Hey guys,

I owned a bonsai before when I lived in Italy, but we had one of the coldest winters in 50 years and it didn't make it . I thought i'd give it another shot - so here's what i'm planning, I'd love your expertise.

So I bought a Chinese Elm - first thing I noticed when I got him is the root structure was already right at the edges of the pot (some leaves were a little yellow too) - I decided to re-pot him asap in to something a little bigger. I gently separated the roots with a blunt object and put bonsai soil in the pot, fertilised the soil and now he's sitting pretty in his new house.

I put him outside every day so he can get the sun he needs, but during the winter months, I've also created a little grow light shelf to help him out (pictures attached). I'd love your opinion on this, as I haven't really seen many topics on it. I know bonsai shouldn't be grown indoors, but in the UK climate I think it's important to have a contingency for when it's too cold / there isn't enough light.

What do you guys think? Are the grow-lights completely useless?

I've named him Geoff btw

I still want my tree to drop its leaves in winter, my concern is if it's going indoors and outdoors will it get confused and stress the plant out?

Equally how do you avoid it getting killed by frigid conditions.

yeah pretty much everything you wrote will eventually kill your ridicolously named mallsai

My Chinese Elm has been out when we have had -10C. Your plant is just as hardy and IT belongs where it will get cold. That is OUTSIDE
If you must put it under cover then a cold greenhouse will suffice.

Hey welcome to the empire!

Nice to see you getting back into it.
Moving a tree in and outside frequently is not a good idea. Just as you get bit of a shock when you walk outside, trees also need to get settled. Plants take much longer to adjust to changing conditions. So there adjusting is a process that takes days to weeks, rather then seconds. So every time you move it outside, it gets disrupted and it never gets to settle. So typically, plants that are kept indoors over winter, are moved inside at the end of fall. To stay indoors untill it is safe to move them outside.

By the way.. Chinese elm can stand a good level of frost as long as it has been staying outside from the fall (!). DId yo utake a look at what kills bonsai in winter?: www.growingbonsai.net/what-kills-bonsai-in-winter/

Okay so I've moved my tree outside, he'll stay out there all summer & winter. My only worry is that geoff's roots will get too cold. Hopefully the bigger pot will help prevent that. Is it uncommon to put some insulation around the pot during winter months to avoid root damage?

Madartej21 wrote: yeah pretty much everything you wrote will eventually kill your ridicolously named mallsai

How dare you call geoff a mallsai. You're a mallsai.

Porgie91 wrote:

Madartej21 wrote: yeah pretty much everything you wrote will eventually kill your ridicolously named mallsai

How dare you call geoff a mallsai.

Still better than calling it geoff.

:lol:

Porgie91 wrote: Okay so I've moved my tree outside, he'll stay out there all summer & winter. My only worry is that geoff's roots will get too cold. Hopefully the bigger pot will help prevent that. Is it uncommon to put some insulation around the pot during winter months to avoid root damage?

Is winter over where you are?