AusBonsai

In the past couple of weeks The leaves on the leader of this Chinese Elm(? not sure of species) have begun to die off. No sign of disease or pest, they just go yellow and die off.
I'm worried that the whole branch is dying off, whereas the growth towards the back of the plant is strong.


Is there a way that I could try reinvigorating it, or is it a lost cause? It was repotted about a year ago, and pruned during spring thanks to the cat having a chew.

Thanks!

Kittie

Hi Kittie I am not sure it's a Chinese Elm - some closer photos would help. Have you been fertilising recently ? It could be that the plant is hungry. Where is it kept as well ?

Bougy Fan wrote:Hi Kittie I am not sure it's a Chinese Elm - some closer photos would help. Have you been fertilising recently ? It could be that the plant is hungry. Where is it kept as well ?

I'm really not sure what it is.
I seasol'd it a few weeks ago, and its kept in full sun in the morning, then shaded after about 1pm.

Chinese elm and many other trees have strong apical dominance - they like to grow up at the top. If you let the upper shoots grow cascading parts of the tree often get weak and die because the tree puts all its energy into the branches that are growing upward. From your (dodgy) picture I'd guess that is what is happening to your tree.
Shade and lack of feed make the problem worse. note that seasol is not really a fertiliser. It is ok to use it but the tree will also need some real fertiliser as well.
If you prune the upper parts hard and keep them well trimmed back it might come good. the other alternative is to restyle as a more upright tree.

Hi Kittie . Chinese elm have alternate leaves ,your tree looks like it has opposite leaves more like a privet or olive . Just in case your not sure , when shibui talks about apical dominance he is talking about what you describe as your back branches which are growing higher than what you describe as your leader .