riverofwind
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Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2017 1:47 am

Can Chinese Elm Be Grown Indoors?

Can Chinese Elm be grown indoors? I've received conflicting information from various sources. Yay or nay?
Thanks!

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rainbowgardener
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Location: TN/GA 7b

I haven't done it, but I think yes. Chinese elm is a sort of in-between tree. Temperate trees (evergreens like juniper and deciduous like maple, oak) have to be outdoors all the time. Tropical evergreens like ficus make good indoor trees. Chinese elm is a subtropical. Some people do keep them indoors.
Chinese Elm trees are very flexible about their environment. If adapted
properly, they can be grown indoors year-round. If hardened off to
the cold gradually, they can drop their leaves in the fall and be
considered deciduous trees, so you have a few options. However, it is
important to find out how your Elm has been growing recently. Some
Elms come from southern China, and have never experienced cold
conditions. It would be dangerous to keep these Elms too cold the
first year or two. Other Elms have gone to freezing and dropped their
leaves for many years; as a result, these Elms may not be too happy
indoors for the first year or two. If you can not determine where your
Elm has been, then keep it outside for the summer and bring it inside
for the winter. You can bring it in when the temperatures are around
50°F.
https://www.nebonsai.com/Chinese_elm.pdf

So they can be evergreen and keep their leaves all year if they are indoors with plenty of light. But that will most likely mean supplemental light (a lamp dedicated to it, just a few inches away), not just a windowsill. A number of people have written in here about their chinese elms dropping all the leaves. If it is on a windowsill, the shortening hours of daylight trigger it in to dormancy.

riverofwind
Full Member
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2017 1:47 am

Thanks. I'll give it a go.



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