A Detailed Guide to the Latest Care and Creation Methods for Elm Bonsai

Elm is also known as Chinese elm, elm seed, spring elm, etc., and has long been called “elm knot”. It is a deciduous tree of the genus Ulmus in the family Ulmaceae, often growing on hillsides, valleys, plains, hills and sandy mounds below 1000-2500 m in altitude. Old stems and residual roots have strong sprouting ability and can be dug from the wild to make bonsai, with extremely high ornamental value. Now let us take a look at elm bonsai care and creation!

Elm Bonsai Growing Environment

Elm is a sun-loving tree species. It likes light, tolerates drought, cold and poor soil, is not choosy about soil, and has strong adaptability. Its root system is well developed, and it has strong wind resistance and soil-holding ability. Its sprouting ability is strong and it tolerates pruning. It grows fast and has a long lifespan. It can withstand dry and cold climates and moderate salinity and alkalinity, but it does not tolerate waterlogging (it can withstand waterlogging in the rainy season). It is pollution resistant, and its leaves have a strong ability to retain dust. It grows well in deep, fertile, well-drained alluvial soil and on the Loess Plateau.

How to Create Elm Bonsai

1. Seedling source: Elm stumps are mostly dug from the wild. Wild stumps have strange and changeable postures, are winding and crooked, ancient and lovely, take shape quickly, and have high ornamental value.

2. Potting: The best planting time is February to March in spring, and it can also be done in autumn. Before planting, the roots and branches and leaves should be pruned once. Use loose and fertile garden soil or leaf mold for the pot soil, which is beneficial to root development. For bonsai pots, purple clay pottery pots or glazed pottery pots are suitable. The shapes are mainly rectangular and oval, and plain colors are best for the pot color.

3. Styling: The styling of elm should mainly rely on pruning, combining pruning and wiring. According to the basic form of the old stump, many styles can be made, such as formal upright style, curved trunk style, slanting style, lying trunk style or cascade style. Because its root system is well developed, it can also be made into raised-root style or root-on-rock style bonsai. Elm branches are soft and can be wired into many styles of bonsai. Elm branches and leaves tolerate pruning, so they can be pruned into cloud-cluster style, or cut into any desired shape according to the creator's intention.

Elm Bonsai Care Techniques

1. Strengthen light exposure: Elm likes light, and only in a place with sufficient sunlight can it grow well and robustly. If the light is insufficient, its growth is slow, the branches are thin, the leaf spacing is long, the leaf color is pale, and the fibrous roots are few and weak, and it is also prone to pest problems.

2. Control humidity: Elm likes to grow in moist places, but it also fears waterlogging, so when spraying water it should be watered thoroughly. In midsummer, water once in the morning and once in the evening. If water accumulates in the pot, it should be drained as soon as possible.

3. Fertilize appropriately: Use peanut cake fermented into liquid water fertilizer, or break peanut cake into thumb-sized pieces and bury them in the soil, together with some compound flower fertilizer. Fertilization should be done once in early spring and once in early autumn, and should not be applied too much.

4. Trim in time: Elm has an extremely strong sprouting ability, and the three groups also grow quickly. If the branches are not pruned, the stump bonsai will lose its ornamental value. Pruning and shaping can be done in autumn. First cut off useless branches and diseased branches, then trim the branches according to the shaping or the posture after shaping.

5. Prevent and control pests and diseases: Common leaf-eating pests on elm include elm tussock moth, Actias ningpoana, elm swallowtail moth, leaf beetle, scale insect, longhorn beetle, etc. During the peak larval period, spray 20% fenpropathrin emulsifiable concentrate at 2500 to 3000 times dilution or 20% fenvalerate emulsifiable concentrate at 2000 times dilution.