Chinese Elm Lighting

[settledown]

I just received my Chinese Elm yesterday and wanted to know if my bonsai will be able to survive with only indirect light from outside but no direct sunlight. I keep it right next to my window so it can get some fresh air but unfortunately the sun never shines directly in my room.

[JTred]

If it does survive it may not grow very well. It may have large leaves or leggy growth. What direction does your window face? Southeast is best in the northern hemisphere. Is there any way you can give it supplemental lighting?

Check out this pdf for good general care instructions.

https://www.nebonsai.com/Chinese_elm.pdf

[settledown]

My widnow faces directly North unfortunately. What types of supplemental lighting would you suggest? And thank you for the pdf.

[linlaoboo]

This is what I use without going too crazy with the cost and it's clamp on, can keep it on at night and use it as a desk light in a room. You can search this on E*bay under "cfl grow lights". Make sure the bulb generates 6400K, not 2700K. 6400K simulates the full spectrum closer to what you would get in the summer where as the cooler/softer 2700K simulates fall light for people that grow medicine for smoking if you know what I mean. The benefit of cfl is it's energy saving, doesn't generate much heat so plants can be kept inches away without getting brunt.

[img]https://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd340/malagabee/Single_Clamp_6400K_GALLERY.jpg[/img]

Alternatively people also use regular flourecent lights with the long tube bulbs. Just google for picture online and you'll see people have setups on racks or shelving units.

Unless you have outdoor setup to keep the Chinese elm so it goes into dormancy once in a while as in nature. Indoor lighting is the way to go. Even if you keep trees outside, it's better it gets the south facing sun like Jtred said.

[settledown]

Awesome, thanks for the tip! Just one more question, what wattage should the bulb be? My tree is 5 years old and about 10" high if that helps any.

[JTred]

When growing indoors you really want to get as much light as possible. It is very hard to match what the sun can offer. On the other hand you have to balance heat and cost. With CFL's heat isn't much of an issue and neither is energy. Basically give it as much light as is feasible for you.

[settledown]

Thank you for the valuable information!

[linlaoboo]

I suggest getting cfl light bulb or light bulbs that add up to at least 150W of incondecent bulb output. I think the energy usage is 35 or 45W with CFLs, please confirm. Any lower than this will be less effective. As noted before in order for the plant to benefit from enough lumins, keep the foliage as close as 2 inches away from the lights. The light energy is a factor * the inverse square of the distance so it won't be effective if your plant is more than a few inches away.