Chinese elm help

[Alex_B]

Hello all,

So recently the leaves of my Chinese elm have started to go yellow. At first I thought maybe the soil wasn't draining the water properly, since that happened to me last time, so I decided to change the soil and put the elm into a bigger pot. However, I've noticed that the leaves are still turning yellow and it looks like at a more accelerated rate now.

I have been fertilizing it regularly so that shouldn't be an issue and I'm not sure if I'm over watering it because every time I go to water I check the soil with my finger (about half a fingers depth) to see if it is dry.

The root system also looked good when I re-potted it so I'm not sure what is going on now. So I was just wondering if anyone had any advice as to what could be happening here? I've started to get a bit worried because more leaves are turning yellow everyday and it looks like it may have even lost a third of its leaves already.

[KIRKY]

I’m in Melbourne too and I’m not having any issues with any of mine. Chinese Elms are pretty tough so not sure.
When did you repot? When did you start to fertilise? How much and what type of fertiliser are you using? What type of soil did you plant it in. Is it the same type of soil it was previously in? Is it outside? In full sun or shade? Whats the depth of the pot? How often are you watering? All these questions need to be supplied. Without a photo we need more info in order to help.
Cheers
Kirky

[TimS]

Same here, my Chinese elm is very happy in S.E Melbourne. More info as above and photos would be helpful.

[shibui]

Chinese elm do not like too much shade. Where my sale trees are crowded together the leaves turn yellow and drop.
Inside the house is usually too dark for them to grow well and the same may happen.

Weather has warmed considerably through spring. Growing trees are also using far more water than earlier. Drying out also causes leaf drop as the trees cannot keep up water to all the leaves.

One other possibility is if the tree did not drop leaves in winter the older leaves will now be unproductive so the tree will ditch those in spring. Usually that has already happened by now.

Pictures can often give vital clues you may not even have considered. For better advice try attaching some photos of the whole tree, close up of new shoots and the affected parts.

[tgooboon]

When did you repot? I repotted mine in August and it took a while to regain strength, to the point where i throught it was not going to make it in october. But since then it has come back strong and is covered in healthy growth.
i replanted some cuttings at the same time and they never missed a beat

[Alex_B]

Thanks for all the responses. I'll try to give as much detail as possible.

I’m in Melbourne too and I’m not having any issues with any of mine. Chinese Elms are pretty tough so not sure.
When did you repot? When did you start to fertilise? How much and what type of fertiliser are you using? What type of soil did you plant it in. Is it the same type of soil it was previously in? Is it outside? In full sun or shade? Whats the depth of the pot? How often are you watering? All these questions need to be supplied. Without a photo we need more info in order to help.
Cheers
Kirky

I re-potted about 3 weeks ago but I only slip potted it so I didn't prune any roots but I did have to tease the roots out a bit so they did get disturbed. I tried not to bother them too much though. However, I did notice that a few leaves started to turn yellow before I re-potted which is one of the reasons why I re-potted it as I thought it needed a change in soil.

I have been fertilizing about once a week since the beginning of spring. I use powerfeed liquid fert and the elm was looking very strong up until now. I used a new type of soil from the bonsai nursery I go to. I potted all my trees with this soil and none of them have had any other issues besides the elm.

The elm is in full sun all day. Its pretty much in the center of my garden so it gets plenty of sun throughout the day. I slip potted it into a 11.7cm deep (17.5cm wide) pot from a 10cm deep pot (15cm wide). Both pots are orchid pots so they should have good drainage. I usually water it when the first few centimeters of soil feel dry, which I determine by just pushing my finger into the soil. I could have been under watering it and letting the soil get a bit too dry as I always try to water when the soil feels more dry than moist.

Chinese elm do not like too much shade. Where my sale trees are crowded together the leaves turn yellow and drop.
Inside the house is usually too dark for them to grow well and the same may happen.

Weather has warmed considerably through spring. Growing trees are also using far more water than earlier. Drying out also causes leaf drop as the trees cannot keep up water to all the leaves.

One other possibility is if the tree did not drop leaves in winter the older leaves will now be unproductive so the tree will ditch those in spring. Usually that has already happened by now.

Pictures can often give vital clues you may not even have considered. For better advice try attaching some photos of the whole tree, close up of new shoots and the affected parts.

It could be an under-watering issue but I am not sure if there is a difference in the way the leaves look when they are under watered compared to over watered. Some of the leaves do have brown, dried edges so that might be a sign of under-watering?

I attached a few photos which hopefully show enough detail. The tree looks very wet because we have just had a bit of rain.

[shibui]

Leaf symptoms of both under and over watering are virtually the same because in both cases the roots are compromised and cannot supply enough water to the leaves. To tell the difference you need to examine the roots.
As you have recently repotted and did not notice anything amiss I would rule out over watering as a cause of any problems.

The photos show plenty of healthy new growth. I would be quite happy with growth like that on a Chinese elm this time of year. The few dying leaves are all in the interior and are likely to be older leaves. Shedding older leaves is a normal function so not a cause for concern.

Any extra leaf shed could be related to being a bit dry in the smaller pot or as a reaction to the repot. Your tree will recover from both of those issues.

[Alex_B]

Leaf symptoms of both under and over watering are virtually the same because in both cases the roots are compromised and cannot supply enough water to the leaves. To tell the difference you need to examine the roots.
As you have recently repotted and did not notice anything amiss I would rule out over watering as a cause of any problems.

The photos show plenty of healthy new growth. I would be quite happy with growth like that on a Chinese elm this time of year. The few dying leaves are all in the interior and are likely to be older leaves. Shedding older leaves is a normal function so not a cause for concern.

Any extra leaf shed could be related to being a bit dry in the smaller pot or as a reaction to the repot. Your tree will recover from both of those issues.

Thanks heaps for the advice Neil. It seems like I have less new yellow leaves today than I have the past few days so hopefully that means it will be recovering soon. I think I might have also let it dry out a bit too much after the repot which probably hasn't helped the tree.

Either way thanks heaps for the help!

[KIRKY]

Looks good to me. Think it may be the later repot and lack of water. As previously state these things are pretty tough.
Cheers
Kirky

[Alex_B]

Looks good to me. Think it may be the later repot and lack of water. As previously state these things are pretty tough.
Cheers
Kirky

Thanks for the help Kirky. Hopefully it stops defoliating soon.