Sunlight requirements. New to bonsai

[benbonsai]

Hi all.
This is my first post on this forum and I am relatively new to bonsai.

I have recently acquired an old juniper and I have bought myself a couple of other junipers (I also have a small trident maple, a small Chinese elm and a fig that I recently cut down)
Now that the weather is starting to heat up and I have a couple of plants I need to set up a bench.
This I am struggling with as I am unsure where to place the plants. I have done plenty of research and I understand what is required to maintain a bonsai but some of the information is contradictory or is not relevant to central NSW conditions and what works for some may not necessarily work for others.

Some questions I have
Is afternoon sun okay? (some areas of my yard only get afternoon sun)
Is full sun okay? (some say full sun, some say morning only)
Is using shade cloth okay? (50%)
These factors determine where my growing area will be.

Would really like some insight into sun requirements and what others in similar climates do.

Thanks guys.

[Daluke]

Hi,

Welcome to the forum.

It all depends on what stage your trees are at and what your intention is with your trees. Do you have a real Bonsai - or do you have trees you are preparing to become Bonsai??

If you want to speed up growth and girth you should be feeding, watering heavily and placing your trees in full sun in the ground to get characteristics that are desirable to Bonsai.

If you actually have trees that are Bonsai in shallow pots you should be placing in partial shade and watering regularly and feeding selectively.

Rotate your trees every few weeks so each side of the tree gets sun.

In short, your question is hard to answer on the information you have given.

[benbonsai]

Daluke thanks for your reply.

The Junipers I have are bonsais in shallow pots. But they are still in training, they are wired and I am starting to form the foliage pads.

Also... the sun my yard gets is full on with no obstructions from around 10:00 till sunset. This is the main reason Im asking as this sun can be quite hot.
I really don't want to kill these plants.

[Daluke]

I'm not sure how hot things get in your neck of the woods, but I imagine given your questions and responses thus far that it gets really hot?? Hopefully it's not windy either. Heat and wind = recipe for lots of water and shelter.

Junipers get their strength from their leaves which need sun. If you cut all the needles off the tree it will die. The more sun on the leaves, the more strength and growth of green you should get. I'd be opting for shade cloth in full sun with constant watering and regular feeding with high nitrogen fertiliser to encourage more needle development -

Elms are pretty hardy, but the leaves will scorch easily with hot winds. Id be going for morning sun only with them.

Have you got photographs of your trees?

[benbonsai]

Yes it gets quite hot and today was around 28 degrees but with the sun being unobstructed it feels like it could kill. Today I got rather burnt being in the yard for only a couple hours.
And yes in the summer months we do get warms winds sometimes.

See attached images.

[shibui]

Hi Ben,
My bonsai get full sun almost all day but I have plenty of experience and know how much water they need to keep them alive. full sun is better but watering becomes critical. Plenty of less experienced growers try full sun and discover the trees get burnt. Some species like more sun, others like part shade so placement also depends on species. Small pots dry out quicker than larger pots so that also is a factor. I should also point out that I live in a relatively cooler part of Aust. I also put up 30% shade cloth over the hottest months (usually Jan to March) to protect the more tender plants in my nursery.

Trees are living things. They can cope with a range of conditions that may be outside their preferred range. That means you can still be successful even if you don't follow the absolute letter of other growers. that's the major reason we get so much conflicting advice - it all works to different degrees in different places so all the different ideas are actually correct.

I recommend starting off with slightly more shade because the consequences of more shade are far less fatal than too much sun
Shade cloth does not need to cover the whole area to be effective. Set at an angle it will provide late shade while allowing early sun to reach the trees. Look at the arrangement of shade sails being erected recently (angled, several overlapping sails, etc)- rather than a single large sheet they are using several smaller ones that are placed to allow some light to penetrate earlier in the day.

[Daluke]

Shibui offers some great advice.

I question the positioning of the trees in front of a colourbond fence given heat reflected off it at the trees.

[kcpoole]

Shibui offers some great advice.

I question the positioning of the trees in front of a colourbond fence given heat reflected off it at the trees.

I have mine on the north side of a colourbond fence and no issues, but they get about 4 hours of sun in the afterneoon,

Ken

[benbonsai]

Thanks for all the replies.

I have recently moved my growing area/bench to a spot that gets a couple hours of filtered sun (sun through tree tops) from 10am to midday and around 3-4 hours of full sun after that. And I have set up a shelf that gets morning sun till around 11am for my smaller plants.

I work every day so being home to water and mist is no option so this will hopefully work a bit better for me.
I also own some younger plant so full sun all day might hurt them.