This is probably the one of the best videos i have seen to inspire new bonsai hobbyists. Especially showing that by taking cuttings you can have the opportunity to learn the art by yourself from scratch using dedication, time and patience to grow your own bonsai and take much more appreciation from the hobby.
I think that was the reason i did this in the end. It suddenly occured to me that these were the one species that anybody could have sucess with, with little or no knowledge to start :)
You're spot on about the mass imports Xavier. These trees are often doomed before you ever lay eyes on them and it gives such a bad first experience for many bonsai enthusiasts. They are often not cheap either, especially for your first tree which dies within the first few months.
I’m diggin everything you’re putting out here, good sir. My climate is too cold for too long for Chinese Elm, but the mindset is spot on for what I can grow here. Great video yet again, Xav. I appreciate you
An Oscar winning performance. Bought a Chinese Elm in a pot from Morrisons for £8, it was half dead through over watering, now a cute Mame, for next edition of "Subs corner". Best wishes and thanks Pat
Hi Your last message concerning hate speech etc I couldn’t agree more I’m bad at Bonsai but I really enjoy spending time doing it and watching your channel it relaxes me as it’s peaceful and a time to get away from the real world for a while keep all your good work up it’s really appreciated👍😊
I love Chinese elm, and even those cheap imports and £10 supermarket trees can be transformed into credible even beautiful bonsai. Just consider them as starting material. They are hardy, make credible mini trees, and have remarkably small leaves.
I think this is one of the best Bonsai videos I have ever seen. Now I realize why my three Chinese Elms seem to be my most favorite trees in my Bonsai collection. And yes, I cut a long rogue branch from one late this summer and dipped in rooting hormone before planting in potting soil just on a lark. It thrived and now 3 months later is well on it's way to becoming a new tree. I knew nothing about rooting cuttings and none of the other species I tried it with survived; but the Elm did. Thank you so much for making this video. I wish I could root cuttings now but we are in late Autumn here in Zone 8a. I can't wait for next spring.
Thank you so much for sharing my passion on these trees. truthfully, I have had success with hardwood branch cuttings or even smaller sized 'right now'. Not as succesful but they still often root. Give it a try and let me know :)
You mentioned Savin again my very local nursery. Good timing as I purchased another Chinese elm recently. I vouch that they're almost indestructible. I had one leaf out very late this year after being outside all year. Didn't know you could make cuttings so easily. You are clever Xav!
Love Chinese Elms! My wife bought me my first “real” curated bonsai as a gift, a Chinese Elm from Eastern Leaf ( in the US). I kept it in a small greenhouse over the winter, and it did well, already gotten several cuttings that I’m planning to do some of the very things you demonstrated. Very nice video Xavier!
It is so good to hear how other people are getting on with their elms. I often try to save the dying ones left alone on supermarket shelves...unloved :)
Hi Xavier. I am a newby from South Africa. Although we really seldom get the same species trees as you have in England, do I learn quite a lot from you. Chinese Elm are the only same species tree that I have in my collection. Most of mine are indigenous. Thanks for your positive attitude, a joke or two and good advice. Enjoy your day and God bless.
I think this is the best video on TH-cam about Chinese elms, great explanation of what can be achieved by taking cuttings, I’m trying to stay away from the mystical magical Chinese elm ‘S’ shape trees and go for a more natural looking tree. I still have some ‘S’ shape trees but I’m trying to refine them by cutting the branches back and creating taper and movement. 🙌🏻
It sounds like you know exactly how to get the best from this variety. They are just so forgiving and so versatile - it is amazing how great some of the older specimens look :)
Really super and well put together video. Will be great advice and help for many levels of bonsai-ists. Many of the imported Chinese elms of yesteryear came over in hardish river sand/mud removed straight from the river bank, dumped in a pot, of sorts and exported. If one was purchased like this, it needed a repot into better soil pretty soon as the river mud/soil did not allow decent watering as it dried out like concrete! In a warm room they died fairly quickly otherwise. I have a fifty year old cork bark Chinese elm grown from five year old tree as (well as about 40 other trees) and it has never been an indoor kept tree, summer or the depths of a cold winter. It’s deciduous!
@@XaviersBonsaiRetreatany advice for indoors? I just can’t put it outdoors, just near a window with a very strong sun (Mediterranean) or with a soft illumination.
@@neurosp In my experience you don't want extreme heat baking it through a window so I would find a spot that gets regular light but indirect sunshine most of the day. Keep an eye on the soil for watering. I tend to sit the pot in a bowl of water every 3 or 4 days in the UK. Hope this helps :)
Here in Finland we definitely have to take foreign species indoor for the winter. I thought I'd wait untill my Chinese elm would've turned its leaves yellow and dropped them to give it that winter cycle. But it never turned them yellow and never stopped pushing new leaves until we got our first night frost a few weeks ago. All the newly opened leaves got scorched and branches started to die off. I immediately evacuated it inside. Let's see if it survives. Magnificent tree though. During the summer I just let it grow to thicken the trunk and boy, grow it did!
Nice to see good content on chinese elms. I have had mine inside 5 years now, couple thick branches died so now I'm regrowing those. And I made mistakes in the beginning when I couldn't leave it alone to grow in peace. But now I know better. Though I need to get better nebari on to it so in some point I have to try ground layering to create better base. Great video yet again Xavier.
I definitely remember loving my first Chiese Elm to death. I wired out two very stringy shoots, created a jin, repotted it in the middle of winter...and off course kept it above a radiator :)
I love elms I currently have two I’m definitely going to start planting cuttings as I want more elms. Great educational video I really enjoyed it and you have great ones
Lol spot on. I tend to look for the reduced bonsai at diy or garden centre. My best Elm was a reduced tree over 20 years ago. Ive had so many cuttings from it. ❤
Great video Xav. You have some good looking elms there. I fall into the camp of not liking the S shape trees. I've got one and like you made many cuttings from it, which hopefully will turn into nice little trees like your in the future.
I find this the most satisfying part of bonsai - it helps that they are so easy to develop from cuttings as well. Most of mine are variations of informal upright :)
Xav, you have to stop predicting my next projects. Its getting weird! :) Seriously though, another great video. I came into possession of some Chinese elm seeds and this has given me a great insight as to what to expect next year. Many thanks, God bless
Great vid Xavier, defo gonna try your cuttings process! You didn't mention root cuttings, they are quite easy to do as well - plus you can get some nice contorted stems using that process
Funnily enough I have done videos on root cuttings - for some reason I have no success with Chinese Elm. yes...i know they are easy but for me they always fail...my Hawthorn root cuttings worked perfectly this year as did a thick English Elm :)
Gidday Xavier, This is a fantastic video, and just at the right time - I've got a couple of little ones that have at least doubled in size over the past month. I'll get a 'something' to put cuttings in, too . Thanks for the video 😊
A lot of Chinese elms are sold as Zelkova/Japanese elm in stores. Generally, they are grown for speed, and so the soil and such are wrong for long-term bonsai health. A good repot and such always does them wonders. Ive never lost a single one.
The key is exactly what you said - get it repotted early. Unfortunately so many new people to this hobby start with one of these elms and have no understanding that this is probably the top priority. They are still incorrectly labelled due to some import licence isssues I think.
This is a fantastic video and being new to bonsai was very helpful. It also made me bite the bullet and I just bought myself an elm today. It’s from a garden centre in the UK and has been kept inside. Given the time of year should I put this straight outside or keep it inside over winter and acclimatise it to the outdoors in the spring? I love my tree and don’t want to kill it. Thanks for all your videos. They are always great
I would probably keep it inside and prefereably on a ledge near the kitchen sink? Then next spring look at getting it ready for outside living. Please send me a picture - especially of the soil. expressionsbonsai@gmail.com
Honestly... I think those big old, highly ramified Chinese Elm's with gnarly trunks are some of the best looking bonsai too. They're not only amongst the best species for beginners, but you can experiment on them (I decided to practice trunk chopping on mine and literally cut it down to a 1" stump) and it most likely will come back and outlive most people.
Nicely done, Xav! Chinese Elms are indeed quite versatile and a force of nature! Did you manage to have eventually success with root cuttings? I did! I’ve got 6 thick root off during last repot and 100% survived! It took prolly 6 months before branches and leaves formed, I think other times I just gave up sooner! God bless!!!
I had a few make it but I find the branch cuttings work so well that I am not as bothered with them. I did have great success with my Hawthorn root cuttings :)
I've never seen one locally, but I see they are available at the largest online nursery at a cheap price locally grown and not in an S shape. I'll give it a try. Like a good propagation prospect! 😊
I killed my elm by keeping it inside all year and it didn’t go into dormancy properly. Whoops! That was years ago and never tried another one. Anyway, great home grown elms Xav! Really impressive! I’m tempted to start another one!
Truthfully - I take cuttings from elm and plant them between March and October. Some years I have loads of success and some...not so much. These are just so happy to send out new roots regardless of the conditions sometimes :)
Hi Xavier, very nice video. I have one Chinese Elm and one Zelkova, They look same. Can you tell me difference between them. Can I keep them outside? I live in central Europe and I greenhouse , Thanks
Outside should be fine if that is where you have been keeping them up till now. Cold frame certainly a great idea if you have temperatures plunging well below zero and they are in small pots. I did a 'funny' video entitled elmkova discussing the difference. Truthfully the zelkova has larger and pointier leaves than the chinese elm. In the uk they name most trade imports as zelkova when they are in fact chinese elm - something to do with import restrictions.
Would you ever air-layer as opposed to rooting cuttings? I have a yatsabusa elm, probably Seiju, grown 6 feet tall and would like to sever large branches.
From my experience do the air layer, unless you don't mind the branch very possibly dying. I successfully rooted two very thick straight branches just by sticking them in soil... they are now boring trunks with good growth. So I tried the exact same thing a few more times using some interesting branches and those didn't take, go figure.
You are right about airlayering if that option is available. I have had similiar results with branch cuttings - but I keep on sticking them in the dirt regardless :)
Great video and my Chinese elms are from seeds but less than 2 years or is it 2½ ? Anyway, have some time to go with them but hey I hope they will survive and then I can take cuttings like you hahah. I envy you to have access to cheap pots - here in Sweden they are usually a bit pricey. But that can wait as most of my material are pre-bonsai really😄
@@GrowingBonsai Just for information: No success with cuttings, but my big (30 cm) elm stays outside unprotected, every Austrian winter, doing well 😄😘 Cheers 🙋♀️
Do you just let them freeze in the pot in the winter? I live where it gets freezing and even 10-20 below zero during winter. Won’t that kill the tree in a pot? I am brand new to this stuff. What could I use for an indoor bonsai?
That is definitely different and that is why i talk about micro-climates so much. In my species guide for Chinese Elm I talk about the need to protect them if you start getting overnight temps at -5C and worse. I talk about protection if they are in pots as well. I know a lot of people who bring the chinese elm indoors for the cold months and throw them back outside once the sun starts to shine again in spring. In teerms of freezing in the pot - most of my trees will be in that stage in the deepest part of winter - but they are fully dormant and the tree can deal with this. If I have Mame bonsai then they go in the cold frame. i have done a full video on this in my seasonal guide playlist :)
Good video Xavier the most popular species for bonsai, shame is that its the species that puts people off bonsai for good, they are the most abused trees, the nurseries sell them as indoor trees which they are not. I remember in the early eighties, some people put them on top of the old style televisions others put them on the mantle, above the fire. All through lack of knowledge, or more to the point, lack of common sense. A lot of them are now imported from Holland, they do what you are doing at a much bigger scale, grow them from cuttings in growing beds as they do in China. You never hear of the Japanese growing elms and exporting them to other countries do you. The English elms were decimated by Dutch elm, as bonsai field elms are very much as easy to take cuttings from as the Chinese. That's my rant for the day, Take care my friend.
This is probably the one of the best videos i have seen to inspire new bonsai hobbyists. Especially showing that by taking cuttings you can have the opportunity to learn the art by yourself from scratch using dedication, time and patience to grow your own bonsai and take much more appreciation from the hobby.
I think that was the reason i did this in the end. It suddenly occured to me that these were the one species that anybody could have sucess with, with little or no knowledge to start :)
You're spot on about the mass imports Xavier. These trees are often doomed before you ever lay eyes on them and it gives such a bad first experience for many bonsai enthusiasts. They are often not cheap either, especially for your first tree which dies within the first few months.
I have spoken to so many people who have been put off bonsai for life because of a bad tree purchased from a big store.
I’m diggin everything you’re putting out here, good sir. My climate is too cold for too long for Chinese Elm, but the mindset is spot on for what I can grow here. Great video yet again, Xav. I appreciate you
My videos are not possible without great people like yourself my friend :)
An Oscar winning performance.
Bought a Chinese Elm in a pot from Morrisons for £8, it was half dead through over watering, now a cute Mame, for next edition of "Subs corner".
Best wishes and thanks
Pat
I shall be waiting for it :)
Excellent video Xavier, this will be helpful for a beginner
Thanks again
Hopefully we will have a mass uptake in Chinese Elm Bonsai being displayed in a few more years :)
Chinese elms are so under rated. When looked after and trained right they are a beautiful and rewarding tree to work with. Great video Xavier
Thanks Christophe. Those retail store imports have really given them a bad name :)
Hi
Your last message concerning hate speech etc I couldn’t agree more I’m bad at Bonsai but I really enjoy spending time doing it and watching your channel it relaxes me as it’s peaceful and a time to get away from the real world for a while keep all your good work up it’s really appreciated👍😊
Thank you so much for that David
Love that, it's my bonsai, and this is how I like it. You have no idea how much some of us need to hear this.
I think we can all fall under the spell of 'conventional' bonsai ethos...
Loved this one, commonplace as they are, you can never have enough of elms irrespective of whether you are a beginner or more advanced.
Well said :)
I love Chinese elm, and even those cheap imports and £10 supermarket trees can be transformed into credible even beautiful bonsai. Just consider them as starting material.
They are hardy, make credible mini trees, and have remarkably small leaves.
So true Jason
I think this is one of the best Bonsai videos I have ever seen. Now I realize why my three Chinese Elms seem to be my most favorite trees in my Bonsai collection. And yes, I cut a long rogue branch from one late this summer and dipped in rooting hormone before planting in potting soil just on a lark. It thrived and now 3 months later is well on it's way to becoming a new tree. I knew nothing about rooting cuttings and none of the other species I tried it with survived; but the Elm did. Thank you so much for making this video. I wish I could root cuttings now but we are in late Autumn here in Zone 8a. I can't wait for next spring.
Thank you so much for sharing my passion on these trees. truthfully, I have had success with hardwood branch cuttings or even smaller sized 'right now'. Not as succesful but they still often root. Give it a try and let me know :)
You mentioned Savin again my very local nursery.
Good timing as I purchased another Chinese elm recently. I vouch that they're almost indestructible. I had one leaf out very late this year after being outside all year.
Didn't know you could make cuttings so easily. You are clever Xav!
It is the tree that makes the cutting I just have to know how to poke it in the dirt :)
What a wonderful showcase of your Chinese Elm collection. Fascinating and informative. Thank you for the great tips Xavier!
They have been feeling neglected all season :)
Love Chinese Elms! My wife bought me my first “real” curated bonsai as a gift, a Chinese Elm from Eastern Leaf ( in the US). I kept it in a small greenhouse over the winter, and it did well, already gotten several cuttings that I’m planning to do some of the very things you demonstrated. Very nice video Xavier!
It is so good to hear how other people are getting on with their elms. I often try to save the dying ones left alone on supermarket shelves...unloved :)
Hi Xavier. I am a newby from South Africa. Although we really seldom get the same species trees as you have in England, do I learn quite a lot from you. Chinese Elm are the only same species tree that I have in my collection. Most of mine are indigenous.
Thanks for your positive attitude, a joke or two and good advice.
Enjoy your day and God bless.
I really apprecite the encouragement. Feel free to send a few pictures of your collection via expressionsbonsai@gmail.com :)
I think this is the best video on TH-cam about Chinese elms, great explanation of what can be achieved by taking cuttings, I’m trying to stay away from the mystical magical Chinese elm ‘S’ shape trees and go for a more natural looking tree. I still have some ‘S’ shape trees but I’m trying to refine them by cutting the branches back and creating taper and movement. 🙌🏻
It sounds like you know exactly how to get the best from this variety. They are just so forgiving and so versatile - it is amazing how great some of the older specimens look :)
Really super and well put together video. Will be great advice and help for many levels of bonsai-ists. Many of the imported Chinese elms of yesteryear came over in hardish river sand/mud removed straight from the river bank, dumped in a pot, of sorts and exported. If one was purchased like this, it needed a repot into better soil pretty soon as the river mud/soil did not allow decent watering as it dried out like concrete! In a warm room they died fairly quickly otherwise. I have a fifty year old cork bark Chinese elm grown from five year old tree as (well as about 40 other trees) and it has never been an indoor kept tree, summer or the depths of a cold winter. It’s deciduous!
That is really interesting information about the soil - I didnt know where it came from. I would love to see a picture of your elm :)
Love my Chinese elm I grow it happily indoors to help me through the dark days of winter
I know many people who happily keep them healthy indoors. What is your indoor care regime?
@@XaviersBonsaiRetreatany advice for indoors? I just can’t put it outdoors, just near a window with a very strong sun (Mediterranean) or with a soft illumination.
@@neurosp In my experience you don't want extreme heat baking it through a window so I would find a spot that gets regular light but indirect sunshine most of the day. Keep an eye on the soil for watering. I tend to sit the pot in a bowl of water every 3 or 4 days in the UK. Hope this helps :)
Here in Finland we definitely have to take foreign species indoor for the winter. I thought I'd wait untill my Chinese elm would've turned its leaves yellow and dropped them to give it that winter cycle. But it never turned them yellow and never stopped pushing new leaves until we got our first night frost a few weeks ago. All the newly opened leaves got scorched and branches started to die off. I immediately evacuated it inside. Let's see if it survives. Magnificent tree though. During the summer I just let it grow to thicken the trunk and boy, grow it did!
It is amazing how the temperature differences can change the care plan. I wouldn't have the space for all these if I was in your climate :)
@@XaviersBonsaiRetreat To be honest me neither. During winters my small apartment turns into a jungle!
Another excellent video Xaz, they truly are the work horse of the Bonsai world, even I’ve started a cutting by just poking it into a pot.
Just keep on poking :)
Excellent video, Xavier. This is a great video to show to people who are thinking of getting into bonsai. Well done, well thought out.
Cheers - another video that just 'happened' when i was startiong to prepare for Autumn.
Nice to see good content on chinese elms. I have had mine inside 5 years now, couple thick branches died so now I'm regrowing those. And I made mistakes in the beginning when I couldn't leave it alone to grow in peace. But now I know better. Though I need to get better nebari on to it so in some point I have to try ground layering to create better base. Great video yet again Xavier.
I definitely remember loving my first Chiese Elm to death. I wired out two very stringy shoots, created a jin, repotted it in the middle of winter...and off course kept it above a radiator :)
Excellent video Xavier, many thanks 👍
Cheers - it is always fun to chat about a tree you love.
Great video xavier you hit the nail on the head with this one,tfs
I appreciate you saying that Maria. These are the backbone of my garden...along with Larch :)
Very enjoyable Xavier. You've done a lot with your Chinese elms and saved a lot of money! Very impressive
The only issue is they need to be pruned so often! You would hate it :)
I love elms
I currently have two
I’m definitely going to start planting cuttings as I want more elms.
Great educational video I really enjoyed it and you have great ones
Thanks for that - as soon as I stopped keeping them indoors they thrived :)
@ I have just taken about 4 cuttings off an elm this morning so hopefully they take
Great video Xav, you rule!
Grts
Kennet
Not sure about that Kennet but I do love talking about this species.
Lol spot on. I tend to look for the reduced bonsai at diy or garden centre. My best Elm was a reduced tree over 20 years ago. Ive had so many cuttings from it. ❤
You know the truth already then Sue :)
Great video Xav. You have some good looking elms there. I fall into the camp of not liking the S shape trees. I've got one and like you made many cuttings from it, which hopefully will turn into nice little trees like your in the future.
I find this the most satisfying part of bonsai - it helps that they are so easy to develop from cuttings as well. Most of mine are variations of informal upright :)
Xav, you have to stop predicting my next projects. Its getting weird! :)
Seriously though, another great video. I came into possession of some Chinese elm seeds and this has given me a great insight as to what to expect next year.
Many thanks, God bless
Great minds...
Great vid Xavier, defo gonna try your cuttings process! You didn't mention root cuttings, they are quite easy to do as well - plus you can get some nice contorted stems using that process
Funnily enough I have done videos on root cuttings - for some reason I have no success with Chinese Elm. yes...i know they are easy but for me they always fail...my Hawthorn root cuttings worked perfectly this year as did a thick English Elm :)
Gidday Xavier,
This is a fantastic video, and just at the right time - I've got a couple of little ones that have at least doubled in size over the past month. I'll get a 'something' to put cuttings in, too .
Thanks for the video 😊
Great to hear - keep growing them on and before long you will be selling them all around the world :)
A lot of Chinese elms are sold as Zelkova/Japanese elm in stores. Generally, they are grown for speed, and so the soil and such are wrong for long-term bonsai health. A good repot and such always does them wonders. Ive never lost a single one.
The key is exactly what you said - get it repotted early. Unfortunately so many new people to this hobby start with one of these elms and have no understanding that this is probably the top priority. They are still incorrectly labelled due to some import licence isssues I think.
Nice to see the elms videos yes they are a all rounder thanks
I love how old they can look so quickly...just like me :)
This is a fantastic video and being new to bonsai was very helpful. It also made me bite the bullet and I just bought myself an elm today.
It’s from a garden centre in the UK and has been kept inside. Given the time of year should I put this straight outside or keep it inside over winter and acclimatise it to the outdoors in the spring? I love my tree and don’t want to kill it.
Thanks for all your videos. They are always great
I would probably keep it inside and prefereably on a ledge near the kitchen sink? Then next spring look at getting it ready for outside living. Please send me a picture - especially of the soil. expressionsbonsai@gmail.com
Honestly... I think those big old, highly ramified Chinese Elm's with gnarly trunks are some of the best looking bonsai too. They're not only amongst the best species for beginners, but you can experiment on them (I decided to practice trunk chopping on mine and literally cut it down to a 1" stump) and it most likely will come back and outlive most people.
So true - jason answered your question but I have a ton of editing to do for the video first :)
@XaviersBonsaiRetreat will you go quicker if I send you cookies? 🤤
@@antiduckable Always possible :)
Very useful video xav, the cutting you gave me is still alive, I'm thinking i m going to put it in a normal pot and let it get bigger 👍👍
Now that sounds like a good plan Dan
@XaviersBonsaiRetreat i put in a bigger normal pot after watching this 💪
Nicely done, Xav! Chinese Elms are indeed quite versatile and a force of nature! Did you manage to have eventually success with root cuttings? I did! I’ve got 6 thick root off during last repot and 100% survived! It took prolly 6 months before branches and leaves formed, I think other times I just gave up sooner! God bless!!!
I had a few make it but I find the branch cuttings work so well that I am not as bothered with them. I did have great success with my Hawthorn root cuttings :)
@@XaviersBonsaiRetreat Well done! I'll try hawthorn next!
I've never seen one locally, but I see they are available at the largest online nursery at a cheap price locally grown and not in an S shape. I'll give it a try. Like a good propagation prospect! 😊
Let me know how you get on :)
@XaviersBonsaiRetreat received my first Chinese elm today via online order. Let the fun begin! Must review your old elm videos.
@@malsrfun2956 Keep me in the loop :)
I killed my elm by keeping it inside all year and it didn’t go into dormancy properly. Whoops! That was years ago and never tried another one. Anyway, great home grown elms Xav! Really impressive! I’m tempted to start another one!
Don't be tempted...go ahead and do it :)
Whats the best season for cuttings propagation? Thanks
Truthfully - I take cuttings from elm and plant them between March and October. Some years I have loads of success and some...not so much. These are just so happy to send out new roots regardless of the conditions sometimes :)
Lovely job
Thanks raymond
Just a thought Xav how about a special Chinese Elm "Subs corner".
Pat
If people send enough pcitures or video clips then that would be a great idea :)
Hi Xavier, very nice video. I have one Chinese Elm and one Zelkova, They look same. Can you tell me difference between them. Can I keep them outside? I live in central Europe and I greenhouse , Thanks
Outside should be fine if that is where you have been keeping them up till now. Cold frame certainly a great idea if you have temperatures plunging well below zero and they are in small pots. I did a 'funny' video entitled elmkova discussing the difference. Truthfully the zelkova has larger and pointier leaves than the chinese elm. In the uk they name most trade imports as zelkova when they are in fact chinese elm - something to do with import restrictions.
I love to catch the minute of release 🥰😘
We could have an issue with translation on this comment :) Alays good to know you are ready for my upload Martina
@ 🤦♀️😂🤷🏼♀️ oh, dear… 😘
@@oachkatzlsmum I am so bad...
@@XaviersBonsaiRetreat Not bad. Just human. 😊😘
Would you ever air-layer as opposed to rooting cuttings? I have a yatsabusa elm, probably Seiju, grown 6 feet tall and would like to sever large branches.
From my experience do the air layer, unless you don't mind the branch very possibly dying. I successfully rooted two very thick straight branches just by sticking them in soil... they are now boring trunks with good growth. So I tried the exact same thing a few more times using some interesting branches and those didn't take, go figure.
They airlayer very easily - I just haven't bothered to do so with this species :)
You are right about airlayering if that option is available. I have had similiar results with branch cuttings - but I keep on sticking them in the dirt regardless :)
Portucaria afra has to be at the top my personal list...🤷♂️
Always a winner in my book
Could you tell us the name of that nursery as I missed it thanks.
Savin Nurseries - I did a full video on it a week or two ago :)
@ Thank you I will look up your video.
Great video and my Chinese elms are from seeds but less than 2 years or is it 2½ ? Anyway, have some time to go with them but hey I hope they will survive and then I can take cuttings like you hahah. I envy you to have access to cheap pots - here in Sweden they are usually a bit pricey. But that can wait as most of my material are pre-bonsai really😄
Just enjoy the journey and keep taking cuttings when you can :)
wait, what, one minute in and you tell me... You keep these outside!!?
@@GrowingBonsai Just for information: No success with cuttings, but my big (30 cm) elm stays outside unprotected, every Austrian winter, doing well 😄😘 Cheers 🙋♀️
I did the same with my kids :)
It is really surprising that you have no succes with them as cuttings - just keep trying and maybe water them this time :)
Do you just let them freeze in the pot in the winter? I live where it gets freezing and even 10-20 below zero during winter. Won’t that kill the tree in a pot? I am brand new to this stuff. What could I use for an indoor bonsai?
That is definitely different and that is why i talk about micro-climates so much. In my species guide for Chinese Elm I talk about the need to protect them if you start getting overnight temps at -5C and worse. I talk about protection if they are in pots as well.
I know a lot of people who bring the chinese elm indoors for the cold months and throw them back outside once the sun starts to shine again in spring. In teerms of freezing in the pot - most of my trees will be in that stage in the deepest part of winter - but they are fully dormant and the tree can deal with this. If I have Mame bonsai then they go in the cold frame. i have done a full video on this in my seasonal guide playlist :)
@@XaviersBonsaiRetreat Thanks. I'll continue watching and learning.
❤❤❤❤❤ .
Thank you
👍👌🙂
Thanks Bruce
👋👌👍
I love my elms
Maybe it’s because of my already limited space, but I‘ve never managed to get my elm-cuttings rooted… 😅🤷🏼♀️
how come? These are normally easy peasy
@@GrowingBonsai nobody knows… I even followed your guideline, Jelle… 🤷🏼♀️
That was your mistake Martina - Jelle knows I get better results with cuttings than him :)
@@XaviersBonsaiRetreat definitely my mistake, Xavier. Had success with your technique neither…
@@oachkatzlsmum
Good video Xavier the most popular species for bonsai, shame is that its the species that puts people off bonsai for good, they are the most abused trees, the nurseries sell them as indoor trees which they are not. I remember in the early eighties, some people put them on top of the old style televisions others put them on the mantle, above the fire. All through lack of knowledge, or more to the point, lack of common sense.
A lot of them are now imported from Holland, they do what you are doing at a much bigger scale, grow them from cuttings in growing beds as they do in China.
You never hear of the Japanese growing elms and exporting them to other countries do you.
The English elms were decimated by Dutch elm, as bonsai field elms are very much as easy to take cuttings from as the Chinese.
That's my rant for the day, Take care my friend.
My videos wouldn't be the same without 'Joe's Rant'... :)