AusBonsai

Hey guys,

Suffered the hobbyist's worst nightmare today. Came home from Christmas to find my entire collection dried out. I am going to lose a few trees but one of my prized Banksia's is on the block and i want to do everything I can to try and save it.

Currently it's in a water tray, inside. Should I give it a light prune? I don't ever give my Banksia's Seasol but whatever P is in my fertiliser they get it and my fertiliser biscuits are soaked in Seasol. Should I try a diluted solution of Seasol on it? Give it a light trim?

Thanks for the advice guys.

If it were mine I’d leave it outside in the same spot it was in, but make sure it is completely soaked in water.
And nothing else.
They are very hardy.

Thanks Rory. I'll see how it looks in the morning and then think about putting it back outside.

I should mention, I put a new battery in my water system before I left and it appears that the unit itself has died. I have had it about 3-4 years so perhaps there's a lesson in there about updating equipment.

Thanks again

I use the most basic watering timer you can get.
The less that can go wrong the better.
I always test it beforehand if I’m going away for a while. Set it for 1 minute from then, and make sure the thing turns on before you set the desired rate and time.

I don’t leave batteries more than a year before changing.

Also, check that weeds or climbers haven’t attached to the sprinkler head and will stop the flow.

Bugger about the trees Ces,

I go the other way after going thru endless different battery timers and now use a main powered timer driving 24v solenoids Lose about 1 solenoid every 3-4 years but you can mitigate that by having 2 solenoids on the same line with each only on 1/2 the total time.

I also have someone look at the trees daily to cheack as well

Ken

You can repot and defoliate banksias at this time of year. If recently repotted just defoliate. Stand in tray with water for a week then water normally it should spout new leaves in a couple of weeks they are pretty hardy and will come back after drying out.
Cheers
Kirky

Thats totally crap when that happens. I also had a failure with my watering system. Lost half of my bottlebrush seedlings and a small Japanese maple tree. I split my watering system into three watering points. So if there is a failure i only lose 1/3 of my collection. I just wacked afew others in tub of water to help them recover when i got home.

Hey Ces - this is a nightmare and such a shame. I hope you save as many trees as possible. Good luck.


Bonsai teaches me patience.

When a plant dries out or wilts - and it happens to us all this time of year - the best procedure, if it's not too late, is to water the plant lightly, mist the leaves and place it in the shade. If it recovers in a couple of hours, the roots are still in good condition and you can then soak it properly. Kelp extracts will help with the recovery. If it does not respond, the roots have been severely damaged from the drying, and a more drastic action is required like taking it out of the pot and planting it in pure sand after removing the fine damaged roots and washing. Why sand? You can basically water as much as you like and the roots will still function and there is also a much better chance of new roots budding from the older parts of the root system. There is of course no guarantee of success but it's worth a try with a valuable plant.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I've had it in a water tray twice since yesterday afternoon, letting it fully soak for a few hours and then letting it drain. Currently its inside in the shade as its sweltering in Sydney again today. I think we're meant to get a 48 hour window where the temperature drops, so I'll place it back outside then (making sure its well watered).

Most of the leaves are absolutely no chance of coming back (pale green/yellow and dry) so I might give it a prune to hopefully ease the recovery and take the pressure off of any of the remaining roots. Scratching the bark reveals a pale green colour, not verdant green as I would hope but at least its not brown. The tree is potted in almost 100% Diatomite (from the earlier, good quality batches) so I'm unsure as to whether repotting in to sand will be of extra benefit to the tree. I also don't think that now is the best time to experiment with Seasol on a Banksia but If I don't see any recovery by tomorrow I may have to start with a weak solution as a last resort.

After speaking with Leong from Bonsai South Nursery earlier today I'm not confident unfortunately. The tree was my 30th birthday present from a large group of my friends and has developed solidly for the past 5 years. It was more than likely my 'best' tree. It's certainly my favourite.

Cheers,

Ces.

I'm really sorry to hear this news Ces.
Losing trees sucks, losing ones with sentimental value is particularity tough.
Fingers crossed for you!