in ground freeze areas.. the roots will become totally dormant upon ground freeze.. they do NOT need water at this point ... insure moisture at depth late into fall ... but do NOT freeze the roots into an ice cube ... and check deep moisture from thaw thru all of next year ... never forget ... a little surface water means nothing regarding the roots a foot down... water the complete root mass.. and then let them NEARLY dry.. before you water deeply again .. a good blanket of mulch will really help and.. NEVER FORGET.. roots need air as much as water.. so dumping water in winter.. freezing the roots into an ice cube.. will not be helpful .... ken ps: i warmer zones.. without ground freeze.. in theory .... the roots can keep growing.. all winter long.. and the tree will need the water you read about ... when you research.. try to find sources closer to your zone ... and you will get more appropriate info ...

Well ! There are many so called Chinese Elms. Many are Zelkova species. However I have been caring for these since 1972. That was when I was told it was an inside tree. It does not like overwintering inside : it gets dried out for one. This tree likes light as do most Bonsai , and plenty of it. I always keep these trees as normal outside trees, over wintering outside with a small bubble wrap cover. They need to lose their leaves just like any other broadleaf tree. Since I used this approach , I have never lost one. All my bonsai get a daily watering or two in a hot summer. Best is one early morning and another late afternoon. The Chinese Elm is just the same and loves this. I live in England near Warwick Castle. I prune these trees quite often and feed with Bio Gold solid blocks--2-3 each. This is a natural feed and you should never lose these to over feeding. These trees also need Oxygen for their roots so a fairly loose soil based on Akadama and Lava with a little compost and bark flakes.. Hydrogen Peroxide is excellent to improve Oxygenation is your soil is too soggy (repot ). You will need to dilute 3% HO2O as it can burn your roots if too strong mixture is used. I use a table spoon per 1/2 pint jug.. Most deciduous trees are hardy in my climate. So don't overdo the cocooning during winter.....during this time they don't need light at all , but should be kept just moist and no feed !!! or you will encourage growth during the winter , not what you want. So good luck . I hope this helps.

It's going to depend a lot on "normal" weather patterns and what the native trees are used to. In my area, recurring summer droughts are the normal pattern and natives have adapted to extended dry periods. However, this summer had been significantly drier than usual - broke a few records and have only received about 0.5 inch of rain since midJune and most of that has been in the last few days. Last previous measurable rainfall was 6/15!! (94 days without measurable precipitation!!) And the natives are getting restless :-)) Some drying and dropping of leaves on the deciduous stuff, also some early coloring. And everything else looks tired and droopy. Unfortunately, except for young seedlings, it is not common to see the real effect of drought stress immediately. It is often not until the next growing season that the true impact can be evaluated.

Did anyone get to take a peek at what I bought? Kara, makes a lot of sense! Thanks That Melocactus. is to die for. NOw that would be a very easy plant to take care of if left in a sunny warm room! Mes, so the DEAD of winter for me would be about the end of November until the end of February..That is when the sun has the least affect, acts like a light bulb and it's the shortest and coldest days here..I can't see them dying from being dry with a sip of water if that for just two and a half months.. Believe this or not, my local nursery waters theirs once a week even though their temps in there are very cool no matter what, and they don't loose any. Weird. Probably because of lots of light? They were loosing a few 'Aloe' plants though, they seem to despise cool and moist. Paul thanks I appreciate your offerings as always. Very encouraging..I could never keep them alive, but from looking at this and not asking for help in the past, I could see why. From I understand of this thread, if it is actively growing all winter under lights and kept warm, then water as usual, dry out between watering s and that's that.. If kept in a very cool room, less light, the dead of winter and if I want them to go dormant so I can encourage bloom, then pull back on watering all together for the time they are kept cool and dormant..This is my plan! So , I will continue to water and grow in a warm environment with added lights in a very sunny window until about the end of this month, then I will encourage them all to go dormant by introducing cooler temps to them once the mix is dry... As an experiment, I bought two of each so that I could actively grow some and the other half put to sleep as I would my fig trees, brugs and plumeria's. They survive in a cool dark basement with little to no water at all..Force dormancy. By spring I can see which ones survived, how well they did, and which ones bloom! I will keep everyone posted on my success.. It's STRANGE, but if I were to liken these to another type of plant that likes the same treatment, cool and left dry, I would liken them to annual tropical BULBS, the kind you pull from the ground , keep dry until you once plant them again since the bulbs themselves hold their own moisture without roots. The cactus hold moisture on the main plant while the roots go bone dry, as if the roots draw back moisture form the water in the cactus once they resume growing....The bulbs don't desiccate if treated right without water. From the bottom of my heart, thanks for all the great advice..