SEASONAL
CARE YOUR BONSAI
As the seasons change, the bonsai grower must take
into consideration the circumstances and dilemmas that might affect
their plants. Because the trees aren’t in the ground, you
need to do what you have to in order to insure your bonsai survive
the seasons.
Bonsai from forest trees must live outdoors
except for short periods of time when they may be brought inside
for viewing. These indoor periods should
only be for two or three hours and should not occur at all in summer
unless the interior is well ventilated.
In the summer, bonsai need cool nights, sunny days, and mist or
rain almost daily. If your climate does not offer these conditions
naturally, you must supply them. Avoid any extremes in temperature,
light, rain, and wind. Water the entire plant daily, but do not
let them become water logged.
Placing bonsai on a slatted stand in the garden is a good way to
keep drainage conditions optimum. Bonsai should receive three to
five hours of direct sunlight a day, but the site should be shaded
in the afternoon if possible.
In the fall, bonsai must be prepared for the winter. Slow the growth
of the plants by watering less frequently and discontinuing fertilizer
application. Do not prune or cut any branches after mid-August.
Winter's low temperatures and drying winds can easily kill bonsai.
If the winter temperature drops below 28F, bonsai must be protected
by a greenhouse, pit, or cold frame. A cold frame is basically a
box that houses your bonsai through the winter months.
If you put them in a cold frame, don't forget to water them while
inside. Winter watering may be only necessary every other day. More
bonsai are killed by over watering than by desiccation.
In the spring, start new bonsai, prune the old ones, and continue
training measures. The remaining part of the growing season is used
for the plants' adjustments to these practices.
In general, bonsai are fine being outside in temperatures above
15F. Below this point, some kind of protection from freezing is
needed. You can bring them inside, but this could jeopardize the
plant’s health. In extreme circumstances, this may be your
only option.
Just remember that woody plants must go through a period of cold
dormancy to survive. If you do not give them this time, they will
die.
Dormancy is a survival strategy that temperate climate species have
evolved to stay alive over the winter. These species have a biological
clock that tells them to slow activity and prepare soft tissues
for an onslaught of freezing temperatures. Species that have well
developed dormancy needs cannot be tricked out of them.
You can try placing a tarp or plastic film over your bonsai in cold
temperatures. Do this at night and remove it during the day.
Some people advocate wintering bonsai in the ground since the ground
temperature will not get as cold as the air above it.
Experts feel the best way to accomplish that is to bury the root
balls, still in their pots, in the ground up to the rim of the pot,
and to cover the pots with a mulch of dead leaves. If you live in
an area of abundant snowfall and a reasonably consistent snow cover,
you may do without the mulch and rely on the snow for insulation.
Wintering bonsai in the ground has the advantage that they will
come out of dormancy in step with outside conditions. That is often
not the case with some of the other wintering methods, such as unheated
garages or sheds, cold frames dug into the ground, window wells
or cold rooms in basements.
While these methods are very convenient – no digging in, no
mulching and no digging out – the facilities tend to warm
up quickly in spring, and since resumption of growth is determined
solely by warmer temperatures, the trees will start to grow and
require light when outside conditions are not yet ideal.
Regardless of which method is used, the root balls should be well
moistened before the trees are put away, and they should be checked
regularly – say weekly – to make sure that they are
not about to dry out. If so, the trees need to be watered. Also,
the wintering spot should ideally be in shade for most of the day,
and preferred positions to face would be either north or east.
It is important to note, that the trees will not be able to withstand
the warmer temperature once they have begun to grow. Just as trees
became gradually ever more frost resistant in fall, they will get
progressively less frost resistant in spring.
The closed buds, although swollen, will still be able to survive
short periods of mild frosts, but once the buds have opened and
the young leaves start to unfold, frost can cause serious damage,
and trees should be returned to frost-free shelter when it threatens.
Also remember that full-size trees lose their leaves in the winter.
Your bonsai is a miniature version of a full-size tree and it, too,
will lose its leaves. This is fine and normal. They will grow back!
You’ve spent such time on grooming and growing your bonsai,
you will, of course, want to show it off! What’s the best
way to display your trees?
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