Chinese elm looking a bit bare

[Sean vb]

Hi. I'm new to bonsai and have had one about 7 months, I have a Chinese elm and I find it is quite bare / sparse and not too bushy.

It has a good spot on the window sill where it gets a nice amount of morning light (up until about 11.30) then the sun moves away from being 'direct'. I rotate it daily so each side gets good exposure and I believe I'm watering it correctly, keeping the soil moist and not letting the soil completely dry out.

Any tips for getting a bit more 'condensed' growth?

Thanks,

Sean

 

[n8]

Get it outside in full sun.

 

[Sean vb]

Get it outside in full sun.

Assume take it in overnight or leave it out as well ? (South England, approximately 3-8c overnight at the moment)

 

[TomB]

Leave it out, unless the forecast drops below freezing again.

 

[Sean vb]

Leave it out, unless the forecast drops below freezing

Do I have to keep it shielded from the heat of the day sunlight or just leave it in sun and let it do its thing?

 

[PA_Penjing]

Do I have to keep it shielded from the heat of the day sunlight or just leave it in sun and let it do its thing?

typically you wouldn't have to worry about heat/sun in England but because this elm has been indoors for so long you'll have to slowly introduce it to the sunlight or it will scorch

 

[TomB]

It’s April in England, it’s very unlikely to get scorched. If you’re worried, then put it somewhere semi shaded for the first week or so.

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

 

[IsaM]

I live in London and have a Chinese elm. Would stick it outside and only bring it in if we have more spring frost forecast (I really hope we don’t!!). Not immediately, give it a couple of weeks of morning sun only but given our general lack of sunlight hours, once it’s acclimatised you’ll want it somewhere where it gets sun for as much of the day as possible.

would then leave it outside all year round. I only protect mine when it gets really cold ie -:3 and beyond and it’s happy as anything.

 

[zedmarcus]

I'm in south lincolnshire and my Chinese elms stay outside all the time. I only put them in my shed for about a week or two over winter when we had the really cold night time temperatures of below -5. Rest of the time they're outside in full sun all the time.

 

[Sean vb]

Thanks for the response all, I'll get it outside and hope this helps