Bonsai ID and Qs

fishbone

Yep, books pertaining to Junipers as I seem to like conifers best and general books in regards to type of care and maintenance, etc. The titles suggested are great and have been added to my list

Advertisement

fishbone

So how would you recommend I acclimate it to outside temperature and how long should I take? Problem is I leave out of town this coming Saturdat and like I said, coldest area in the house is still a warm 68 degrees I'd much rather do this now than when it gets closer to the 30s. I'm just affraid it's too late to acclimate it.

Pearl

Fishbone,

I bought 3 year old Juniper Procumbens Nana 2 weeks ago, It went through hell the last 10 to 13 days. When it arrived it was 85 degrees outside, 2 days later it was 39 degrees at night, high of 45. 30 mph winds, rain, back to 80 degrees, no wind, back to 39 degrees. I did keep it out of the wind but was outside in 40 degree weather without any insulation, wasn't cold enough. It still looks great.

3 most important things to keeping you Nana smiling.

1.) Soil, if it has the same soil when it was bought, leave it till next spring. It's probably good for the next couple years. Most people sell their trees/shrubs with fresh soil. The 2 brands I mentiond in an earlier post are the 2 best soils money can buy. Don't try to make your own unless you know exactly what your doing. It's very very important the correct soil is being used.

2.) Water, do not use tap water, use 100% purified or distilled, I use distilled. As long as the top of the soil is wet or damp your ok for the next 2 to 4 days during winter. As for summer you may need to water once a day or every 2, 3 days. The soil will tell you when it's time.

3.) Winterizing, keep that Nana out of the house unless it's in a very cool room and only for 2 to 4 days, then back in the garage. I just looked at the weather in Nebraska and it's cold lol. High of 33, low 15. Insulate the pot itself as much as possible then put it into a styrofoam container then the mulch. That should help it survive. If it becomes 40 degrees or warmer outside, even for 1 day, take advantage of it and put it outside, until 39 degrees demands it go back into the garage, it's as simple as that.

Corey

Asus101

Distilled water cant be of much use?? I would think rainwater would be of more use? Or am i missing the point?

Victrinia_Ensor

Only in interest of being balanced.... I have to disagree with Pearl's perspective on water type requirements. In all of my experiance, I have never used anything other than straight tap water. At Elandan Gardens, all 250+ specimen trees are watered with tap.... At Weyerhauser's Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection, all the trees are watered from tap water...

Mostly you need to know what your water is like. If your water is so chemically treated that YOU can't stand it as it comes out of the tap, then you may want to examine Pearl's suggestions.

Though in the interest of balance, I have friends who enjoy to collect rain water and keep it for the sole purpose of watering their trees. Is it needful? No... Do they believe it's beneficial? Sure...

In Bonsai as in so many hobbies... there are those who will take it to the absolute extremes. You will find your own balance. Personally I do not take bonsai to the extremes.... I make my own soil.... water from tap... and get pretty creative about what tools and methodologies I use in my pursuit of the art.

But most of all... I have fun. When I see a truly incredible example of the art, I am swept away in that moment, and sometimes it'll make me get all misty eyed. In that moment all I feel is love for the art... and I marvel at the beauty that is expressed within it. Pursue, learn, and evolve in all of this... but never do so at the cost of your joy in it.


As to your tree... If your garage is consistently in the mid/upper 30s... put it in the garage if you don't have any opportunity to protect it more between now and when you leave. As long as it isn't freezing in there... It'll be fine.


Kindest regards,


Victrinia

__________________
Ms. Vic

Le belle cose prendono tempo...

www.elandangardens.com

Ang3lFir3

I would like to make one very important point here.. because well, there is a certain amount of misinformation being shared.

There is no "best soil money can buy" per-se.... your soil mix is as much determined by your climate as overwintering means and watering patterns. If i tryed to keep trees in the most effective soil mix for some place like Nebraska or Texas I would be killing trees left and right. Living in a near rainforest requires me to use a very very fast training mix that doesn't hardly hold water.

Someplace like Nebraska (i would assume having grown up in Wyoming) would need a soil that would drain well but still retain a larger amount of water to withstand the hot dry summers. Otherwise you will be watering 4-5 or more times a day.

So when it comes to soil mixes the best bets are to check with others in your same region and see what mixes they use for their trees. Often times in certain climates different trees need different soil. This all boils down to providing each tree with the soil that is perfect for it in the climate in which you live. Just like fertilizer programs and watering programs are unique to trees often times soil can be as well.

Akadama is a great adative to soil mixtures and some people use it straight...but then again some people use straight diatenatious earth as well. So research and find what works best for you.

You can do a little research here on this forum and amongst others to see many of the great recipes used by members all over the world. There is an entire section on this forum regarding soils etc.. http://forum.bonsaitalk.com/f8/

At this stage in bonsai...you will do best to learn... read , read, read and when you think you have read everything.... read it all again....but most importantly.... NEVER EVER EVER EVER be afraid to DO...... there is no better way to learn in life than to do... and if you kill a tree or 50.... you'll only continue to learn more and be that much better for it.

Asus101

Ohesnoes!!! Vic is a bonsai emo!!!!!

Victrinia_Ensor

Cheeky thing. <----- progression of smiles reading your post



Your friend,

Victrinia

__________________
Ms. Vic

Le belle cose prendono tempo...

www.elandangardens.com

Mcspeed

101 is correct in my book, in La. it might make sense due to known water problems, but there have been enough looks into this matter that say that tapwater is just fine. It may be for some areas and trees that it's better than rain water (acid rain).

I'll disagree to on soil and keeping it for a couple of years, don't, read up on it and make up your own mind, but better people than me have shown the way. I'm not saying jump into repotting, that in due time.

Try the new book at Stone Lantern A Guide to Junipers - oops that one jumped out.

Also bringing a tree in and out is detrimental to it's health, a very cool room needs to be around 39 - 40 degrees, even a day out of it's "cocoon" and you risk breaking dormancy, the next freeze does damage most likely. Again to bring a tree out on a nice day is not what you should do, put on some shorts and go enjoy the sun for it's value to your mind, but it's doing nothing but bringing the tree out of dormancy. Winter storage is not what a lot of new people think, what you are looking to accomplish is to maintain a low tempreture, get it cold keep it cold, until the season says bring it out.

The temps you are talking about shouln't be too bad get it outside as much as possible during the day, in a place out of the sun(cooler temps), if it's getting much below frost then the garage or shed would be OK, continue until the temps stay around 35 and you are set for winter. Mulched in a cooler in a shed or garage would be a good example of how a lot of people winter trees. I still prefer burried in the ground, mulched in, then surrounded by a windscreen, possibly a top. I just did that Sunday, with recycled materials(reads junk) windows, door screen, and a dozen or so deck screws, to make a cold frame.

Jeez see what happens when you type with 2 fingers, you guy's came in whilst I pecked away, at least we agree.

__________________
If at first you don't succeed -- skydiving is not for you.


Always remember that you're unique -- just like everyone else

Enjoy this day.
Bill