Question
Have a Chinese Elm bonsai which is approx. 6-7 years old - this Spring, it did not leaf out.  I continued to water daily and now have a LOT of growth of new branches, fully leafed out, which all sprouted from one point about midway up the trunk.  Looks really dumb.  Also, the unleafed branches do not seem dead - when scratched, they are greenish under the bark and not brittle.

If I "lop" off the outcropping, will this tree eventually (next year?) leaf out normally again?
What would you suggest I do/not do with this plant?  It was one of my favorites.

Thanks!

Answer
Hi Paul:

Chinese Elms are a funny lot.  I am affraid if you lop off the only new growth you have you will lose the entire tree.  It is not likely that the branches which are bare will sprout normally this year or next.  I remember an incident a few years ago, a friend of mine had a fine Chinese Elm that refused to break bud.  The bark was fine, the roots looked fine but it refused to grow.  It just sat there and took up space.  It died.  No one seems to know what happened but I am hearing more stories like this one every year from this plant.  The same year my friend lost his elm I lost my Zelkova, a similar species. It behaved in much the same way.  I think there is a diseas out there that has yet to be identified.  As to your tree, there are two ways to go,  One:  I would pretty much leave it alone till next year and see what it does. Or Two:  Cut it off where the new growth has emerged and regrow it from there.  There are pluses and minuses to both choices.  If you leave the tree alone and the problem is a diseas, it may spread to the surviving portion of the tree and kill that as well.  If you cut the tree off you will have to redesign the entire tree.

Vance Wood.