Pond basket drying out quickly

[BonsaiPancake]

This is my first season using pond baskets for a few of my trees (the black cube ones from the green shed). One of them (a Ginkgo) really struggled with moisture yesterday which was a warm but not too hot day in Sydney. Watering it perked it back up pretty quickly.

Obviously the basket causes the soil to dry very quickly, and on top of this it's quite an inorganic mix (around 30% organic). With the wife due in the next few weeks I can't rely too heavily on watering multiple times per day (usually not an issue since I run my own business out of my house).

I'd prefer to keep it in the pond basket as I'm experimenting with these trees, so is the best solution here to simply increase the organic ratio? I have no experience with these baskets over hot weather to know whether that will solve this issue. With other pots I could easily throw a bark / sphagnum layer on top as a stop-gap solution but that obviously won't work too well with these baskets.

This tree in particular was repotted a couple of months ago so removing it and adding more organic mix shouldn't disrupt the tree too much.

Any other thoughts/advice?

[Keels]

I purchase plastic colanders from the two dollar shops and place the pond baskets in the colanders. Sometimes up to three in one colander. That might help.

[Pearcy001]

Depending on your mix and how free draining it is, I'd sprinkle some coir peat on top and water it in. You can get a brick of it at Bunnings for $2. Just break a bit of the brick off and add water to expand it. After that sprinkle it on top of the soil and water in - you don't need much. Be mindful I'd only do this with a free draining mix, as it can clog it up if it's already too compact. I normally add it to a 1/1 pine bark nugget/diatomite (or pumice) mix, which is very free draining. This is just what works for me.

Cheers,
Pearcy.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

[Redsonic]

I use circular pond baskets and in summer, I place them inside an appropriately sized plastic pot. This leaves a space down the sides and at the bottom where you continue to get air pruning, but it is much more humid and there is less water loss. For thirsty plants, I use a saucer under the pot; the roots grow down from the pond basket into the water. I use 25% organic, and live in Brisbane, and have no trouble keeping the plants moist enough.

[melbrackstone]

Both Pearcy and Redsonic have good suggestions. Another choice could be cane mulch on top over the Summer. That can be removed once it cools down again, or topped up if you want to keep the mix an even temp.

[shibui]

I used similar open crates to grow years ago but after struggling with the trees drying too much for a couple of years I stopped using them and moved to orchid pots. I also increased the pine bark portion of the mix to help retain more moisture.
As Bonsai Pancake alluded to it is not just the top that dries out. The open mesh sides and base also evaporate moisture so mulching the top will only reduce moisture loss by a small amount. Moisture will still escape through the sides and base.

The problem may reduce as the new roots colonize all of the basket.
As a stop gap measure the trees can sit in shallow trays of water for a few weeks with little risk of root problems as Redsonic has already mentioned. I use plant pot trays about 3 or 4 cm deep. They hold enough water to get a tree though the day but should still dry out most days by the afternoon. Should be enough to allow you to welcome the baby.

Other strategies include planting the pond baskets in larger pots of gravel. (That may be what Keels mentioned??) The extra space will slow evaporation from the exposed basket sides and provide even more moisture from what is trapped in the stones. Roots will grow through the baskets so you get extra growth on most trees with this method. There's no problem lifting the baskets and trimming escaped roots if you need to.

[melbrackstone]

Good points about needing moisture retained in all sides. I have to say the Daiso crates I use work well sitting on gravel, rather than buried in it. The roots grow into the mix below and yes, it is very easy to lift and root prune a number of times during the year. In the sub-tropics here, so your mileage may vary.

[Jxshkxng]

hello - may i ask what youre trying to achieve by using these containers??

[melbrackstone]

hello - may i ask what youre trying to achieve by using these containers??

If you do a search here for colanders or google growing bonsai in colanders you'll find lots of info. Basically it's one way to get faster growth in pre-bonsai material

[BonsaiPancake]

Thanks all for the replies. Some really useful info in here.

Small update - I don't think the ginkgo is looking sad from the basket drying out. I checked it today at around 2pm in Sydney where the temp was around 23 degrees. Droopy leaves but scraping the surface showed pretty moist soil. Moist enough that if I saw that I wouldn't even think of watering.

It was repotted before spring this year so is it possible that there just aren't enough roots yet to absorb enough water? If so, is moving it to a more covered spot something I should do ASAP? The leaves aren't showing signs of damage, just sad looking during full sun. Or am I being overprotective and should just leave it?

[shibui]

I was surprised to hear that ginkgo was droopy. Despite the name maidenhair which conjures images of tender ferns, they are one of the hardiest trees I've grown. Mine tolerates drastic root pruning without showing any sign of stress and is almost as drought hardy as PJ fig.

Is this your first experience with ginkgo or have you had it for a while?

Generally I try to avoid putting trees in shade to recover because I believe that sun provides the energy for recovery. Also leaves that open in shade are then adapted to shade and will burn when the tree returns to sun. However that needs to be balanced against soil type and watering regime. Sometimes a little more shade can make a big difference.
Apologies for not having one definite answer for your problem. There are so many factors at play that guessing which one or combination is the key can be very difficult when relying on just a few aspects of the puzzle.

[BonsaiPancake]

Is this your first experience with ginkgo or have you had it for a while?

I got it about a year ago. I remember it drooping a bit but that was right in the middle of summer only - definitely not at 23 degrees. While I can't remember perfectly, I believe I took quite a few roots during the recent repot as it was really a mess with a lot of bulky roots.

Come to think of it, the nursery I got it from had it in the middle of an open area where it was definitely getting full sun all day every day.

This afternoon I didn't give it a water and as soon as it hit shade it started to pop back up again. So it's definitely reacting to the sun for whatever reason. It looks super healthy after the sun is gone.

I guess there's not much I can do except watch it. Is there anything I should keep an eye out for that would be of serious concern?

[shibui]

Sounds more and more like your guess about roots not keeping up with the leaves yet may be correct. Unless there is some other underlying problem with the new roots it should soon adjust. Good light without too much stress should give the roots a boost to catch up.

I can't think of anything to watch out for with ginkgo. Mine have always been the least troublesome trees. Just set and forget. I've done pretty much everything to mine at times and they all just keep plodding along.
Slow but steady is certainly a phrase that suits ginkgo.
Good luck with yours.

[Harshadg]

Protect pond baskets from wind. I used a top layer of sphagnum seeded with moss to retain the moisture. And of course I have mine under an automatic watering system (2-4X a day 2-5 min depending on the weather). Since I have pumice 80% 20% pine bark I can’t really overwater. I’m finding good growth with these conditions.

My ginkgos are growing in zeolite pinebark mix similarly covered with moss mix. They receive about 6-7 hours of sun easily this time of year. So far they seem to enjoy having the substrate moist but free draining, and have put out very good growth.