Help please - chinese elm dying - still dormant

[AndreyC]

Hello, i got a chinese elm back in august of last year, the tree seemed very happy and a lot of new shoots appeared, I tried to take care of it the best way I could, it was mostly an indoor tree which I know isn't the best but I had no safe spot for it outside.
When temperaturas dropped I kept it in a unheated room close to a window, the heat was off in that room so it stayed at about 10/15 degrees celsius. The tree started to loose its leaves in December and by the end of January it completely defoliated.
When that happened i decided to prune it back a lot because it was loosing it's form and wired it. Kept it in the same conditions, I did also add a small computer fan next to it because it was developing a bit of white mold over the substrate, which also happened in all of my other plants as well so i didn't pay much attention to it.
I did spray some fungicide every now and then but the fan seemed to help a lot.
The tree has not shown any sign of life since.. There were some new blooms but they did not open and seem to have dried up. Back in March seeing that the temperatures were rising inside the house (18/20 celsius) and the tree seeming dormant, I decided to put it outside, were temperatures got to about 15 dueing the day and 1/0 degrees at night.
I didn't over water the tree, only watered it when the soil seemed stiff and didn't bounce back.
I removed the wire and took some pictures.. If any of you have any advice please help me...
Right now temperatures are at about 25+ celsius outside but the tree still shows no life. The roots seem ok they have no smell of rot or anything. I was waiting for the tree to bud to put it in a slightly larger pot and in an akadama mix. But since no budding happened I didn't do it.
I did not fertilize over winter btw.
Please help me i dont want to lose the tree it seems gone through, cutting some branches they are still green inside so maybe there's a chance.
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[AndreyC]

Oh, forgot to mention I live in Spain, i know this is an aussie forum but you guys helped me in the past

[Raging Bull]

Hi Andrey, a couple of things first up. The tree looks to have filled the pot with with roots, so any water you apply probably won't penetrate far enough to be beneficial. Soak the bare rootball in a container of water overnight and then try to tease the roots out and prune about 30% off them. Try to do this without removing too many healthy roots. Re-pot with a free-draining potting mix in a slightly larger grow-pot, that is, a deeper and wider pot, not a small bonsai pot.
Prune a couple of smaller branches, or just scrape the bark in a few places to see if there is still a green layer of cambium under the bark. If there is still green, there is still hope. Put it in a sunny spot and water regularly as required. If the branches are dry and brittle the tree has most likely died.
Hope that helps a little and good luck.

[AndreyC]

Thanks a lot for the advice, I will do that, i normally bottom water the tree and leave it about 10 minutes to soak up everything it needs so maybe it managed to get some water in.
There is still green, I cut back a little of some smaller branches and it still green in the middle I will try what you said and see if I can save it

[AndreyC]

Hi Andrey, a couple of things first up. The tree looks to have filled the pot with with roots, so any water you apply probably won't penetrate far enough to be beneficial. Soak the bare rootball in a container of water overnight and then try to tease the roots out and prune about 30% off them. Try to do this without removing too many healthy roots. Re-pot with a free-draining potting mix in a slightly larger grow-pot, that is, a deeper and wider pot, not a small bonsai pot.
Prune a couple of smaller branches, or just scrape the bark in a few places to see if there is still a green layer of cambium under the bark. If there is still green, there is still hope. Put it in a sunny spot and water regularly as required. If the branches are dry and brittle the tree has most likely died.
Hope that helps a little and good luck.

I have akadama and kiryuzuma 50% mix should I use that or just some other well draining soil?

[Bougy Fan]

The biggest issue I see is the tree is kept inside all year round. It is a tree and has to grow outside in the sunshine

[KIRKY]

It needs to be repotted and placed outside, water as required, they like a good watering when being watered.
As for the potting mix I would not be too concerned about it.
Chinese Elms are very hardy and will happily grow in any medium. First get it healthy then decide what you want to do with it. The fact that it is still dormant in your area could be due to temp and also how much sunshine it is getting.
So repot, sunshine and water. Feed once it starts to produce leaves. The fact that you still have green on the cut branches means it is still alive and should sprout once it gets warmer and sunnier.
Cheers
Kirky

[AndreyC]

Thank you all for the replies, yes the tree has been outside for almost 3 months now, I repotted it in a larger container and there was some root rot I think, there were some mushy roots that i removed. Hopefully it will come back to life.

[kcpoole]

Hi Andrey, a couple of things first up. The tree looks to have filled the pot with with roots, so any water you apply probably won't penetrate far enough to be beneficial. Soak the bare rootball in a container of water overnight and then try to tease the roots out and prune about 30% off them. Try to do this without removing too many healthy roots. Re-pot with a free-draining potting mix in a slightly larger grow-pot, that is, a deeper and wider pot, not a small bonsai pot.
Prune a couple of smaller branches, or just scrape the bark in a few places to see if there is still a green layer of cambium under the bark. If there is still green, there is still hope. Put it in a sunny spot and water regularly as required. If the branches are dry and brittle the tree has most likely died.
Hope that helps a little and good luck.

I have akadama and kiryuzuma 50% mix should I use that or just some other well draining soil?

Akadama mix will be fine for the tree. Suggest it needs some outside time

Ken

[bonsaibrightlogpolar]

First off, moving your tree outside when temperatures started to rise was a smart move. Sometimes a change in environment can kickstart a plant's growth. Now that it's getting warmer outside, there's still hope for your tree to come back to life.

Since the roots seem fine and you've been mindful about watering, it's possible that your tree is just taking its sweet time to wake up from its winter slumber. Give it some more time and keep an eye out for any signs of new growth or budding.

When the time feels right, you can consider repotting it into a slightly larger pot with an akadama mix, but let's wait until you see some positive signs of growth before making any major moves.

Hang in there, my friend! Plants can surprise us sometimes, so stay patient and keep providing your Chinese Elm with the care it needs