AusBonsai

Hi

I have a small healthy chinese elm that I am thinking of defoliating to get some ramification.
Do you think it is too late given there is probably just 3 months of growth left in the season?

Thanks,
DL

am still defoliating mine and have defoliated as late as mid Feb with no hiccups. Just give them good aftercare.

bodhidharma wrote:am still defoliating mine and have defoliated as late as mid Feb with no hiccups. Just give them good aftercare.

What would be the best aftercare post defoliation?

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Thanks Bodhi.

Pearcy001 wrote:What would be the best aftercare post defoliation?

Hi Pearcy, good aftercare means not much water until budburst, misting, keeping it in a protected spot from to much sun and wind (dappled shade is good) until leaves are starting to harden off. Once you have budburst start a feeding regime. This is a good aftercare regime if you can manage it.

I don't or rarely defoliate any of my elms, particular this time of the year. Combination of very hot days and very hot winds or heat wave conditions easily means dead trees. I find that waiting til after they drop their leaves, autumn. This exposes the branch structure, then trim the branches accordingly thus creating the least amount of stress on the tree. Fert with slow release and in late winter- early spring give them a boost with something like seasol/power feed combo or dynamic lifter
Cheers RodM

Melbourne and Tamworth are very different animals Rod. How is the Country and music festival going? My in Laws headed up there this year and are having a hoot.

viewtopic.php?f=129&t=7459&start=15#p174330

This might prove helpful at this point in time.

Ye ha thank god its &@$?" its over for another 12 months. Yep I hear what you are saying, being a Victorian by birth I remember it being very hot and lately it's been a bit of heat wave down there. It's a bit of a different climate here. These are my tried and trusted techniques that work for me up here. These can be modified for others
Cheers RodM

Gotta say that defoliating completely hear in Perth at this time of year is not a problem at all.

Chinese elms here in Perth very rarely drop their leaves even in winter.

Every climate is different, you just have to watch the growth habits of your tree in your area and modify techniques to suit your environment.
cheers,
JEff