Chinese Elm (Ulmus parvifolia) M %

 

        a fast grower; takes heavy top pruning and pinching ; don’t give extra Iron or high Nitrogen fertilizer, especially not well into autumn: that could cause winter twig die-back; when leaf pruning, allow only the last 1/4″ of the petiole to remain; a dead growing-season elm has dry green leaves, brown leaves are normal end-of-season alive; if in doubt about whether to water or not right now, don’t water: large specimens are fairly forgiving; can defoliate completely in early January to help give some dormancy to; perhaps every other year defoliate in August just before the fall growing season starts; when trimming the fine branches at the end of limbs, trim the end of each limb or branch as a unit so that the outline of the tree is not smooth but consists of many small sections of foliage that are smooth locally; propagation from cuttings very successful; “Catlin” is the variety of choice; “Seiju” is hardier than “Hokkaido” but both of these very small-leaf varieties have brittle branches.    [Ulmaceae; Rosales]     SEE ALSO BCI Plant Sheet.