The deciduous Chinese elm has a dense foliage. When kept as a bonsai, it is undemanding and can tolerate long periods of drought and tolerates too much moisture. Temperature fluctuations are also not a problem. If your Chinese elm still loses its leaves, you may be a little at a loss at first. Below you will learn about possible causes for the atypical shedding of leaves in the deciduous tree.
Why is my Chinese elm losing leaves?
A Chinese elm loses leaves due to relocation, pests or diseases, incorrect watering or fertilization. To stop leaf loss, increase watering and light, cut back bare branches and use organic fertilizer.
Common Causes
Four factors or care errors cause Chinese elm leaf loss:
- a change of location
- Pests and diseases
- incorrect watering
- incorrect fertilization
Change location
Changes in temperatures or lighting conditions, which often occur during overwintering, increase the metabolism and thus the energy consumption of your Chinese elm. To save energy reserves, the deciduous tree sheds its leaves.
Pests and diseases
A disease attack on a Chinese elm tree as a bonsai is rare, but only rarely occurs. Before you resort to aggressive pesticides, you should first rule out other care errors. If your Chinese elm is growing in its natural growth habit, you should carefully monitor it for signs of dangerous Dutch elm disease.
Incorrect watering
Your Chinese Elm needs a lot of water. If you water the tree too little in summer, the leaves will quickly disappear, especially on windy days.
Incorrect fertilization
Some fertilizers contain so-called nutrient s alts. These draw water from the roots of the plant. Your Chinese elm is experiencing osmotic shock due to undersupply. It can no longer supply its leaves and therefore throws them off. Chinese bonsai elms grown in greenhouses are very sensitive to the pesticide Perfecthion.
Quick help for Chinese elm leaf loss
The top priority is not to act hastily if you lose a hand. It is best to seek the advice of an expert if you are unsure about the cause of the leaf shedding. The first step you should take is to increase the amount of watering and the supply of light. Cut back branches that have already lost leaves and are not producing new shoots. You can't go wrong with organic fertilizer.
