26, 2010 1:58 am
Location: Denver, Colorado

Help with Chinese Elm

Hello all I have always liked bonsai trees so I finally decided to get one for my desk. So I got a Juniper but quickly realized it was an outdoor plant so anyways I ordered a chinese elm from joebonsai.com (anyone know anything about there plants?). I haven't gotten it yet but the pot for the Juniper had two holes in on the bottom. How can I tell the soil is good or bad? Do the humidity trays go under the pot? If so can I put rocks on the tray? Maybe bonsai trees are stronger than I give them credit for but when I water my Juniper I feel I'm hurting it, how do I water gently?

I bought a moisture and pH meter (I'm a math major, do I like numbers to much or are those meters worth it?) I also bought the "Power Grow Lamp" from Prepera, how often should that be lit on it? The Elm will be on a desk that can get some sunlight when we open the blinds to the patio.

I saw some minerals/suppliments online, do they work? Or are there any other ways to make my tree grow faster/stronger?

I saw some Chinese Elms with its roots above the soil, it looks really cool how should I go about doing that?

I'm pretty clueless about bonsais (or any gardening for that matter haha), so any advice would really help me out! :D

And sorry for all the questions I know it's alot! :wink:

derkap10
Cool Member
Posts: 88
Joined: Mon Mar 22, 2010 2:15 am
Location: Mississippi

Hi Roots,

I'll see if I can help answer some of your questions. First off, although the Chinese Elm is often advertised as an indoor tree it's much better suited for outdoors. With that said you may well be able to work it pretty nicely with the grow lamp. Probably the best way to cycle the lamp is to just simply follow the sun. Turn it on in the morning and off in the evening (the tree will like the night and day cycle, it's natural). Place the humidity tray beneath the pot and place small gravel in it so that the pot sits on top of the gravel then keep water in the tray. This sets up a zone of moister air around the tree (very important indoors as the air can be pretty dry). Joebonsai seems to be a pretty reputable vendor and I've ordered several items from them but just supplies (pots, etc.) not trees. Your tree should be in a pot with at least 2 drainage holes in the bottom. Drainage is very important as you don't want root-rot to set in. The pH meter I'm not sure about but the moisture meter should be helpful (was gonna buy one myself when I was at the nursery last weekend but they were out). The soil your tree comes in should be fine for now but this could change down the road. Mineral and vitamin supplements are fine (Superthrive, et al) plus you'll also need some good fertilizer as well. I wouldn't worry about getting roots over soil (nebari) yet although your tree may already have some or show potential for some. You'll start working on that when you repot. As for watering, for my outdoor trees I have some 2-liter drink bottles fitted with sprinkler caps that I got from.... Joebonsai). For my indoor trees I just simply remove the top from my spray bottle and gently pour onto the soild over the sink. Repeated 3 times (once for the pot, once for the soil, and once for the tree). I guess that's about it. Search 'Chinese Elm' in these forums and you'll find lots of great information. Hope this helps some.

Roots
Newly Registered
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed May 26, 2010 1:58 am
Location: Denver, Colorado

If I had the Elm outside somedays but kept it inside most of the time, would that "mess" up the plant or it's cycle?

What should I be looking for in a fertilizer? Or any suggestions.

So from what I've gathered I probably don't give it enough water, so is it fair to say you can't overwater your tree from pure volume, but rather how often you water?

And thank you very much your post is very helpful! :D

derkap10
Cool Member
Posts: 88
Joined: Mon Mar 22, 2010 2:15 am
Location: Mississippi

Hi again Roots,

I think moving your tree from inside to outside from time to time would probably depend upon your particular climate. If the tempature differential between inside and outside is only a couple of degrees then it would probably not be bad. The tree might even appreciate getting a bit of fresh air and sunshine as long as it's not put into harsh direct sunlight. On the other hand where I live, central Miss., if I were too move a tree from inside where it's 70 degrees to outside where it's 100 degrees (the heat! my god the heat!) then that would probably kill a tree right quickly.

Fertilizer. My personal philosophy is to go light. I use a liquid fertilizer with an NPK rating of 5-5-4 mixed a little bit understrength. Although I have recently acquired a Crepe Myrtle that I might have to make up a little something special with a slightly higher level of phosphorus for flowering. Just remember that you probably won't hurt a tree much by under-fertilizing but you can well and truly mess one up by over-fertilizing.

For watering the 3X method may be a little elaborate but it's not a bad idea to water once let the water drain and then water again after about 15 minutes. This assures that the soil is well saturated. Water again when the soil just starts to dry out. Watering can be one of the trickiest parts of bonsai so watchfulness is important. Don't water on a schedule but just when the tree needs it. You can find a number of posts here for more advice about watering.



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