dshepard

Help,
Last night i watered my elm. I have the pot in a shallow tray. Heres the problem. The tray filled. and it was above the drain holes it sat like that for about 17 hours the bottom of the pot was saturated. when i lifted the tree out to see the damage. unfortunately, the roots had grown in to the bottom of the pot. So there were submerged too. i did the only thing i could think and cut the long roots" that where two extended any way," and some of the finer ones that where obviously under water.

How long can a Ehinese elm be under water. before root rot sets in??
Did i take the right preventive action.

Some one please let me know!!!!

Shohin

Deep breaths . . . your tree will likely be fine, assuming it was healthy to begin with.

Root rot takes MUCH longer than 17 hours to set in. You could have left the roots and probably no ill effects would have occurred. But whats done is done.

The bigger question is, why do you have "long" roots coming out of the bottom of your pot? A few stragglers here and there aren't anything to worry about, but roots long enough that they need to be cut is not a good sign.

Shohin

Also, why the tray? keep the area clean? Try adding river rocks to the tray to keep the pot out of any collected water (note: if this is a "humidity tray" get rid of it . . . they do nothing).

Next time, when you water, tip the pot up on one side and prop it up against something. leave it sit like that for a few to let the excess water drain out. I do this in my kitchen sink for indoor trees.

dshepard

Im sorry i probaly wasnt beeing clear. The root wasn't commng out of the pot. it was just very long and extendend in camparson to the rest of the roots. and it was submerged in the saturated soil in the bottom of the pot.

I dont usualy use a saucer. just did it so that i didnt have run off into the trees i have on the undershelf. Im glad to know it takes longer then 17 hours for root rot to set in. For 90 % of my trees i use either bonsai soil, or a mix of bonsai soil and potting soil. However the elm is straight new england bonsai mix.

The bonus of all this seeing that my tree is ok. is that it did give a reason to see how the tree has been doing as far as the root system, and re setting it for better viewing. Thanks for the reply.

dshepard

I water my trees in the sink too. My wife loves it!!!!

Mike423

I usually repot all my trees soon after purchase. This helps by letting me know what the root system looks like and keeps things safe by letting me know what soil mixture the trees in so I don't have to worry about under/over watering stemming from not knowing what sort of soil is used and how it absorbs, disperses the water etc... Also assures me that the root system is healthy and allows me to attend to any unforeseen root problems (such as rootbound) before it becomes apparent in the wrong way.