Meg they’re known in Japan as niwaki or garden tree … JBR yes Chinese elm will releaf in the spring they can even be kept outdoors . I have a 70cm one out in the garden I’m waiting to see in leaf again
Mups they’re not all showpiece trees lol but I enjoy them
That has got me thinking 
I have been cutting all the branches right back ,I think I will have a go at a niwaki by punning differently
Marge would like to ask you whether it is OK to leave the tree in the moss ball, or whether she should take it out of the moss ball and put it in some compost?
Wow! You are the Sensei of OFF
It should be in free draining compost the moss is probably just over the top
Thank you.
Yes, we suspect that the moss ball may just be to make the plant a little more attractive for sale!
I’ll tell Marge and, hopefully, she’ll be able to remove the moss ball without compromising the roots, then it can go in a well drained pot of compost.
As it’s just beginning to grow leaves again, perhaps we should wait a little longer before ‘re-potting’. What do you think?
Now is ok
Good. A trip to the garden centre.
Uploaded a few of my trees to my album
They look enormous compared to ours, though that first one appears to lack any foliage.
Yes it’s a deciduous tree and is just budding up with this years foliage. It’s a Chinese elm approx 70 cm tall
Ours is a Chinese Elm, but only about 6" tall!
Am I correct that if we keep re-potting it and look after it, there is a chance that it can grow anything like that tall?
You would have to pot it into a much bigger pot and let it grow . The trick is to control the growth as it grows. Yours will gradually get thicker but no taller if you clip it back as it grows
And no pictures?
Pfft! Well!
lol
He posted pictures on this thread not long ago!
Jaded’s photos can be found in his album in his profile, Bratti
Yes. My apologies. He mentioned his pictures further up this thread but, as Mags says, not on the site; on his profile. Sorry.
All my trees are in leaf now so routine pruning until it’s air layering time . I picked up an 8ft beech tree sapling that will make a nice bonsai with a 2-3 inch trunk . Once it’s air layered and the top cut off the bottom is then developed.
Interesting, but what is ‘air layering’?
I hope you won’t mind me asking for advice, but until just the other day Marge’s bonsai was covered in good-sized leaves. Then suddenly some started to drop off for no apparent reason, although there are a few new buds appearing again.
Do you have any suggestions as to why this might happen?
Should she re-pot the plant in a larger pot?