The Best Care Guide For Growing A Chinese Elm Bonsai Tree – Part II

My prior article on taking care of your Chinese elm bonsai bonsai tree dealt mainly with the proper technique to water your tree, along with exactly what type of light requirements the tree has. This Part II will focus on pruning, repotting, and root-pruning of your Chinese elm bonsai.

Pruning

Good sense may perhaps tell you that the best time to prune any tree is when it is in it’s best health. This really is true of the Chinese elm as well, and the best time is in springtime or early summer. You need to keep on top of trimming when the elm is growing rapidly at this time of the year. Chinese elms develop good branch ramification in a remarkably short time. After four to five sets of leaves have grown out on the new shoot, cut the shoot back to the initial  one or two sets that are nearest the branch or trunk of the tree. You’ll want to strike a fine balance between pruning too much from your tree so that it will weaken it, and cutting enough off that it maintains a nice-looking form. Experience will help you make that determination. This technique of pruning needs to be repeated througout the growing season, and when carried out correctly it results in the tree sustaining it’s vigor.

Re-potting

How frequently you should re-pot your Chinese elm is determined by numerous factors among them how old the tree is, how big is the tree, and what condition it’s roots are in. Younger trees usually should be re-potted every year until they are 4-6 years old. Once your tree has aged to some extent, after 5-6 years, it will only require re-potting every 2-4 years, particularly if it is in a larger pot. Re-potting your bonsai will give you an opportunity to prune the roots of your plant. This keeps the roots from growing to be overcrowded, and influences new growth. The best time to re-pot your Chinese Elm is during the early spring months. Don’t re-pot your elm tree less than 30 days after you have pruned any of the tree’s branches or new shoots. This holding out is done as a way to reduce the amount of stress that the tree must go through.

When and How to Prune Your Chinese Elm Bonsai Tree’s Roots

Plants roots are invariably searching for new nutrient and water-rich soil. Plants require new root growth in order to further increase food and nutrient absorbtion. If you will do any serious root pruning you should try to do it in winter or early spring. This is when the tree is in it’s inactive stage.

Root pruning involves the sacrifice of the larger sized roots in favor of the smaller ones.

Begin by delicately taking your bonsai tree out of its pot. Before you start pruning the roots you have to pull all of the roots apart from each other.

After the roots have been separated you can shorten the plants storage roots and remove any remaining portion of the plant’s tap root. Don’t cut any of the smaller, finer roots. You need to keep these. The roots must be trimmed all around so the new root ball will fit into its new pot without needing to fold the long roots into it. When pruning the storage roots you should only trim about one-half of their lengths.

Place the trimmed root ball on top of the fresh new soil in the pot, and carefully add additional soil in the gaps in between the roots of your Chinese elm bonsai. You want to make sure that you haven’t left any voids in between the roots, and they have been completely filled up with soil. This can be done by using a dull pencil or a chopstick. After all the empty spaces have been filled, and the soil tamped down, you’ll be able to give your bonsai a drink of water. This first watering should saturate the soil. After saturating the soil let it drain entirely, and then water it just as before. This will help settle the soil surrounding the roots.

As the roots are recovering from the pruning you should not subject it to direct sunshine, or give your tree fertilizer (which will burn the plant’s roots) for several weeks after you have re-potted the tree.