Just got my first Chinese Elm from G at Kaizenbonsai. Highly recommend his service and bonsai trees.

I live in the UK Scotland and lets see if i can keep this one alive. Its placed outdoors in full sun. Wish me all the best.

Cool kaizen is a great site where in Scotland do you stay ? I'm in east ayrshire

Hi.
Yeh its great i purchase everything from that site.

I live in Edinburgh. Do you have an Elm?

Actually I don't have an elm , I've been collecting loads of different species but I still don't have an elm , how long have you been into bonsai for ?

I do wish you all the best
However I would repot it right away from what appears to be a transport substrate, wire it to the pot a bit neater way without wires showing on top and replace that totally uninteresting rock for some nicer and bigger one if you want to have a rock there.
PS - safest way as we all know is repotting when the buds swell, but in my opinion and experience elms can take it anytime and will be better off in a modern substrate. Taking into consideration you are in Scotland, wet conditions will help it to thrive after repotting I guess.
Mine survived full sun after repotting in spring with leaves out right after purchase, used (used???) to indoor conditions.
PS2 - it is not the recommended way to do things and I am not taking any responsibility if you do it :evil:
PS3 - my small chinese elms are going totally nuts their second (some third) year in zeolite - I was going for clip and grow technique with the prospect of having nice crowns on some of them by the end of this season, but I have no idea how to do it with branches growing from everywhere now :lol:
PS3 - sorry for crowding your post with my shite, I will update my elm penjing threads tomorrow :whistle:

Krištof wrote: I do wish you all the best
However I would repot it right away from what appears to be a transport substrate, wire it to the pot a bit neater way without wires showing on top and replace that totally uninteresting rock for some nicer and bigger one if you want to have a rock there.

I see absolutely no reason for repotting. I have purchaased from Kaizen in the past, and so far all trees have been in suitable substrate. I would wait till next spring, and then replant it & wire it in a bit nice. But that is aestetics, and not health reasons.

That being said.. The rock is a bit of a gimmick and I would not want it in the pot .

So you think that this mass produced chinese elm is not in the transport substrate and with all the trees they sell they took time to repot this one in something better?
I am aware that some bonsai centres tell people that the tree they are buying was just repotted while it sits in the soggy transport substrate with akadama on top.
I despise this and have to tell people when I see it. (I am not sure if this is exactly the case here, nor that it IS transport substrate, I am just assuming)
My first chinese elm was also not in need of repotting and would wait another year according to salesman - then the leaves started to turn yellow so I did repot and found a huge cavity - hole in the mud ridden transport substrate right under the tree.

Enaisio wrote: Actually I don't have an elm , I've been collecting loads of different species but I still don't have an elm , how long have you been into bonsai for ?

About 2 years i would say! I have Ficus plants also. Even got a ficus forest few off them are dropping aerial roots

So is this Elm just been put into soil and mixed with akadama then? I looks like it has been mixed with soil and akadama or some sort. I could wait till next spring to repot it.

I see that Kaizen is Graham Potter´s bonsai shop.
Much respect for the man.
Anyway - while browsing through what they have to offer and seeing regular mallsai chinese elm with the description:



•This tree has a superb trunk, good bark and quality branch structure
and "top quality bonsai tree"

well ... I don´t know what to say to that.

So what are you saying? I'm new so sometimes its hard to tell.