MiteyF
Sapling
Bear with me. I've included quite a bit of this tree's background to (hopefully) aid in your guys' advice...
I've just recently gotten into bonsai, having had a few jades and other indoor plants over the last few years. About 2 weeks ago I picked up a small Chinese Elm from a local bonsai-specific shop. The owners are an older Asian couple that are very knowledgeable and VERY helpful. They have some exquisite trees!
This elm I purchased was with a batch they received from China which are bred as bonsai starts, and are sold as "indoor" bonsai. From my reading it seems this is typically not the case with elms, but have read that some elms from Southern China are bred in a warmer climate and thus do "well" as indoor bonsai. They had a few others (a bit older) that were about shohin sized, and were kept as indoor trees, which looked to be quite healthy. They had received this particular shipment of elms a few weeks prior, which were supposedly shipped during a dry spell. Many of these elms did not make the journey, but this was one of the ones that pulled through. When I got it, it had hardly any leaves, but the owner assured me that given lots of sunlight (daytime highs are ranging form 60-95 here in the past few weeks), it should come back nicely. She even said that if it died, I could bring it back and pick up another for 1/2 price. I bit, and picked one out.
In the first 2 weeks since I got it, I've had it outside the entire time, with temps ranging from 40 overnight to 95 during the day. It kept dropping the few leaves it had, and I was afraid it was on its last legs. Today however, I noticed a good amount of new buds! Hoorah, it's still alive! However, I don't know what to make of this... should an "outdoor" tree be budding this late in the growing season? Is this because it's been kept as an indoor tree and isn't expecting a winter dormancy?
What I'm wondering now is, should I keep this tree inside this winter, as it's likely been bred as an indoor tree, then keep it outside next year and raise it as an outdoor elm for the rest of its life? Or should I bite the bullet and let it live outside this winter? Right now I'm leaning towards bringing it in (I've got lights, it won't be sitting near a cold, drafty window) and letting it recuperate from the trauma of being shipped, then placing it back outside next spring and letting it thrive outdoors as I've read elms should.
What's everyone elses advice on the matter?
I've just recently gotten into bonsai, having had a few jades and other indoor plants over the last few years. About 2 weeks ago I picked up a small Chinese Elm from a local bonsai-specific shop. The owners are an older Asian couple that are very knowledgeable and VERY helpful. They have some exquisite trees!
This elm I purchased was with a batch they received from China which are bred as bonsai starts, and are sold as "indoor" bonsai. From my reading it seems this is typically not the case with elms, but have read that some elms from Southern China are bred in a warmer climate and thus do "well" as indoor bonsai. They had a few others (a bit older) that were about shohin sized, and were kept as indoor trees, which looked to be quite healthy. They had received this particular shipment of elms a few weeks prior, which were supposedly shipped during a dry spell. Many of these elms did not make the journey, but this was one of the ones that pulled through. When I got it, it had hardly any leaves, but the owner assured me that given lots of sunlight (daytime highs are ranging form 60-95 here in the past few weeks), it should come back nicely. She even said that if it died, I could bring it back and pick up another for 1/2 price. I bit, and picked one out.
In the first 2 weeks since I got it, I've had it outside the entire time, with temps ranging from 40 overnight to 95 during the day. It kept dropping the few leaves it had, and I was afraid it was on its last legs. Today however, I noticed a good amount of new buds! Hoorah, it's still alive! However, I don't know what to make of this... should an "outdoor" tree be budding this late in the growing season? Is this because it's been kept as an indoor tree and isn't expecting a winter dormancy?
What I'm wondering now is, should I keep this tree inside this winter, as it's likely been bred as an indoor tree, then keep it outside next year and raise it as an outdoor elm for the rest of its life? Or should I bite the bullet and let it live outside this winter? Right now I'm leaning towards bringing it in (I've got lights, it won't be sitting near a cold, drafty window) and letting it recuperate from the trauma of being shipped, then placing it back outside next spring and letting it thrive outdoors as I've read elms should.
What's everyone elses advice on the matter?
