Where do you keep it, how much sun, how often do you water, etc. etc. I'm fairly sure you're probably just watering too often for the peaty potting soil it's probably in, that usually yellows leaves (it's not a house plant), and you probably should add a lot of grit (perlite, tiny aquarium gravel) to the mix next time you repot. Where do you live - depending on that, it may be better to have it outdoors (where it certainly belongs all summer, though all year would be best depending), and are you in an apt., house, ?? Did it come with a layer of pebbles glued to the soil (if so pry it off now).

i water it lots. have just repotted it and trimmed roots. live in n ireland. was told by fella that sold it to me to keep it indoors and out of direct sunlight, but am reading so much conflicting advice on how to look after them.

Elms love sunlight, well atleast from my experience. You should only water when the soil is dry. Another tip for elms is when you find a spot in your house that it likes (it will grow ALOT) you should leave it there. If I can think of any more advice, I will post it. Hope this helps some.

Dear Bonsaimark;

I am far from being an expert but I have been messing with bonsai for 20 years and I have around 30 trees now. I offer the following ideas:
In your note I think you stated that you repotted and trimmed roots. You did not mention if you trimmed foliage as well, but that is always part of the process when repotting and trimming roots. One is supposed to trim a proportionate amount of foliage to complement root trimming. If you have not trimmed foliage since trimming roots, you may want to do some. If you forget to trim foliage too after trimming roots, the foliage will die back in proportion to the root trimming done. I think sometimes the tree can die completely from this too. You probably know this already, but I figured I could mention it just in case.

I have 3 Chinese elms and they like full sun. I keep them outside most of the year here in Connecticut USA (approx. 8-9 months) and put them in an unheated garage, during the coldest part of Winter. They are out there now - still sleeping with my other trees; waiting for Spring. During the growing season, the elms get almost a full day in full sun and they seem OK with it.

Your tree being accustomed to indoor life at this time, should not be put outside without gradual acclimatization. To keep it inside for now, it maybe needs more sun and/or less water. With our days still fairly short now, I'm hoping more sun would likely help make your tree happier.

The lengthening days are making me happier. I hope my trees all make it through the winter. We had a week or two with temperatures down to -20 on some nights. That ain't so good even in the shelter of the garage.

I hope my note helps you. Good luck.

Dear Bonsaimark:

I just got one more thought. I figured I had better run it by you after saying your tree maybe needs more sun. I think one needs to be careful about putting certain bonsai in direct sun when indoors. That can get too hot and dry for some trees. You may need to be careful about it.

I hope this helps. Thanks.

Thanks everyone. Will take advice on board.
Mark

Mark - It's an old wives tale that foliage must be trimmed in proportion to root trimming - within reason of course, and is no longer followed by experts in bonsai. Your tree does need copious sun where you live, and should also be outdoors for life, mulched into a larger pot in winter, but that's all it needs then. Stop watering so often - which means water well when you do it, but do it less often - allow at least the top 1/2" and a bit more to dry out in between, and do add lots of grit when next repotting.

tried some of your advice and tree is looking a bit healthier. leaves have stopped falling off for starters.
Thanks again everyone

Im also having problems with my Chinese Elm.
I got a 25 year old elm last year on ebay. When It got to me the Apex of the tree went dormant and dropped its leaves, but the bottom half of the tree stayed alive throughout the season. It's completely dormant now, Is there anyway I can help kick start the top this spring. Id hate to loose the apex. Any help would be greatly appreciated Thanks. -Max-

You have to let it run it's own dormancy course. Where do you live, and why do you think the top is 'dormant' vs the rest of it. Could it be dead?

Hello thanks for the quick response. I live in Northern Idaho I think your right, the top of my tree is dead. I got it last year and I think between it freezing during shipping and United-Package-Shakers dragging it across the country I think all of that stress killed the top, I've done everything in my power to revive it. The bottom 3/4's is fine. But I tried the scrape technique and the top is brown instead of green. If the top doesn't bud, should I saw the top down to where the tree shows life? The trees older then me, It seemed to make it fine being imported from japan, I guess this is a word of caution don't ship your trees UPS. When I ordered My Chinese Elm the first tree was completely destroyed in shipping I had quite a difficult time convincing ups that they destroyed my tree. Who's going to spend hundreds on a specimen just to destroy it. So The guy I got the tree from was finally refunded and he replaced my tree, When the second replacement Elm got to me, it was almost in as bad of condition. It was in full bloom when I opened the box. There was a lot less damage to the tree from shipping. within the week all of the leaves dropped from the top and a massive amount of sucker growth started to form at the base of the branches that went dormant. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Hi, you should remove the top, but sawing away is not how it's done. You need a pair of concave cutters, the one indispensable bonsai tool you can't 'fake'. You also can't find it, however, in a regular hardware store, so unless you have a real bonsai dealer nearby (and I don't mean Wal-mart :0), go online and get an 8" pair from either www.evergreengardenworks.com, or www.bonsaimonk.com, or Dallas Bonsai Gardens, etc. (and don't be tempted to buy everything else they sell yet as you really don't know what else you might want or need in future that can be faked with other things either from a hardware or even a manicure kit.

Thanks for your help Lucy, I got a pair of those concave cutters & cropped the top, It was dead I sealed the wound with cut paste. Im going to carefully repot it next week while its still dormant thanks for your help. -peace-