Chinese Elm looking droopy!

[p_anova]

Hey all,

So I have this Chinese elm that is looking very droopy. All of the leaves are pointing down and I cannot figure out what is going on. It has never done this before. It is still in its original soil because I am trying to thicken the trunk but it came from a bonsai nursery so I know that it is not in some clay/mush amalgamation. It gets morning sun along with its fertilizer. I checked the roots/soil and it is very wet and spongy. I assume that it is starting to get pot bound but we are out of season for a repot. Can anyone tell from the photos if I have some sort of fungal infection? I have inspected for aphids and other bugs but did not find anything. I have also sprayed with neem oil/fungicidal soap as a preventative, never in sun amd I always rinse the next day. I know they are a tough tree so it kind of has me worried. The leaves are also pretty big, is this even a Chinese elm? It might have been labeled wrong and I just didn't know. I have another Chinese Elm which is absolutely killing it. All of the leaves are turgid and small so I am just puzzled by this guy.

 

[vp999]

If its pot bound, you can use a power drill to drill lots of holes into the soil to give it more room, drill away from the nebari though.

 

[p_anova]

If its pot bound, you can use a power drill to drill lots of holes into the soil to give it more room, drill away from the nebari though.

I will give that a try tomorrow unless anyone has any objections. Thanks for the response fellow DC person.

 

[kale]

If its potbound you could lift it out of that pot and see a huge solid mass of roots and it wouldn’t even know you lifted it. If thats the case you could revive it for this year by lifting and adding a small layer of soil on the bottom of the pot and sides. Then trim the roots next year.

 

[p_anova]

If its potbound you could lift it out of that pot and see a huge solid mass of roots and it wouldn’t even know you lifted it. If thats the case you could revive it for this year by lifting and adding a small layer of soil on the bottom of the pot and sides. Then trim the roots next year.

Ooooooooo, I like that I idea. Maybe give that a try along with the soil drilling. If I pull the tree up and it ends up being a mandrake though, the whole thing will be put in the trash. Creepy.....

 

[sorce]

Almost looks zelkovish.

Side by side with Chinese Elm?

Could be a hybrid.

Sorce

 

[p_anova]

Pulled it. Fortunatley no mandrake but I did find ants. Roots look ok. Can I neem oil the root ball and put it back in the pot?

 

[rockm]

Pulled it. Fortunatley no mandrake but I did find ants. Roots look ok. Can I neem oil the root ball and put it back in the pot?View attachment 444316

Were the ants inside the rootball? If so, that's an indication that the interior of the root mass is staying too dry or has dried out. Ant-infested soil can become hydrophobic-- hard to re-wet. Pushing drill bit, or chopstick down from the top to the bottom of the soil mass repeatedly all over can help that a bit.

 

[discusmike]

Also can set whole pot in a container of water and let sit for a bit so it can get saturated

 

[p_anova]

Were the ants inside the rootball? If so, that's an indication that the interior of the root mass is staying too dry or has dried out. Ant-infested soil can become hydrophobic-- hard to re-wet. Pushing drill bit, or chopstick down from the top to the bottom of the soil mass repeatedly all over can help that a bit.

Ants were on the outside. I did the chopstick test and the soil was moist on the interior. Regardless, the root ball got Dextered with the chopstick, I am pulling the fertilizer and will keep it in the shade for now. I also sprayed the rootball with neem oil/soap mixture. Hopefully this works.

 

[JesusFreak]

Definitely a zelkova. Mislabeled

 

[rockm]

Definitely a zelkova. Mislabeled

Yeah, it is a zelkova. Zelkova are sometimes mislabeled on purpose by importers as chinese elms. Zelkova has more import restrictions than Chinese elm.

 

[p_anova]

Definitely a zelkova. Mislabeled

Alrighty then. Thank you for the ID.

 

[JesusFreak]

Alrighty then. Thank you for the ID.

It looks really healthy to me. Just in a summer droop. But aren’t we all ?!

 

[GGB]

I'm staring at a zelkova landscape tree as I type this and it's leaves are hard drooping. Might just be a heat thing/summer thing? all my seedlings are droopy and arching too

 

[p_anova]

I'm staring at a zelkova landscape tree as I type this and it's leaves are hard drooping. Might just be a heat thing/summer thing? all my seedlings are droopy and arching too

Ok. I think that the panic came from the fact that I have another "Chinese Elm" with leaves that look amazing and pointy. The fact that it is a zelkova and not a Chinese elm puts things in perspective. Now I feel bad for giving him the prison SAMCRO shank treatment for no reason.

 

[GGB]

fall color should be wayy nicer too

 

[p_anova]

My "other" Chinese elm.