Winter Jobs - What do you do?

[kcpoole]

Seems like this time of year, we all run out of things to do with our trees. They are all asleep or dormant, snuggled down for the winter rest. As winter has only just started, we have a good few weeks of almost boredom yet.

What Bonsai Jobs and tasks need doing over the winter months?

For me
Observing trees and planning their spring / summer development.
Getting Materials together for Late winter / spring Repotting.
Later on in the winter I will be starting to repot but not yet.

What does everyone else do to stop "Cabin fever" setting in?

Ken

[Handy Mick]

Clean area, spray fungacide not just on bonsai but benches aswell.
Well that's what I should do!
Mick

[NathanM]

I want to get my benches built!

[lennard]

To keep me from hibernating I have started the Goldfish hobby/breeding .......again .

Just watering the trees as needed.

I hate winter !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lennard

[Ash Barns]

Good time to make fert. cakes. Time to reflect the changes to be made to trees at re-pot time.

[BirchMan]

Other than planning for the spring offensive, i like to get out and dig the yamadori i've been eyeballing during the hotter months. Also start up some cuttings and plant seeds. Though one winter i'll have to stop or i wont have room to move..

[craigw60]

For me its a great time of year to catch up on all the outstanding wiring jobs, doing twig selection on deciduous trees and of course rootpruning which is a major operation here as I have lots of tree to do, including lifting root pruning and re-planting the ground grown stock, this is an annual job. I left some trees untouched last year and am very disappointed with the results the root are strong, long and coarse and I will never do that again.
Craigw

[Gerard]

Lots pruning and wiring.
Although I am not afraid to start on some repotting. If I wait until bud burst I will not have enough time and since we do not get a winter freeze many deciduous species are fine to repot now.
I have a large Japanese maple in the garden which I pruned yesterday leaving a few options for air layers in November. I hope for scars to heal fast over the spring instead of the very slow healing I get after chopping.

[kcpoole]

Thanks all and keep them coming
Winter is a great time for building benches and stuff. Get outside and working to keep warm

Making Fert cakes is too much like hard work for me , tho admire those that do

Ken

[rawhide]

hi Ken
good post i am a bit slack over winter
I never spray my benches or bonsai
is something i should be doing if so with what and how much and do i spray soil or plant or pot
cheers

[NathanM]

Good time to make fert. cakes. Time to reflect the changes to be made to trees at re-pot time.

Hi Ash,
Can you please give me some more information on this? I'm very interested in making my own
Thanks,
Nathan

[Handy Mick]

Hi rawhide just use lime sulphur at recommend amounts, every good bonsaiest should have some, just spray your plants and area with it.

[shibui]

Like Craigw and Gerard, any available time is spent trimming the deciduous trees to improve ramification. Many trees are at the stage of needing thinning so entire branches are coming off this year to leave room for the better ones to develop.
Lifting the field grown trees and repotting the bonsai that need repotting this year will start in july and probably take until spring.
Pulling and spraying the weeds whenever they appear cos they can be seen when theres no leaves in the way and there's no danger to the dormant trees.
Wiring to adjust shapes.
Clean up fallen leaves.
Always seems to be plenty of things to do! Who said it was a quiet time of year????

[daiviet_nguyen]

I have started digging trees up -- two so far. An azalea bush, a big Japanese maple trunk. And also cutting down trident maples for next year dig.
I am also digging up grasses to make new grow areas in the front-yard.

My back hurts. The $60 Australian-made mattock works great I will dig up smaller maples and replant them on the weekends.

I do not know yet what to do with the stuff that I have in boxes

[Ash Barns]

Good time to make fert. cakes. Time to reflect the changes to be made to trees at re-pot time.

Hi Ash,
Can you please give me some more information on this? I'm very interested in making my own
Thanks,
Nathan

Hi Nathan, Glad to share this with everyone.

I used the Deb. Koreshoff mix:-
3 parts (scoops) soya bean meal
1 part blood and bone
1 part chicken manure (dynamic lifter)
1 part wood ash (charcoal)
1 part fish emulsion

(I had to substitute certain elements to suit what I had on hand.)

Mixed it up in a plastic bucket then added plain flour to bind it with a little water.
Packed the mix into a fert. basket then gently squeezed all round until it popped out.
Placed those onto a tray and then dry them off under cover.

When the growing season comes round, just place them in fert. baskets and apply to the pot.
Cheers!
Ash