Newbie advice for WINTER

Share your success stories about defoliation, bare rooting and anything else relating to maintaining healthy bonsai.
phillicondor
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Re: Newbie advice for WINTER

Post by phillicondor »

Rory wrote:Another important tip over winter:

Before you rewater your tree, check the interior soil near the base of the tree. It may still be quite damp closer towards the ball of the roots, and reasonably dry towards the outer area of the pot. Make sure you are not rewatering the tree if the inner area near the base of the tree is still damp too.

I have lost Casuarina and Callistemon trees before from not properly checking this. :palm:
Yeah I reckon this is when it pays to use the chop stick method. Soil looks very dry at the moment but it's just the top couple centimetres.
Another question. Should I be misting leaves with all this wind? I started to mist a few plants just now Because the airs so dry but thought it might be worth asking. I know I've read to mist in real hot weather but not cold. Probably should just leave em alone but I've gotta couple days off and looking for something to do. Might do my plants a favour and head to the pub for lunch, otherwise I'll end up repotting something that doesn't need it.
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Pearcy001
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Re: Newbie advice for WINTER

Post by Pearcy001 »

As you do being a Newbie like myself you don't know exactly how much rain your trees can take before it is going to become detrimental to the tree's health.

I was bored the other day so I was trying to think of a way to keep the soil dry - I have minimal options for tree relocation under shelter - while allowing it to get as much sun as possible.

As I only have a collection of 10 Bonsai (well one day they will be Bonsai :D) I have enough time to tailor needs in comparison to someone that has 100.

I decided to utilise some running cones I had laying around the place to cover the pot, allowing water runoff while letting the leaves/needles get full sun. It is probably over the top but hey I don't know.

Image

If its forecast to rain while I'm at work or out I place the cover on, otherwise its off so the soil can get some sun. I cut a rough hole in the cone where the trunk would be so it can protrude through. There's 4 bulldog clips spaced out around the lip of the pot, I just flick over the handle and the clips lock in the cone.

Like I said I only have a small collection. I've now also realized I may have too much time on my hands after going to these lengths haha.

Boredom can be a wonderful thing. Feel free to let me know if I'm wasting my time and should just ditch the cone.

Cheers,
Pearcy.
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Re: Newbie advice for WINTER

Post by Joe.sab »

valuable information .
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Matthew
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Re: Newbie advice for WINTER

Post by Matthew »

my trees all got 138mm in the last week . God bless and i'm not covering nothing evenwhen its been no warmer then 10 for a few days and most of the trees are soaking wet i'm not worried at all. A -4 this morning certainly turned them into rocks :tounge: Most species can take ALOT of water if your soil,drainage is adequate and I keep my mix a lot finer then others as it gets friggin hot here in summer and I ain't at home to be watering several times a day ( have a automatic system). Sick trees and cloggy mix are when lots of rain can be a issue .
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