nohlja
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New To Chinese Elm-Advice Please!!

Well I think my fukien tea has taken a turn for the worst for the last time so I decided to purchase a chinese elm on Tuesday. I think it is a nice, healthy tree right now so I am hoping I will have a little better luck with this one.

From reading posts on hear I believe I am supposed to keep the soil moist at all times and not to let it dry out in between waterings? What I am concerned about is the lighting that it is getting. I currently have the tree sitting on my table in the living room. It gets indirect sunlight all day long as the window shades are open but never any direct sunlight. A few leaves have began to turn yellow just since I brought it home, is this a sign of too little light? I do have a window I could keep it in but it faces east not south as it seems is desired. I also fear placing it in the window as when I did this with my fukien it pretty much burned the leaves off of it. (Different window, in a past apartment)

Will it survive on the table/in the window?
I also wonder about whether it should be put in dormancy for the winter ( I live in Fargo, ND), but that question can wait also.

Thanks for any help,
Jake

[img]https://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad115/nohlja/chinese%20elm/100_8534.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad115/nohlja/chinese%20elm/100_8535.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad115/nohlja/chinese%20elm/100_8536.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i927.photobucket.com/albums/ad115/nohlja/chinese%20elm/100_8537.jpg[/img]

linlaoboo
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Location: NJ

Mine survived indoors for 2 years without a problem here in Nj but from what I've learned on this site it's helpful to let it go dormant or it may Peter out indoors. Also the soil it came in is not the best for it according to your picture. I was getting more and more yellow leaves until I repotted it in free draining soil in a larger pot. I keep mine outdoors in the summer in full sun for most of the day and it loves it. Before winter I will rig up a tent for it to go dormant in.

If you do a search you will find lots of posts with helpful info. Good luck and it's a beautiful tree you have.

nohlja
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Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2009 12:59 pm

Yes I know that it is not in the best soil right now. I have free draining bonsai soil but I was really hoping to be able to not disturb it for now and do a repot in the spring. I'm assuming that it has been in this for awhile and it looks good so hopefully that it will be fine to wait. I will also switch to a slightly larger pot at that point. I just really don't want to put it through the shock of a repot already if at all possible.
Thanks for the info.
Jake

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Gnome
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Location: Western PA USDA Zone 6A

Jake,

The lighting at the location you describe seems far from ideal, I would get it near the window. Since your window faces east consider some form of supplemental lighting. Even simple fluorescents will help. Also, look into a humidity tray, a large but shallow container with an inch or so of gravel. Water is then added making sure to keep it low enough so it can't wick back up into the pot.

I've never kept a Chinese Elm inside year-round but I have done the split season thing last year and it did OK.

Norm

nohlja
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Thanks for the advice guys. It is getting more yellow leaves so I believe I am going to have to add some sort of lighting. Do you think that one bulb in one of the 8" metal shop shades would be sufficient? Also is there a specific light bulb that would be best. I used 2 fluorescent tube bulbs and one other bulb in a metal shade on my fukien tea and it began to grow much larger leaves. They probably doubled or more in size when I placed them under these lights. I really would like to avoid that with the elm because I like the small leaves. Would it be best to to run the lights for the typical daylight hours or 12 on 12 off or what sort of schedule do you guys use?


Thanks
Jake

JTred
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Location: Elizabeth, PA

Another factor that is as important as the amount of light is the proximity to the light source. The closer, the better. This is where compact flourescents Incandescent bulbs tend to get very hot and are less energy efficient.

linlaoboo
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Joined: Sat May 22, 2010 1:15 pm
Location: NJ

I use CFL bulbs in the clip on metal shades from Walmart and have been turning them on in the evenings since my plants already get some southern sun during the day. But as winter approaches I will hook up a timer to it so it can automatically go on and off. You'll have to experiment to see how long is enough. I read 10 to 14 hours/day but I'm not sure if that's based on plants growing by artificial lights only or for supplement

JTred
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Location: Elizabeth, PA

Timers are awesome, I set mine to be on whenever I am awake.

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djlen
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Location: Just East of Zone 7a

Both your Fukien and your Elm will do much better with as strong a compact fluorescent lighting as you can supply. They both need and like a lot of strong and direct light.
Your Elm should be put outside in the Spring and left to grow out there all Summer and then go dormant in the Fall. You can then bring it into the house in late December in Fargo to let it get a jump on "Spring". Without letting Elms rest they will burn themselves out and die over time.



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