chinese elm Time

ELMS,,Are all leaved out.. now the problems start again !!! some leaves are curling up,,no sign of bugs,, some turning yellow some black at the ends of the leaf !! I NEED A SPRAY ,,insect and fungus this year.... i do not want this all year long please ...take care and thank you john

Could be too wet

BILLY,, I don,t know ,,my elms do this every year.. thank you john

I agree with Billy.
Sounds like your trees roots are being kept to wet. What is your soil mix?

Mitch

MITCH,, The soil is turface and bark,but though it drains pretty good maybe it is not fast enough.. thank you john

John
Maybe your mix is to organic and is retaining to much water. For the last few years I have been using a nonorganic mix of haydite and thrifty sorb on All of my elms They seam to prefer a more sandy clay like akadama, but I find it to expensive and hard to find so I have found thrifty sorb has many of the same charteristics of akadama. Any way this works for me.

Mitch

And be sure to water so the leaves do not get wet. You can't stop the rain, but every day wetting of the leaves can be a problem in some areas.

JimLewis wrote:And be sure to water so the leaves do not get wet. You can't stop the rain, but every day wetting of the leaves can be a problem in some areas.

Good to know. Thanks for the tip.

I cant resist, but in this case I think it's warranted:

MITCH,,, WHERE DO YOU FIND THRIFTY SORB ?? THANKS JOHN

Do you have the elms in full sun?
Iris

John
I buy mine at O'Riellys auto parts for about $10 for 40lbs. You can expect or lose 10 lbs when sifting.

Here is a shot of one of mine this morning, it's need of its 3rd hair cut this spring.

hi,
it is hard to comment with our climates being so different but the trees are exactly the same. I've had the same ch. elm 20 years now and and would say you have root problems causing the curling (as there are no tiny catapillars in the curls ?) - and a weak tree with something deficient causing the yellowing so underfed or poor light conditions

My elm is the only tree i keep in proper old fashioned organic soil - compost, bark, leaf mould and perlite, it thrives and there is probably no such thing as 'too organic' a soil as they are a deciduous forest tree so grows in rich soil. Mine lives outside and exposed all year to rain....a lot, snow about 5 winters in 20, frost.....every winter but only 4-8 weeks where it may drop to -8C at night, 0 to -1C in day . I have never put the tree in a greenhouse or garage either. I certainly water the leaves - full drench and have never sprayed the tree with any chemicals - elms can drop all their leaves if they dont like the spray and this can further weaken a weak tree. I do get the little catapillars that curl up the leaves - just squash the leaf when you spot them

Feed them though - they produce 1000's of leaves and are constantly making new buds, plus they grow very very fast so all this energy needs food.

this one has developed well over the years following this route -early pic and last year


cheers Marcus

Marcus
Very nice elm you have there. You have made a excellent point here. Being a international fourm with many different growing zones and temperate ranges. We all must adapt our horticulture to our own individual needs. Here we deal with mostly mild winters, copious rain fall, wiltering heat. So our own techniques are different but effective for each of us.

John sence this seems to be reoccurring you need to search out what will work for you and your horticultural practices, on this specie of tree.

Mitch

West Virginia has a moderate, temperate, mountain climate, not unlike parts of Europe, USDA Zone 6. Should be ideal for Chinese elm. Something is wrong, & I don't think a spray is the answer, unless you have thrips, although I haven't heard of thrips (singular & plural) on Chinese elm.
Iris

Sounds like a repot is in order, John -- and NEW soil.

Or stick it in the ground for a year and see if that helps anything. One of mine lost the complete top 1/3 for some reason, and putting it in the grow bed helped it recover. If nothing else the ground will moderate any soggy feet from the pot.

I THANK EVERYONE,, Who has posted since my last look at my topic !!!!! maybe i do need a re pot Jim but all 4 of them are in full leaf.. is that not too late to repot a elm ??? i would like to have the soil all of you use so soil would not be a question... i may do it anyway,i am tired of this with the leaves.. i looked still no bugs or worms.. thank you take care john

I would not repot at this time, but you could stick them in the ground in a sunny location. If not, just make sure they dry out more between waterings. Take one of the trees to the local agricultural extension agent. Get a very strong magnifying glass & unfold one of the crinkled up leaves. Thrips are very tiny. If they are there, you will just barely be able to see them. In that case, you will need a systemic insecticide, such as Bayer's Tree & Shrub.
Iris

Do they look like this?
http://ipm.ncsu.edu/cotton/insectcorner/photos/images/Thrips_terminal_damage.jpg
Iris

MRS IRIS,, THE leaves that curldo not have the black spots.... some leaves turn black but stay not curled..i will cut back on water and see what happens...thank you for your help take care john

I'm having the same probelm... Black dots on leaves, a few curling, and some yellowing. I'm thinking too much water. I repotted this year in the monestary mix, but didn't sift. There's a good bit of bark that could be a problem. Thanks for this thread, I don't feel so alone :0

Posting a photo to hopefully get the required advice... Not trying to thread jack.

sorry but my aging eyes need a much larger photo to determine anything other than it looks like an elm.

Hometeamrocker,,, AS near as I can see,,We have the same problem almost... the picture is too small but i can see some of thethings that is happening with my elms..maybe we can find a cure !!!!! take care john