The deciduous Chinese elm wears a dense leaf dress. As a bonsai, it is undemanding and tolerates longer periods of drought and forgives too much moisture. Temperature fluctuations are also not a problem. If your Chinese elm still loses its leaves, you may be at a loss at first. In the following you will learn about possible causes for the atypical leaf shedding of deciduous trees.
There can be various reasons when the Chinese elm loses its leaves
Common Causes
Four factors or care errors cause leaf loss in the Chinese elm:
- a change of location
- pests and diseases
- wrong watering
- wrong fertilizing
relocation
Changing temperatures or light conditions, which often occur during the winter period, increase the metabolism and thus the energy consumption of your Chinese elm. In order to save energy reserves, the deciduous tree sheds its leaves.
pests and diseases
A disease infestation of a Chinese elm as a bonsai is rare, but only rarely occurs. Before you resort to aggressive pesticides, you should first rule out the other care mistakes. If your Chinese elm grows in its natural form, you should carefully monitor it for signs of the dangerous Dutch elm disease.
Wrong watering
Your Chinese elm needs a lot of water. If you water the sapling too little in summer, the leaves will die quickly, especially on windy days.
Wrong fertilizing
Some fertilizers contain so-called nutrient salts. These pull the water from the roots of the plant. Your Chinese elm is going through an osmotic shock due to the undersupply. It can no longer take care of its leaves and consequently discards them. Chinese bonsai elms that are grown in greenhouses are very sensitive to the plant protection product Perfection.
Fast help with leaf loss of the Chinese elm
The top priority is that you do not act hastily in the event of a hand loss. It is best to seek the advice of an expert if you are unsure of the cause of the leaf drop. As a first measure, you should increase the watering quantity and the light supply. Cut back branches that have already lost leaves and are not producing new shoots. You can never go wrong with organic fertilizer.