AusBonsai

Hi Guys, I have a Chinese Elm that is already starting to bud. I guess I am just surprised that it has started so early. At this rate it will have fully bloomed by the end of winter. Does anyone else have an elm in the same situation?

Most of mine are still growing. The downside to growing this far north, Makes repotting time a very small window which i reckon will be in about 4 weeks. My varigated elm has gone dormant however. If it needs repotting you have to say do i do it now and risk a possible cool snap and frost down the track. I think you could repot now if needed and give protection. see what other members living closer to sydney may do.

Hi Jester, this is fairly typical for Chinese Elms I've discovered. I have a few that never seem to fully go dormant, and then I have one which always will??? I just recently had to move some from a sakei planting of mine because I discovered grubs all through the soil (I was given it by someone and was always going to break it up in spring but this discovery moved things ahead, they were still in leaf btw), so I split three into a new planting and separated the other two into singles and off they went budding all over the place.

Some won't grow as fast through winter but they'll still grow. It's not a problem, I'm fairly sure they're semi-deciduous and can handle it unlike maples.

It's been damn cold here too.

Yep sounds about right. I'm find that unlike many other species, they have seasonal personalities all of their own

Yeah jester I have 2 now been in bud for a couple of weeks now
Several others did not lose any leaves at all so far

Normal for an elm

All the ones i collected are pushing. I believe though that chinese elms only go full dormant the older they get and some younger ones dont loose any leaves at all...

my largeest elm which i would say is about 15-20 year old which has been feild grown for most of that time i would say only 3-5 years in training as it is still developing goes through this.
it didnt really have a dormancy stage as such this year. leaves were still hangin in as a whole new flush of growth started about 4 weeks ago. which is supposed to still be winter. but my climate is still quite warm here in the wide bay during winter. only really get coldish late at night and very early morning. makes a bit of frost occasionally although by 9:30 am, its warmed up to average of 25 degrees.
dedpending on where you live and the location of the elm these guys can be semi deciduous. therefore not l,osing there leaves at all sometimes.
i generally defoliate or semi defoliate mine to get rid of any of the older larger leaves. this helps one in leaf reduction and 2 in ramification.
so i would take the oppurtunity of this if your elm is going to be in full leaf by the end of winter to maybe sneak in a defoliation and get an extra growth period. thats if it is established and healthy. if your going to have a full flush of growth by the end of winter i would do this myself. maybe a couple of pictures of your tree would help? i really just want to see it lol.