I recently purchased a Chinese Elm that is a beautiful little tree that I'm very happy with. The store I purchased my tree from advised me to keep the tree outside spring,summer, and fall and to put it in a garden shed over the winter. I live in an area where temperatures drop to -40f in the winter which I explained at the store but the clerk just said "yup put it in a shed outside". Everything I've read said that the tree should be brought inside and kept in a cool room with lots of sun...I'm not sure what to believe.

Ymeiasku wrote: I recently purchased a Chinese Elm that is a beautiful little tree that I'm very happy with. The store I purchased my tree from advised me to keep the tree outside spring,summer, and fall and to put it in a garden shed over the winter. I live in an area where temperatures drop to -40f in the winter which I explained at the store but the clerk just said "yup put it in a shed outside". Everything I've read said that the tree should be brought inside and kept in a cool room with lots of sun...I'm not sure what to believe.

No one on this forum has ever said that trees should be brought inside - but ofcourse you knew, as the first thing you did was using the search feature on this forum to see if others have asked the same question, which would be likely, right, as chinese elm is one of the most used species, so the question is one of the most asked ones?

www.bonsaiempire.com/forum/search?query=...6/2019&childforums=1

Good to see that at least some sellers do give proper advise.

Thank you for the oh so warm welcome....being new to bonsai and this forum is off to a great start thanks to you and your beyond friendly advice.

Used the search and still can't find the answer I'm looking for...Is putting this tree in a shed or just covering it in winter the way to go? Can the tree be damaged in very harsh snowy winters?

Hi, welcome.
Yes, it could be damaged in harsh winters.
Just put it in a unheated garage and it will be fine in winter.

What you should do with a tree depends on the tree species and local weather. Find some people in the area, preferably a club, and see what they do. They know the weather where you are better than people on the web site here.

Hi, and welcome.

Chinese elm can take low temperatures. Up to -10C (~14F) is normally not a problem for them in winter, assuming they have been outside in fall. If it gets colder than that and/or stays at that level for a long period of time it is best to protect them.

Bringing them inside in the house in a cold room is an option. But risk there is that the plant does not stay dormant. Best is a place that stays around freezing.

Thanks for the help everyone.