Grow Your Own Amazing Miniature Chinese Elm Bonsai Tree - Part II
In my preceding document on how to care for your Chinese elm bonsai we discussed the right way to water your bonsai as well as the sunlight needs of your bonsai. This Part II will give attention to pruning, repotting, and root pruning of your Chinese elm bonsai.
When and Exactly how to Prune Your Chinese Elm Bonsai
Major pruning ought to be done when the bonsai is at its strongest, in early spring to early summer. It is important to keep up with the trimming because the elm grows very fast at this time of year. It doesn’t take very long for the Chinese elm to develop great branch ramification. After four to five sets of leaves have grown out on the new shoot, cut the shoot back to the initial 1 or 2 sets which are nearest the branch or trunk of the tree. How frequently you prune will depend on how rapidly your tree grows and when it starts to look out-of-shape. You possibly can cause your tree to weaken in the event you cut too much off in the course of any given pruning. But don’t be so timid about pruning that you choose to let your tree become out of shape. Vitality is maintained using this method as this procedure is then repeated throughout the growing season.
Re-Potting Your Chinese Elm Bonsai Tree
Frequency of repotting is determined by the size and age of the tree, the condition of the roots, and also other factors. Younger trees commonly should be re-potted each year until they are 4-6 years old. When your tree has grown up somewhat, after 5-6 years, it will only need re-potting every 2-4 years, especially if it is in a larger pot. Re-potting your bonsai tree gives you an opportunity to prune the roots of your plant. This prevents the roots from becoming overcrowded, and stimulates new growth. Early spring is the best and safest time of the year to re-pot and prune the roots of your Chinese elm. You need to re-pot a month before or a month after you have pruned the tree. Doing so any sooner you could end up stressing out your tree.
Pruning the Roots of Your Chinese Elm Bonsai Tree
Pruning the roots of your bonsai plant influences the development of new roots which happens to be necessary to enable the plant to absorb the maximum amount of water and nutrients as it requires. The optimum time of year to do ambitious root pruning is the winter or very early spring when the tree is dormant.
Older, larger roots are significantly less efficient than newer, smaller roots in soaking up water and nutrients, therefore cutting away larger roots is definitely good for the plant.
To begin with, the first thing you need to do is to very carefully take out your tree from the pot. Before you can begin the process of pruning the roots you must pull all of the roots apart from one another.
If there is still any part of the tap root remaining you need to take it off. Shorten each of the larger storage roots. Try to preserve as many of the fine roots as you can. Trim the roots so that the plant will fit back into the pot without the need to fold any of the roots to make them fit. To be on the safe side don’t remove more than one-half of the roots, especially if root pruning is being done in the dormant season.
After the roots have been pruned place the rest of the root ball of your Chinese elm bonsai on top of a fresh soil bed in the pot, and gently place more soil into all the gaps between the roots, pushing it into every little crevice using something similar to a chopstick. Ensure that all the spaces have been filled in using soil employing a tool, or a chopstick, to carefully compact the soil in the gaps. Gently tamp down the soil surface and water completely. Go ahead and saturate the soil completely on this first watering following the re-potting and root pruning. Permit it to drain thoroughly and then water 2 or 3 more times in an effort to settle the soil and wash out the very fine material.
Keep away from extreme direct sunlight for several weeks until the roots have had an opportunity to recuperate, and don’t feed for three to four weeks after the roots have been pruned to prevent any possible root-burn.
