Species · Deciduous trees like maple and elm
Japanese zelkova
Zelkova serrata
Japanese zelkova is trained almost exclusively in the broom style — a straight trunk that fans into dozens of fine, evenly radiating branches — because its natural growth habit does the hard work for the grower. Fast growth and fine ramification suit that shape particularly well, and the leaves colour bronze-gold in autumn.
Care at a glance
- Watering
- Check daily in growing season; never let it dry out completely. Roughly every 2 days in spring, 1 in summer, 2 in autumn and 5 in winter.
- Light
- Full sun to light shade.
- Winter
- Hardy once established; classic broom style loses leaves in winter. Protect it when the forecast drops below -15 °C.
- Feeding
- Every 14 days, Apr to Sep, paused in the hottest weeks.
- Repotting
- Every 2 to 3 years, before buds move, in Feb or Mar.
- Growth
- Fast growing. Hardy in zones 5 to 8.
The work calendar
| Work | JJan | FFeb | MMar | AApr | MMay | JJun | JJul | AAug | SSep | OOct | NNov | DDec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prune | Mar | Apr | Nov | |||||||||
| Pinch | May | Jun | Jul | |||||||||
| Defoliate | Jun |