How to prune small-leaved elm bonsai

Pruning time for small-leaved elm bonsai

The small-leaved elm can be pruned during the growing season to promote the growth of side branches and leaves, and the leaves will become smaller, enhancing the overall ornamental value of the plant.

Pruning of elm bonsai

The tender tips of the branches of the small-leaved elm can be picked off when adventitious buds grow to prevent them from growing into forked branches in the future and affecting the beauty of the tree shape. They need to be pinched off in time. It has vigorous growth and will always produce fallen and yellow leaves, which need to be removed in time to maintain the beauty of the tree shape.

The shaping of the small-leaved elm bonsai should be mainly based on pruning, combined with bundling. The shapes are quite diverse, and can be made into cliff style, straight trunk style, lying trunk style, curved trunk style, inclined trunk style and other styles. Its branches are soft and can be coiled, and it has a well-developed root system, so it can also be made into stone-attached bonsai or root-lifting bonsai.

Tips for pruning small-leaved elm bonsai

When the new shoots of the small-leaved elm bonsai are 5-6 cm in length, they can be pinched and topped to control the plant height and promote the growth of side buds. It is also necessary to promptly prune dense, overgrown, old, diseased and insect-infested branches to make the nutrients more concentrated.

During the winter dormancy period of the small-leaved elm bonsai, dead branches, diseased branches, parallel branches, endophytic branches, etc. need to be pruned off. If the side branches grow too high, they should be shortened to 20-30 cm to promote branching, and dense branches, long branches, overlapping branches, etc. that affect growth should be thinned out. After sprouting in spring, pinch off the dense or upright new shoots, and generally leave 3-4 buds on the main and side branches.

Tips for pruning small-leaved elm bonsai

Every time you prune the small-leaved elm, do not prune blindly, otherwise it will affect the normal growth of the plant. Do not let rain, water or fertilizer wet the wound, otherwise it will easily cause the wound to rot. You can spray carbendazim after each pruning to prevent the wound from rotting.