Chinese Elm - Should I replace this soil?

[Cdcurnick]

I want to start off by saying that I am new to the art of bonsai, and received my first tree (Chinese Elm) from Eastern Leaf about 2 weeks ago. I have a lot of other experience in other hobbies involving living things that I think will lend itself well to bonsai. So far it has been doing great, but the soil that it came is is the Eastern Leaf Organic Blend. From my reading that I have done, I learned at an inorganic soil would be best. The soil it has now appears to drain well, and dries out quickly, but I know that it will likely eventually break down and start holding water and potentially lead to root rot. Should I bother with changing the soil to an inorganic blend? Is there any premixed blend that anyone recommends?

I was thinking about getting this soil to use instead: https://www.bonsaioutlet.com/supplies/soil-blends/bonsai-premium/

Or possibly buying this kit and blending my own: https://www.bonsaioutlet.com/supplies/re-potting-seasonal/premium-bonsai-soil-3-pack/

Here’s some photos, I know that ideally the elm should be kept outdoors, and I am currently working on remedying that (I don’t have a yard, just a Juliette balcony that I might be able make something to use to hold the tree).

 

[Cdcurnick]

Update... I pulled the trigger and bought the pack to mix my own soil. Still unsure if I am actually going through with it, but since its spring time it is probably the best time to unless I want to wait a year. Anyone have any advice? Should I do a full repotting and bare root the tree (minimizing root trimming?) or basically just swap the soil around the root ball?

 

[Rivian]

That thing does not look potbound to me. Consider repotting in August if you want to aim for a good nebari. Maybe the tree was repotted recently so seems like a waste to change the soil now

 

[Cdcurnick]

That thing does not look potbound to me. Consider repotting in August if you want to aim for a good nebari. Maybe the tree was repotted recently so seems like a waste to change the soil now

Thanks for the reply. Yes it doesn't appear to be potbound, but some roots are coming out of the bottom holes (no mesh nor wire holding the tree in). I am more worried about the soil not lasting a year before it starts holding too much water and then repotting at a sub-optimal time.

 

[Rivian]

Since you keep it as indoor tree/ evergreen, its not ever going to have these big fluctuations in stored energy so the concept of repotting at the wrong time doesnt apply as much.
Especially when you trim the top along with the roots.
Let the soil surface dry to the touch, then submerge in water. Should be fine that way for a year, no problem.

 

[Cypress187]

You need good draining soil, your soil doesn't look very drainable to me, it looks like potting soil.

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorry to have left you hanging off that Juliette Balcony since Monday!

What does that mean? It only holds the weight of a small lady?

Sorce

 

[Cdcurnick]

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorry to have left you hanging off that Juliette Balcony since Monday!

What does that mean? It only holds the weight of a small lady?

Sorce

Thanks, haha it definitely is crazy. A Juliette balcony is basically just a door that opens to the outside with a railing there, as you can see from the photos. There’s no actual “patio” to stand (place trees) on.

 

[sorce]

Thanks, haha it definitely is crazy. A Juliette balcony is basically just a door that opens to the outside with a railing there, as you can see from the photos. There’s no actual “patio” to stand (place trees) on.

Those things bug the shit out of me! Thanks for not posting a pic from the street view! lol!

Of the soil change, some folks will say you're passed the window of opportunity, I, throw rocks threw that dumbass window, it is dumber than a JB!

Sorce

 

[Cdcurnick]

Those things bug the shit out of me! Thanks for not posting a pic from the street view! lol!

Of the soil change, some folks will say you're passed the window of opportunity, I, throw rocks threw that dumbass window, it is dumber than a JB!

Sorce

Drives me crazy too! I’m currently working on finding a rectangular/flat plantar box that I can hang on it so I can place my tree outdoors, as well as for future use because there’s a few other outdoors only species that I want as well. Proving to be difficult to find, but it would give me the best of both worlds as I would be able to see my trees from inside my main living area, but they would be living outdoors

 

[sorce]

Apartment Bonsai

The purpose of this thread is to brainstorm the title. Let's not let lack of space determine our ability to PUT STUFF OUTSIDE! My windowsills are 5inches wide. So I made my pots as such. My sills. L-R Semi cascade Buckthorn. Ground cover that leapt to the next pot. Next pot. Ulmus "layer at...

www.bonsainut.com

Sorce

 

[Cdcurnick]

Apartment Bonsai

The purpose of this thread is to brainstorm the title. Let's not let lack of space determine our ability to PUT STUFF OUTSIDE! My windowsills are 5inches wide. So I made my pots as such. My sills. L-R Semi cascade Buckthorn. Ground cover that leapt to the next pot. Next pot. Ulmus "layer at...

www.bonsainut.com

Sorce

Theres a lot of great ideas in there, thank you for sharing! Might have to rethink my idea.

I am currently thinking something like this, but a big larger: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07M79CGVT/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A38NHB2YCTYHKH&psc=1

 

[Deleted member 32750]

Go ahead and repot it into substrate. Even if it were already reported before you got it, it will be ok to change the soil out. I bought the same tree from them last year and left it in the soil for the entire growing season and can say from experience that soil will cause a lot of problems - it’s like 90% potting soil with a sprinkle of turface lol. You don’t need to do any rootwork or anything just tease out the crappy soil and repot with good soil. If your tree is like the one I got from them, it probably doesn’t have very much root mass at all. My recommendation would be to get it in good soil and let it grow to get healthy and build better roots. The good news is those are good trees to learn and make mistakes on because they just don’t die. I broke all the rules on mine last year and it’s still kicking

while that one is growing try to find some other vendors to get good material from because, again from experience, their material is just like the soil. Crappy

 

[Cdcurnick]

Go ahead and repot it into substrate. Even if it were already reported before you got it, it will be ok to change the soil out. I bought the same tree from them last year and left it in the soil for the entire growing season and can say from experience that soil will cause a lot of problems - it’s like 90% potting soil with a sprinkle of turface lol. You don’t need to do any rootwork or anything just tease out the crappy soil and repot with good soil. If your tree is like the one I got from them, it probably doesn’t have very much root mass at all. My recommendation would be to get it in good soil and let it grow to get healthy and build better roots. The good news is those are good trees to learn and make mistakes on because they just don’t die. I broke all the rules on mine last year and it’s still kicking

while that one is growing try to find some other vendors to get good material from because, again from experience, their material is just like the soil. Crappy

Honestly I think that is where I am at with it. Just swap out the soil without doing root work since it is early spring-time for me, and I do plan to move it outside once the temperatures are warmer on average. I may or may not bare root it depending on what it looks like. I aerated the soil it has now a bit this morning and the root ball is not very large, and I can see how this soil is going to become problematic based on my experiences with other non-bonsai plants. EL recommended that this soil be aerated regularly and I feel like that would become problematic as the roots grow. The tree itself is great & healthy, but as I know now more than I did, next time I definitely am going to get trees that I pot myself.

 

[Deleted member 32750]

Honestly I think that is where I am at with it. Just swap out the soil without doing root work since it is early spring-time for me, and I do plan to move it outside once the temperatures are warmer on average. I may or may not bare root it depending on what it looks like. I aerated the soil it has now a bit this morning and the root ball is not very large, and I can see how this soil is going to become problematic based on my experiences with other non-bonsai plants. EL recommended that this soil be aerated regularly and I feel like that would become problematic as the roots grow. The tree itself is great & healthy, but as I know now more than I did, next time I definitely am going to get trees that I pot myself.

You will be fine bare rooting it I think. I bare rooted mine in late fall early winter and did some major pruning at the same time and it’s popping buds left and right now. I practically dared it to survive and it said “challenge accepted” lol

as far are keeping it outside, you can leave it all year around. I’m about four hours south of DC where you are and it doesn’t get too cold for these guys

 

[Cdcurnick]

Just wanted to update this thread for anyone looking for this answer in the future....

I went ahead and repotted it with a boons mix + some charcoal a few weeks back. When I removed it from the pot, the root mass was almost the entire bottom half of the pot! It very clearly was not recently repotted, but was very healthy. I ended up trimming the roots a bit and have let it grow for the past few weeks. I’ll be doing a bit of pruning






On another note.... I picked up a Brazilian Rain Tree as well. I practiced some wiring on it today, but in al honestly the top half of the tree will be getting pruned back in the future. It’s been growing like crazy!

 

[andrewiles]

Drives me crazy too! I’m currently working on finding a rectangular/flat plantar box that I can hang on it so I can place my tree outdoors, as well as for future use because there’s a few other outdoors only species that I want as well. Proving to be difficult to find, but it would give me the best of both worlds as I would be able to see my trees from inside my main living area, but they would be living outdoors

I'd never heard of a Juliette balcony. But now that I've googled it, I'm angry.

 

[Cdcurnick]

I'd never heard of a Juliette balcony. But now that I've googled it, I'm angry.

View attachment 367046

At first I thought it was a great idea, but now I hate it. I had both doors accessible for a while, but realized how dumb they are and moved my couch so that it blocks one door, and now my plant stand blocks the other. The natural lighting is nice, and my plants and trees love it, but with the weather and bugs here in DC it’s rarely nice enough outside to open them. Still plan on utilizing the railing for planter boxes but put off the execution as I’m having surgery this week and having it easier to get to will be beneficial during my recovery.