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Hello,

I recently (1-2 months ago) bought myself a chinese elm bonsai. The tree dropped all of its leaves a few weeks in when I got it because I forgot to water it for a few days, so my mom trimmed it into a very ugly shape. Now new leaves and branches are sprouting all over the tree (fortunately) and it looks very messy! I don't know what to do with it since the growth was so rapid. Am I supposed to trim the green branches yet?

The new leaves and branches are all over the place and very close to each other - should I cut some of them off?

Also, the tree is still in its plastic container I got it in - is the pot in the picture a good pot to repot it in? The plant saucer is attached to the actual pot, but the pot has a hole in the bottom for drainage. What kind of soil should I put it in?

Thank you for your help

This will answer most of your questions i believe.


During the winter you should double the time between fertilization.
The Material of the pot doesn't matter much as long as it has good drainage. Your soil however is not optimal.. tho i suppose it did save your tree since it retained a lot of water.

Additional pruning tips for elms:
#1 you only want to keep branches with acute angles
#2 you don't want a branch to subDivide into more than 2 subBranches at a node, that will cause unsightly thickening
#3 any branches pointing towards the trunk or downwards should be pruned away.

It would be best if it were to be placed outside under some shelter or something, and just be left to grow, obviously with the proper care, I wouldn't prune the thing like crazy though as this can definitely kill it. What I can say for sure is to repot it next spring with better soil.

Unfortunately I can't take the tree out now, since I live in the north and the poor thing would freeze to death (the night temperature is around 0°C or below here)

But I'll leave the main pruning for spring, thank you for your help

Since it's an elm you can't have it indoors in the winter, is should not go above 5°c but also not below 0°c.

Chinese Elm is a hardy species and will cope with -10C. Outside is the best place for it, but if it has been in a warmer environment then it needs to acclimatise first. The pot is far too big for the size of plant at te moment, but there is not much you can do at this time of year. Don't worry about pruning, just wait for next spring re pot and then sort the branches out. There is no such thing as instant, you need patience.