Wintering correctly?

[AmazingUnicorn]

This is my 3rd winter with this Chinese Elm. First one I bought it in December in Malibu and brought back to Chicago. When I brought it back, local guy told me that it was best to just keep it under lights and not winter it that year.

Last year, once the temps dropped I moved it to our apartment basement area where it was not as cold as outside but pretty chilly. It seemed to bounce back fine this summer. Now we're in a house with a garage that's colder than our previous basement and the leaves never really turned brown but have been falling off gradually. Might be difficult to tell but is this the right direction in the images?

 

[Iowa newbie]

I had a similar story with my chinese elm, I left it out this winter, its covered in snow so time will tell. So take my advice with the grain of salt, but Id leave it in the garage all winter and water it maybe once or twice a month when its dry. Leaf drop is normal and it should recover in spring.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Ignore the leaves, and pay attention to the soil. If you kill a Chinese elm in the winter, it is most likely due to the fact that you let the soil dry out. Be careful, because a dormant tree takes up almost no water through its roots in the winter. Water needs will be a fraction of what they are when the try is actively growing. But you can't allow the roots to dry out.

 

[AmazingUnicorn]

Ignore the leaves, and pay attention to the soil. If you kill a Chinese elm in the winter, it is most likely due to the fact that you let the soil dry out. Be careful, because a dormant tree takes up almost no water through its roots in the winter. Water needs will be a fraction of what they are when the try is actively growing. But you can't allow the roots to dry out.

Perfect, thanks to both of you guys. It has been a few weeks since I watered it so I put a bit in there just to moisten it back up.

 

[DrTolhur]

I keep my Chinese elm in the garage too. And yeah, the leaves don't really turn brown, but they do get dry and most of them fall off and/or are easily removed. I've heard Chinese elm referred to as "semi-deciduous." I guess where they are native to doesn't get as cold as Michigan, so they're not really "designed" to drop their leaves every year, but they're still able to make it work.