Seasonal Needs - Light, Humidity, Temperature, Water, Fertilizer

chkaplan

Hi All!

Firstly let me say thank you to all who so promptly and gladly reply to all questions on this forum, to beginners and experts alike! I am hooked on Bonsai, and hooked on BonsaiTalk!


Here is my setup at the moment, and please critique it if you think I should improve something:

2 trees indoor: juniper and ficus benjamina (both still less than 5 years old)

Ficus:

Light: About 8 hours of artificial light a day (north-facing window)
Humidity: On a humidity tray, and average humidity currently around 35-40%
Temperature: varies from 60-75 degrees
Water: When needed (using moisture meter, and water when showing dryness)
Fertilizer: Once every 4 weeks (10-15-10 w/ chelated iron) at half strength

Juniper:

Light: No direct artificial light but on same north-facing windowsill
Humidity: On a humidity tray, and average humidity currently around 35-40%
Temperature: varies from 60-75 degrees
Water: When needed (using moisture meter, and water when showing dryness)
Fertilizer: Once every 4 weeks (10-15-10 w/ chelated iron) at half strength


A few concers:

The juniper is budding a lot, and I've read that the juniper needs to be dormant during winter to get rest before the spring. Is this normal, or should I try to give less fertilizer and light to slow the growth?

The Ficus gets 8 hours of artificial light a day, should this be more or less during winter months?

Finally, I'm on the 25th floor in Manhattan, and I'm not sure how the climate would affect the trees 'up here'. Would it matter, or is it too small an altitude-difference to be an issue?


Thanks for any input, especially on watering, humidity, feeding etc.
All the best
Chris

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sauce

Hi Chris, Being in Florida I don't grow indoors but would like to make a few comments. If possible a southern exposure would probably be better for your ficus. If that's not possible (from what I have read) most folks provide anywhere from 12 to 16 hours of artificial light. No experience with this so take it with a grain of salt so to speak. I've never used a moisture meter so I can't comment on that. Higher humidity would also be helpful if you can achieve it. As for your juniper that's another story. It will die eventually. Conifers need to be grown outdoors to survive. Do you have a ledge or balcony it could be grown on? If so that is where it should be. If you 'have' to grow indoors stick with the many different tropical species and learn all you can about artificial lighting. Good luck and I will repeat what is often said; read, read, read, and then read some more about trees and bonsai.

chkaplan

I currently have no balcony or ledge as I'm on the 25th floor, but I am moving soon and will try to get a place with a southern exposure (or at least something else but northern), and it will most likely be on a lower level, hopefully with a balcony. I understand that I need to put the juniper outside as it is ultimately an outdoor tree, and I will consider my trees when deciding on an apartment (as long as the wife approves!)

I have heard about 12-16 hours of light for the Ficus too, but during these months the sun is only up for around 8-10 hours, and I thus wanted to simulate real conditions. Perhaps I should add a few hours given it's artificial light though...

Thanks for your input.
rgds
Chris

sauce

Good luck with that one Hopefully RedPine or Jerry Meislik will jump in here since they grow ficus indoors and can help you a lot more than I. Here is a link to Jerrys site in case you haven't seen it, lots of good info there.http://www.bonsaihunk.us/ Once again, Good Luck!

randyburtis

i have a ficus benjamin, and it gets indirect sunlight for around8-10 hours with watering every 4(on average) days, and they are doing well, it seems to me yours should be getting enough light where they are...

sauce

Hi Randy, I'm not questioning your success but I have to wonder what directional exposure you have? A northern exposure would provide the least amount of sunlight available and although the tree will most likely survive it probably would not thrive without artificial light. Ficus grown under low light conditions will become quite 'leggy' and have large leaves. One thing I have learned during my short time growing bonsai is that there is a vast difference between surviving and thriving. Just a thought from one who doesn't grow indoors.