Winter care

[dibly_w]

Hey guys .
So I have a rather broad question but I am sure a lot of helpful suggestions may come from this thread . I am curious and after some advice on bonsai care in winter . A lot of Internet advice I have read that is more about care for snow or sub zero temps.
I am from toowoomba which is a cold windy place in winter but not excessively cold . We get frosts but my trees are on my deck where they recieve plenty of sunshine during the day and not likely to be exposed to direct frost.
I understand that during the winter months fertization isn't required or frequent watering ( depending on the moisture level in the soil of course ) but do you guys still use seasol ect at less frequent intervals for the trees during this season ?
I have deciduous and evergreens primarily , but I also have a fig and a couple of bouganvillias , my fig has been up here with me for 5 years now and haven't had an issue with over winter but am a tad concerned about the well being of the bougs since they have been in Brisbane and this will be their first year up here in the cooler winter airs . Would I be best off to bring them inside at night ?
Any other tips or suggestions for bonsai care during these colder months would be greatly appreciated .
Thanks heaps

[Elmar]

Hey Dibly,
what an awesome looking display area! I don't have issues with frost or anything like that, but what I've read is that a number of people use green houses with shelves for their trees. I would think its better than bringing them inside because we as humans like to have fires and create natural heat in our homes ...
With the green houses the plants stay in their usual area but the wind has been removed and at the same time a more humid environment assists in keeping them happy ... I'm sure those with more experience will give you better more appropriate advice soon!

[Jarad]

...a number of people use green houses with shelves for their trees...

Yeah. The big green shed and the big blue shed both stock mini (or large) greenhouses. I would recommend measuring your tallest and shortest trees, and working out how much shelf space you'll need, then check out both coz they stock slightly different types.

Or go to the green sheds online store, there's plenty there.

[kcpoole]

I do not know if Toowoomba gets colder than here in Western Sydney ( Lowest is +2) with a couple of frosts on the coldest days.

I have Figs, Bougy, Hibiscus, and they all stay outside everyday. Never had an issue with any of them here. If your coldest temps get only a little below that, then maybe throw a piece of shadecloth over them if the forecast is for Frost. Otherwise i would not worry about them.

Check out Grants thread on JBP study and he has determined there that it is a benefit to fertilise JBP year round, so I guess that the same will apply to any evergreen trees in the temps we are likely to see.
Deciduous trees I think would be happy to stop feeding thru winter, but having said that mine only go Deciduous for about a month ( and Chinese Elms not at all), I continue to fertilise year round and just reduce the frequency in winter.

Re watering. Depends on the solil in use. I use diatomite substrate and water every day year round.

Ken

[Pearcy001]

Re watering. Depends on the solil in use. I use diatomite substrate and water every day year round.

The soil I use is completely organic. I am worried my trees without full canopy's will remain too wet through the winter, as a couple of my mix's are quite slow draining. Anyone found this to be the case from excess rain?

Cheers,
Pearcy.

[kcpoole]

Re watering. Depends on the solil in use. I use diatomite substrate and water every day year round.

The soil I use is completely organic. I am worried my trees without full canopy's will remain too wet through the winter, as a couple of my mix's are quite slow draining. Anyone found this to be the case from excess rain?

Cheers,
Pearcy.

Then just water them every second day or so
check them daily and if drying too much then apply water.

Ken

[thoglette]

I am worried my trees without full canopy's will remain too wet through the winter,

Definitely.

Slip pot 5mm of gravel underneath your trees.

Currently got the opposite problem - all my trees dried out this week and have had to be moved back into a sheltered area. Some are looking a little sad..

[shibui]

Dibly, There is no need for any special winter care for most of the traditional bonsai species. As you have already noted winter care recommendations are for areas that get COLD winters - -15C or lower. We occasionally get -5 or -6 here and similar in Canberra. Those temps do not affect the trees or roots because they are all adapted to temps much lower than we get in Aus. We do not get cold enough for frozen soil to crack pots either.

The ones that do need special care are the tropical and sub-tropical species - figs, Bougies, etc. PJ fig appears to be hardy down to around 0C. Below that they get a bit burnt. I have had the entire trunk die from frost at around -6C but they grew back from the stump in spring. In most areas just bringing frost sensitive trees close to the house will give them enough warmth but I know most of the Canberra fig owners take their figs inside for the winter. Figs seem quite happy to grow in a bathroom or laundry as long as it is light enough.

the little plastic greenhouses that are available are a waste of time and money. They do not have enough space to hold sufficient heat overnight and I would be surprised if the temp inside and outside was any different by morning after a cold night. Maybe someone who has one would like to take the temps and prove me wrong.

The soil I use is completely organic. I am worried my trees without full canopy's will remain too wet through the winter, as a couple of my mix's are quite slow draining.

Hard to tell without seeing it Pearcy but if you are worried I think you should be considering changing your mix. I am very strongly in favour of really well drained mix. The trees do better all year round provided you can supply enough water in dry times. Having said that most trees will be ok in wet soil for a few months. Many survive in places where they are occasionally flooded for a few weeks at at time so wet feet is not an instant death sentence. Fungus is also not as active in cool temps so root rots are slower to take hold. I would hope that your trees would be ok until later in winter when you can repot into better mix.
I'm currently watering every 2nd day when it hasn't rained but will turn off the sprinklers completely after the leaves have fallen. Without leaves they won't be using water anyway and mix stays damp all winter. Occasional watering for evergreen trees if it stays dry for a week or so but even they can tolerate being a bit dry in winter.

Slip pot 5mm of gravel underneath your trees.

Gravel under the mix will not allow more water to drain out of the rootball. It might allow air to circulate all around and allow more to evaporate but it has been showed that drainage layer does not create better drainage.

[dibly_w]

Once again guys thanks very much .
I am so glad I found this found all your information is awesome and very helpful . I think next spring though I will have to look into my soil types and changing them atm I just use a well drained generic mix but it appears there are far more advanced and more useful mixes to have a go at !
Our weather here sounds pretty similar to your kcpoole (except a bit better because it's QLD )
Where do we find Grants threads to the ferts over winter too .
Hope everyone had a good weekend
Cheers guys

[Pearcy001]

The soil I use is completely organic. I am worried my trees without full canopy's will remain too wet through the winter, as a couple of my mix's are quite slow draining.

Hard to tell without seeing it Pearcy but if you are worried I think you should be considering changing your mix. I am very strongly in favour of really well drained mix. The trees do better all year round provided you can supply enough water in dry times. Having said that most trees will be ok in wet soil for a few months. Many survive in places where they are occasionally flooded for a few weeks at at time so wet feet is not an instant death sentence. Fungus is also not as active in cool temps so root rots are slower to take hold. I would hope that your trees would be ok until later in winter when you can repot into better mix.
I'm currently watering every 2nd day when it hasn't rained but will turn off the sprinklers completely after the leaves have fallen. Without leaves they won't be using water anyway and mix stays damp all winter. Occasional watering for evergreen trees if it stays dry for a week or so but even they can tolerate being a bit dry in winter.

Thanks for the info Neil. The ones that are the problem are a MB and Benji Ficus that I got a couple months back and made the mistake of not repotting while it was warmer. The mix only needed watering every second day in summer let alone winter. Looks like I may need to try keep them a little more sheltered until it warms up a bit... In a couple months

Cheers,
Pearcy.

[Jarad]

Our weather here sounds pretty similar to your kcpoole (except a bit better because it's QLD )
Where do we find Grants threads to the ferts over winter too .

...Bloody Queenslanders...

See the link below for Grants thread, it can be found under the "Pines And Junipers" section. Also, a little bit of fert over winter on everything doesn't go astray.
viewtopic.php?f=131&t=17981

[thoglette]

it has been showed that drainage layer does not create better drainage.

Who's shown than? Where can I find that written up

[kcpoole]

it has been showed that drainage layer does not create better drainage.

Who's shown than? Where can I find that written up

there was many discussion and demos on that have been posted here in the early days. I have no idea what search terms might find them tho

Ken

[shibui]

Who's shown than? Where can I find that written up

Here's a link to one of the threads where this has been discussed, Thoglette. Ken has even posted some wet sponge pictures in the thread to represent the perched water table visually.
keep moist, don't overwater?

The link in that thread to Peter Warren's blog is also worth checking. In it he shows photos of pages from a book which explains the processes in detail.

[thoglette]

Here's a link to one of the threads where this has been discussed, Thoglette.

Thanks -added to the reading list