Restyling Ulmus Parviflia

Ulmus parvifolia, commonly known as the Chinese Elmor Lacebark Elm, is a species native to China, Japan, North Korea and Vietnam.It has been described as "one of the most splendid elms, having the poise of a graceful Nothofagus".

A small to medium deciduous, semi-deciduous (rarely semi-evergreen) tree growing to 10–18 m (30–60 ft) tall with a slender trunk and crown.

The leathery, lustrous green single-toothed leaves are small, 2–5 cm long by 1–3 cm broad, and often retained as late as December or even January in Europe and North America.

The apetalous wind-pollinated perfect flowers are produced in early autumn, small and inconspicuous.

The fruit is a samara, elliptic to ovate-elliptic, 10–13 mm long by 6–8 mm broad.[2] The samara is mostly glabrous, the seed at the centre or toward the apex, borne on a stalk 1–3 mm in length; it matures rapidly and disperses by late autumn.

The trunk has a handsome, flaking bark of mottled greys with tans and reds, giving rise to its other common name, the Lacebark Elm, although scarring from major branch loss can lead to large canker-like wounds.

Ulmus parvifolia, Ne-Agari, 32 cm high, 11 years. Photograph taken in autumn 2003

Ulmus parvifolia, Ne-Agari, 30 cm high, 11 years. Photograph taken in autumn 2003

Watering: Elms prefer high humidity, vaporize often. In summer they need a lot of water but be sure to have a good drainage.


Repotting / Soil: Should be done between spring and summer every two years into a bigger pot. Cut around 2/3 of the roots. The mixture I use is 2/4 compost, 1/4 humus and 1/4 sand. I like the blue ceramic pots, normally rectangular.


Fertilizer: Should be applied during spring and autumn but not in summer. Never use after repotting. I prefer the solid type which dissolves itself when tree is watered.


Diseases: Elms are not very sensible, but if the atmospheric humidity is not high enough, red spiders will attack the little leafs turning them dry in a short time. Shower the tree a lot of times during the day because water is the worst enemy of the red spiders. If that doesn't help apply Compo anti red spider mite.

The mostly used species is Ulmus parvifolia with its very small, dark green brilliant leafs. Depending on the climate the leafs are permanent or will fall late in winter after showing a beautiful orange color.


Light: Needs much light, likes inclusive direct sun exposition.


Temperature and exposure: They can be raised in interiors but should pass a fresh winter. Elms support cold winters against the opinion of lots of specialists. I have had even a little snowfall on them, without loosing any branches.

Ulmus parvifolia,Nejikan and Hokidachi, 40 cm high, 11 years. Photograph taken in autumn 2003.

Pruning and cleaning: I remove the dry leafs in autumn because they don't fall very easily on their own. During the vegetative phase which is very intense, be sure to prune the long branches to avoid big distance between knots. This way ramification is assured. Leafs can be removed in June, but normally it isn't necessary because the leafs are quite small anyway. When summer ends, structure pruning should be done to prepare the tree for the colder seasons.


Wiring: Not much wiring is done on the elms, only when the tree is young to form the main branches. Wire at the end of june and remove the wire in october. Form is mainly given by continuous pruning.

Custom Search

If you liked this article, subscribe to the feed by clicking the image below to keep informed about new contents of the blog:

Other Similar Posts That Could Interest You By Fausto Baccino

Do you ever wonder what happens when your readers reach the end of your posts? What do they click on? Where do they go next? What if you’ve piqued a reader’s interest and left them wanting more, but don’t give them the option to do so? Now, we’ll search your site for similar posts you’ve written and display a “Related” section at the end of every post, like this: