Big Chinese elm won't leaf.

[Daxpg]

Hey Guys,

I'm Dax and new to the forum. The main reason I joined, is because i'm really worried about my big Chinese elm. It is now almost the end of may and it still doesn't have any buttons or leaves. This winter we had a flash freeze i did not expect, so the tree got frozen.

It is alive because it is still green under the bark. Do i need to feed it? Do I need to cut down the amount of twigs? Please help me. This is my tree

 

[Daxpg]

Of course... By feeding I don't mean give it meat... But tree food .

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Where are you located?

Where are you keeping it?

Is it taking water?

Do twigs easily snap off when bent?

What shade of green is the cambium layer when you scratch the bark?

 

[Daxpg]

I'm located in Dordrecht, The Netherlands.

At the moment i have been keeping it in my garden, with some hours of sun.

how can i see it is taking water?

No not all twigs snap off. Most are still bendy

It's darkergreen at the bottom and very lightgreen

 

[Bill S]

Was it outside during the winter, I mean did you store it outside in the cold or protected inside?
When did you take it from storage to warmer, has it been getting sun?

You say flash freeze, was the tree in the cold all winter, does it not freeze normally where you are?

 

[Daxpg]

Well, I let it stand outside during summer and Autumn, When winter came it was quite a mild winter. Nothing below zero. I was away for a while when one night it froze a minus 12 celcius for a few days. I work shift so to be honest I forgot about it. The ground was frozen. I put it inside the house after only a few days. When the end of winter came I put it back outside to get fresh air and sun. ( So yes it gets sun).

And by flash freeze I mean it went from roughly 5C to -12C in one day.

 

[stacy allen muse]

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[tanlu]

I love this tree!!!! It's an excellent example of a fine Chinese Elm! How old is it?

I also recommend giving it as much full sun as possible. Water it only when the top 2 cm of the soil is dry. You may want to try feeding it high-nitrogen fertilizer. It looks a bit pot-bound. I wonder if repotting would help reinvigorate it?

Theo

 

[edprocoat]

Thats a beautiful tree, I was wondering with all the green moss on the soil surface is it usually kept real wet? The reason I ask my experience with chinese elm varieties are that they do not do well constantly wet, although this tree is well developed so it must have been doing fine most of its life.

ed

 

[jk_lewis]

With no leaves, it will need very little water. Let the soil dry out between waterings. If the soil is wet enough to grow moss, you likely have the start of root rot. I'd recommend that you lift the tree from the pot and smell the rootball. If it smells fresh, just return it to the pot and water carefully. If it smells rotten, wash off all the old soil and comb away the dead roots and repot into a good, coarse bonsai soil, and again -- water carefully.

Good luck.

 

[stacy allen muse]

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[Daxpg]

Thanks guys for the amount of replies. Definately show you guys care.

I have put the tree inside at the moment. We hade a very rainy few months. Right now it's about 25 C outside during the day (about 77 fahrenheit).
I have a very sunny place in my kitchen. So i'm going to let the ground dry out. About removing the tree from the pot is a bit scary for me. First of all I've never done this before and I'm worried the tree might be too weak and by doing something straining, like unrooting the tree, might really kill it.

At the moment i'm looking to get the ampouls to give your tree a little boost. Although I don't want to burn the roots.

 

[rockm]

"have put the tree inside at the moment. We hade a very rainy few months. Right now it's about 25 C outside during the day (about 77 fahrenheit).
I have a very sunny place in my kitchen. So i'm going to let the ground dry out. About removing the tree from the pot is a bit scary for me. First of all I've never done this before and I'm worried the tree might be too weak and by doing something straining, like unrooting the tree, might really kill it.

At the moment i'm looking to get the ampouls to give your tree a little boost. Although I don't want to burn the roots."

This is one of the worst things you can do to it. Indoor conditions will add to the stress. If you're overly concerned about the rain outside, move the tree to a sheltered place outside, like under the eaves of your house--out of the rain.

Indoors, the humidity levels and light are far too low and the tree will struggle even more to compensate.

Also, don't give the tree fertilizers, "pick me up" additives, or anything. It can't use them, as its roots aren't functioning. Those additives will remain in the soil and can build up, complicating things even more.

Simply move the tree outdoors to a place where it gets four hours or so of morning sun. If it rains, either move it underneath the eaves, or tilt the pot to one side with a brick underneath to speed drainage.

Lastly, "mothering" it too much will kill it. Without a complete emergency repot that strips all the old soil and replaces it with fresh new soil (which might not be necessary) there isn't much you can do for it now except wait and see.

 

[Daxpg]

Sadly, I have no place for the tree to stand shielded from the rain in my yard. Neither do I have a place for it in the morning sun.
It gets sun from around 12 pm until as late as the sun sets. I suppose that should suffice. I will have to try that tilting tip, because there is going to be a lot of rain tomorrow again. Maybe I could make an umbrella construction.

So it's a definite no-go on the fertilizers etc.

So the tips I've gotten from you guys:

- Let the ground dry out and give it only a little water.
- A lot of sun , At least four hours
- No trimming (I wouldn't even dare at the moment)
- If all else fails i could try re-potting it (brushing away the dead roots)

 

[stacy allen muse]

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[Brian Van Fleet]

Agreed. Set it outside and watch the water. It's either dead already, or something is going to sprout. If/when it does, it should have the benefit of outdoor conditions.

 

[Daxpg]

Here are some pictures where i put it. and the colour of the tree beneath the bark.

 

[daygan]

Daxpg, you said in your original post that

it still doesn't have any buttons or leaves.
View attachment 23590

Do you mean that it doesn't have any buds? Not even dormant winter buds that would have set in autumn before it went dormant? If so, I wonder if you have a slightly more serious problem... I don't have the experience to know, i'm just wondering, and defer to more experienced members for insight...

 

[Klytus]

I think it's a goner,some Beech went the same way for me this year.

It was fortunate as i now have less unrefined stuff to worry about.

 

[Daxpg]

I will not give up so easily. I will just have to wait and see. This was such a beautiful tree and I know it's still alive. It just needs to get its shit together. As long as it is still green it's not dead. As i can see from the above comments It has probably been getting too much water. So not giving up until I'm very sure that it's actually dead (like no green on beneath the bark)