Chinese elm bonsai for beginners

[@JackC1961]

You're right I started with the Chinese Elm and Banyan tree and from you and others learnt so much. I like the time stamps idea, but I watched the whole 20 mins anyway. Some great advice Magnus thank you. I like the Elm because the directional pruning works well. First time I've heard of the USDA zones.

[@greenmachinesweden]

Thanks mate. Very appreciated. USDA zones are used pretty much in gardening to identify which trees are suitable for a specific location. Its not perfect, but gives a good hint. My point is that chinese elms is a lot hardier than people think. Many are brought indoors in winter for protection and suffers from it.

[@jkleczewski]

The USDA just released new maps for the United States due to Global Warming, I moved from Zone 7b to 8a.

[@greenmachinesweden]

Yes, makes sence.🙂👍

[@BlueJayBonsai]

Nice elm Magnus! This is a good video for beginners for sure! 👍

[@greenmachinesweden]

Thanks Jay. The tree needs another planting angle, but a big lump of a root is hindering that. Come spring there will be some serious root pruning done.😀👍

[@gayefanner731]

Magnus before I watch again I must just say if you’re not a Teacher, you SHOULD be, you’re a NATURAL, or an experienced professional. God bless you 🙏✝️ ✌️🇺🇦🌻✌️

[@gayefanner731]

2nd time around n I’m now convinced you ARE a Teacher! You have authority and poise plus an empathetic feel for your students n I, for one, am honoured to be included amongst them. Thank you 🤝

[@greenmachinesweden]

My lovelly Gaye. Thank you so much! I have been teaching children in english and adults in freediving. But without personal interaction is soo different. 😀👍

[@gayefanner731]

YESSS!!!!! I’m SO happy you are in your vocation, if that’s the right way to put it?! What a lovely ending to a wonderful day ( 10 sea Baptisms, all having followed a special course in previous weeks!) ✌️

[@bilgek]

I found this video very helpful and fluent. Thanks for your effort

[@greenmachinesweden]

Thanks a lot for your wonderful coment! I am so happy you liked the vid. Happy growing!🙂👍

[@bcbw07]

Thank you for the video my girlfriend and I just got our first tree and this helped out

[@greenmachinesweden]

Thanks for your coment, I am happy you liked it. Good luck with your new tree.

[@stubbsaquatics6080]

Beautiful tree!!

[@greenmachinesweden]

Thanks mate! And thanks for joining the premiere. 😀👍

[@bigcraig4904]

Excellent

[@greenmachinesweden]

Thanks for watching and comenting. I am happy you liked it.🙂👍

[@stubbsaquatics6080]

👍 from me as soon as I came on

[@greenmachinesweden]

Thanks my friend. Really appreciated! 😀👍

[@stubbsaquatics6080]

This was a good video and understand why it did well.

[@a2shadow]

Thank you very much for the very well put video, it makes a lot of things clear to me. Could I ask if you have any recommendation for where from to buy a Chinese Elm either in Sweden or from somewhere that is deliverable to Sweden?

[@greenmachinesweden]

Thanks for watching and comenting, very appreciated. Chinese elms can be found in almost any garden center. But TBH, most of them is crap and have very little bonsai quality. If you want fairly good trees, talk to Magnus at bonsai och trädgård. www.bonbonsai.se/ He makes imports every spring and I think he still have a few left. But I recomend a visit and to pick the prefered tree yourself instead of ordering by mail.

[@fisherdude6893]

I love you accent!

[@greenmachinesweden]

😊

[@TheCosmicDrama]

I just recently purchased my first Chinese elm. Im one usda zone colder than you, at some 6. Would having a cold frame and piling wood chips between pots be enough to overwinter the elm outside?

[@greenmachinesweden]

I am not sure. University of Minesota ranks them as hardy to usda zone 4. But in a small pot is another story. Digging the pot into the ground and keep the tree burried in snow may be an option. Under the snow it is very mild. I have learned the hard way that they are very sensitive to late frost. If buds is starting to swell, they just cannot take it. Snow will proboably delay budding until it is safe. Here we can get occational late frost after the snow is gone, so nowadays I keep all my chinese elms frost free at 5c for extra safety.

[@carolficorilli9768]

what is the best soil for the Chinese elm? I live in Frankfort, KY.

[@greenmachinesweden]

In my opinion there are no special soil needed. A well draining and moist holding mix, same as for any bonsai tree really, will do. I advocate using locally produced material. Makes no sense to me importing soil from Japan. Sorry, I do not know what is awailable in US.

[@Kidraver555]

Will grow lights help keep it inside?

[@greenmachinesweden]

Inside is not the problem. It is the livingroom conditions that is. Trees do not need light during dormancy.

[@ApolloniaSamaveld]

Oh thank you so much I was attempting to start Bonsai caring but was uncertain how long I can keep it in my Lounge of 18 to 23C . I have a garden Room that drops to 12c in Winter I now am confident to create a window there just for the Bonsai on shelves. I have an indoor Benjamin Ficus that became 3 meters high and a good 3 metres wide so am well versed in autumn leave loss. It was because of the Bonsai studies I was brave to prune my tree maybe not a Bonsai at that height but the plant is 20 years old now 2 metres high and 1.5 metre (diameter) wide. I'm sure my Bonsai will love My garden room most house plants get additional lights in winter as does my Ficus Benjamin. The Bonsai in a window won't need it but should they get the morning sun, mid day sun or evening sun? Window is 1.5 metres wide by 2m high . Your thoughts? Your video encouraged me thank you.

[@greenmachinesweden]

Ohh, thank you so much for watching and comenting. The temperature the tree is exposed to will dictate if it goes dormant or not. As long as it has leafs it will need sun. If it goes bare and totally dormant it will need no sun. At 12c I would expect it to stay green all winter.🙂👍

[@yanalzuieter]

I have Chinese Elm bonsai tree and during the winter time (November and December) it has grown significantly which I find to be odd. Some of the new leaves are double if not triple the size of the standard leaf on the tree. From my understanding this is not right. Can you kindly correct me if I am wrong here?

[@greenmachinesweden]

They should not grow in winter, a year without proper winter dormancy is very stressful. They can survive a few winters without it, getting weaker every year. Sooner or later they die.

[@yanalzuieter]

@@greenmachineswedenok well I don’t want it to die then. What are you recommending I do to stop its growth?

[@greenmachinesweden]

@yanalzuieter chill it down is the only way. If it has not experienced the natural fluctuations in fall it cannot handle frost. Then a slow cool down to 5c is the best option.

[@cindyrios1077]

I just bought a small elm tree from China town in LA. My tree has white flowers growing and looking very green. It is in a small plastic pot. It’s fall now and I’m from Northern California. Should I repot it or just wait till spring?

[@greenmachinesweden]

The tree has been produced in the soil you bought it in. If it is good for comercial production it is good for a beginner in bonsai. My first elm spent 1,5 years in the nurcery soil. There are no reason to hurry and repot in wrong season. Study a few repotting videos. When the time is right, reach out to a bonsai club in your area and ask for support. Repotting is stressful for the tree. Good luck.🙂👍

[@GrowingBonsai]

Cool turntable. Guess it is the same I have :)

[@greenmachinesweden]

Yes I noticed. From a very famous swedish furniture shop. I Know Et As you do. 😀👍.

[@PapiYurk]

Hey love the vid but I have a question is the golden ficus a good indoor tree? If not what would you recommend. Again love the vid

[@greenmachinesweden]

Hello and thanks. I don't do indoor bonsai myself. But I grow jade plants as bonsai in greenhouse and as houseplants indoors. You will miss flowering but they can live indoors. There are a video about creating bonsai from jades on my channel.🙂👍

[@Tybold63]

I'd say most ficus does well as indoor bonsai as does jade as Magnus already told you. If you have the opportunity, you should take them outdoors in summer as that will give them a healthy boost for the indoor life and season. Due to health problems I had to step down in living and only do indoors but have three trees that reside all year round on balcony (e.g. scots pine). Good luck!

[@a2shadow]

I live in Uppsala (zone 7a). I have a norther balcony. I do not think the tree will be happy if I leave it in that balcony during the winter. I am thinking as soon as the temperature get to 0 or a bit below zero I bring the tree indoor and keep it next to my south facing window or under growth light. Is it something that you think would keep the tree reasonably happy?

[@greenmachinesweden]

No, sorry. Trees lives with the season. A dormant tree must stay dormant. Breaking dormancy will stress and kill it.

[@bonsaibythesea]

Good lesson to bad I don’t have one

[@greenmachinesweden]

Thanks! 😀👍

[@TaderSamich]

Funny, I have over 30 trees and never owned a Chinese elm in the 10 years I've been practicing. I just finally bought one today

[@greenmachinesweden]

Thanks for watching and comenting. Chinese elms are kind of underapreciated. A species easy to grow, style and propagate. Naturally small leafs make it really suibable for bonsai. Good luck with yours.🙂👍

[@joelaliberte8006]

Do you always cut off the dead leaves?

[@greenmachinesweden]

Removing leaves makes no difference for the tree. Just for the wiewing pleasure. In winter when it sheds, I just let it do its thing. In summer when the tree is on display in my garden, I tend to remowe them.

[@derekgillan7314]

The cutting looks like a Zelkova.

[@greenmachinesweden]

The difference between zelkova serata and ulmus parvifolia is not big. However for some reason all the mass import of ulmus parvifolia is wrongly labled zelkova. We are talking milions of wrongly labled trees and I do not know why, but there must be a reason to it. Anyway, true zelkovas is quite rare. If you think it looks like a zelkova may be because you also have experience from wrongly labled trees. Thanks for watching and comenting.🙂👍

[@frikkiejacobs8858]

...and wait. Best advice lol

[@greenmachinesweden]

😃👍

[@ahappyimago]

Good advice, but I would tell people to understand some basics of bonsai before they buy otherwise they might like a tree at first but realize the trunk has horrible taper later on

[@greenmachinesweden]

Hello there. Thanks for viewing and thanks for your comment. I totall agree! Most of the mass produced trees for sale lack the sought after taper, including this one. Every tree can be developed into a nice specimen, but it cannot be done without keeping the tree alive and healthy. The video is for beginners to keep their first tree alive, wich is good start into the hobby. First tree dieing seldom is.🙂👍

[@ahappyimago]

@@greenmachinesweden yeah that’s a good foundation.

[@titanbengal]

Outside for chinese elm bonsai. They really don't like being kept indoors.

[@greenmachinesweden]

Indeed mate. But still they are sold as indoor bonsai all over the world.