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CARE INFORMATION
This Page Last Updated: April 13, 2008 TREES AS OUTDOOR BONSAI HERE Evergreen: False cypress (Chamaecyparis sp.) San José juniper (Juniperus chinensis 'San Jose') Shimpaku/Sargent's Juniper - (Juniperus chinensis sargentii) One-seed juniper (Juniperus monosperma) Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) Eastern juniper (Juniperus virginiana) American Larch (Larix laricina) Dwarf Alberta spruce (Picea glauca `Conica') Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens) Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine (Pinus aristata) Japanese five-needle or white pine (Pinus parviflora) Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii) Yew podocarpus (Podocarpus macrophyllus)) Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) Firethorn (Pyracantha sp.) Yew (Taxus sp.) Deciduous: Trident maple (Acer buergerianum) Amur maple (Acer ginnala) Japanese red maple (Acer palmatum) River birch (Betula nigra) Boxwood (Buxus sp.) Buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus) Apple (Malus sp.) Mulberry (Morus alba) Aspen (Populus tremuloides) Potentilla (Potentilla sp.) Live oak (Quercus sp.) Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila) TREES AS INDOOR BONSAI HERE Particular varieties that can tolerate the temperature and humidity of indoor conditions, but which still demand LIGHT, good air circulation, and very good soil mix drainage in order to be healthy and to thrive. LIGHT is the key, LIGHT is the main course; fertilizer is only a supplement. Small-leaf or needle-leaf varieties indoors usually cannot get enough light for photosynthesis. Use either bigger-leaf varieties and/or more natural and artificial light: flourescent bulbs can be put closer to the plants than heat-emitting incandescents. South and west-facing windows are better than northern exposures; garden window boxes and skylights are very helpful. Occasional outdoors warm-weather, wind-protected, and partial sun-screened sessions for indoor plants are appreciated by them -- just be sure to monitor their need for additional water then. Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla) Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea sp.) Jade tree (Crassula argentea) Fukien Tea (Ehretia buxifolia, aka Carmona microphylla) Weeping fig (Ficus benjamina) Narrow-leaf fig (Ficus neriifolia, aka F. salicifolia) Ficus retusa (aka F. microcarpa nitida) Orange Jasmine (Murraya exotica) Texas Ebony (Pithecolobium flexicuale) Ming Aralia (Polyscias fruticosa) Dwarf jade/Elephant's food (Portulacaria afra) Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) Dwarf Schefflera (Schefflera arboricola) Tree of a Thousand Stars (Serissa foetida) Catlin elm (Ulmus parvifolia var. Catlin) ------- WINTERIZATION Why? 1) Low temperatures between -20° and -10° F (USDA Zone 5). 2) Moisture-withdrawing winds and low humidity. 3) Temperature fluctuations (sometimes up to 70°F during days) which can bring trees out of dormancy before late winter freezes. How? 1) Mid-August: stop fertilizing, especially with high-Nitrogen products. 2) September: start slowly cutting back on watering. 3) Pack outdoor bonsai trees to keep an even temperature. Use a non-glazed cold frame, unheated shed or garage, vented greenhouse, bottom shelf of a sheltered workbench, a non-southern corner of the house protected from the wind, the north or east side under a large and protective landscape tree, and/or bury the bonsai trees still in their pots in the ground. Then, surround and cover with several inches of some type of mulch (wheat straw, leaves, pine needles, bark, snow, etc.). Once deciduous trees have lost their leaves they can be kept cold and dark; evergreens probably do not need some type of light during the daytime. 4) Check regularly and water as needed. Dehydration can quickly happen. 5) Indoor plants need very good LIGHT and good air-circulation. Be sure they are not too close to the glass of an uninsulated window. It is recommended to get a small personal-type fan and let it blow across your indoor trees for a few hours two or three times a week to help keep insects at bay. See also this in-depth Freeze Damage article. ------- ROCKY MOUNTAIN WINTER CARE "Since you may not be familiar with winter care of bonsai in this area, I should like to mention a few of my numerous bitter experiences. Colorado has extremely changeable winter weather. The sunny daytime temperature of 60° F is very fine; but after sunset the temperature has been known to drop to -0° F to as much as -20° F at midnight. Under these variations, bonsai in ceramic pots, which are sitting on the ground, cannot take and have not taken the extra severe changes of the winter climate. "Some 15 years ago, give or take a few years, I had not known these facts and, regretfully to this day, lost many beautiful bonsai of untold value. Still reminiscing, what heart-breaking times for many of us bonsai growers! In spite of or because of this, we've put our heads together in earnest and furthered dedicated research. There have been numerous conclusions, the most important of which is to understand and follow the natural way of forest or field. "1. Be ready, even as early as September, to winterize bonsai, since it is always 'later than you think.' "2. Bury every bonsai in a pot, to be buried in the ground, up to the rim of the pot in gravel or sand. "3. Why in gravel or sand? Because either provides excellent drainage. "4. Reason: in freezing weather, ground and pot freeze together; when thawing in mild temperatures, they thaw together. "5. If bonsai are set on top of the ground or atop shelves, there may be freezing, then thawing, which would injure the fine root system inside the pots. "6. Then, with approaching spring, the root system invariably cannot regain activity. "7. To this day, by unsoothed bitter experience in these areas, I have known a cold snap to occur even the first week in September for three or four days. One must always be on the alert. Most bonsai must be protected and covered at night with heavy plastic sheets, which are removed in daytime. "8. In freezing weather, just let the bonsai alone; do not water. "9. During a spell of warmer temperatures, apply water. "10. Lastly, though mighty important, based on my own experiences and findings: The first year after planting is not bad, because the root system has not stretched out too far nor become established inside the pot. In the second year, many roots will have stretched toward the outer circumference of the pot. In the third and later years, more roots will have encircled within the pot; these are the crucial, dangerous years, if bonsai are not buried in the ground in sand or gravel. I cannot stress this point too much, for I have suffered losses and hope that you will benefit from my experience and thus be saved some losses." (George T. Fukuma, Denver, ABS Journal, Fall 1971, pp. 54-55) ------- SCHEDULES for the Rocky Mountain & Great Plains Region Dec – Feb give bonsai winter protection Mar – midApr acclimate trees for spring conditions midApr – midAug best time to transplant bonsai Oct – Nov acclimate trees for winter conditions May – Jul wire and shape deciduous plants Dec – Mar wire and shape evergreen plants (from Jerry Stowell’s The Beginner’s Guide to American Bonsai, 1986, 1978, Appendix C, pp. 120-121) ------- DIGGING TREES IN THE SPRING Deciduous 1) In March or so, before the new buds have fully swelled and started to open, dig up the tree and keep as much of the roots/rootball as possible. Oaks, especially, need a lot of roots brought with them (still attached to the tree, of course!) and put in a DEEP pot. 2) Put in a larger-than-usual pot or collection box and be sure the plant is protected from the usual late frosts which will severely injure any new growing roots. Evergreen 1) In April or May, before the new buds have fully swelled and started to open, dig up the tree and keep as much of the roots/rootball as possible. 2) Put in a larger-than-usual pot or collection box and be sure the plant is protected from the usual late frosts which will severely injure any new growing roots. ------- MOUNTAIN-COLLECTING CRITERIA Always collect for quality, not quantity -- a very few excellent specimens are so much better for your time, energy, and display space than a lot of plain and underdeveloped plants. Therefore, look for: 1. "Movement" or "action" (interesting character) in the bottom 6" of the trunk. (Lack of such character at the bottom would take very much longer to develop in a pot.) 2. Rootage on the same side of the tree as the trunk and branches. (Rootage opposite (180°) or at right angles (90°) from the trunk would initially require an out-of-proportion growing box or container.) 3. Trees that are relatively easy to move back-and-forth in the ground. (Shake several otherwise prime specimens and dig out the "loosest" -- the longer you spend on getting a tree out of the ground/rock, the less likely that tree is to survive.) 4. Trees with a relatively large (c.90-100%) amount of rootball that comes out. HOWEVER, quality of roots is more important than quantity: a small but dense matted rootball is better for the tree's survival than a large but loose mass of "spaghetti." --- Harold Sasaki, from an April 12, 2008 workshop for us. ------- PROPAGATION HINTS When air-layering, you need to cut deep into the branch/trunk in order to get the roots to start. Don't just scratch a little under the bark. ------- PEST CONTROL A recommended spray is Garden Safe® brand Fungicide3 by Schultz. This is a combination fungicide, insecticide, and miticide whose active ingredient is Neem Oil Extract. ------- WIRING HELP 1. Instead of raffia as an underwrap for wiring, use Saran Wrap® or similar plastic. Cut off a long sheet and roll it up. Cut this into strips less than 1" in width. Unroll the strip as you wind it around the trunk or branch. It sticks better than raffia. Use several layers. 2. Twist a branch while wiring -- this will lessen the likelihood of the branch breaking. 3. Wire left on a branch or trunk too long begins to be grown around by the bark and leaves a scar. This can be lessened by using fine-grained sandpaper on the scar. The bark at that point might be a different color than the surrounding bark, but the visual scar will be lessened. --- Harold Sasaki, from an April 12, 2008 workshop for us. ------- PATIENTLY SHAPING TREES
A common misperception at the many bonsai groups around the state
is that "[t]hese people want to style their trees by finding fault
in plant material right from the start. Instead of emphasizing
the positive aspects of the tree, they want to get rid of all the faults
in one workshop or one sitting -- and they end up with
Charlie Brown's Christmas tree.
"In your haste to make a perfect tree, you cripple the plant and it may never recover. Why make all the decisions at one time? Be conservative. Remember that your eye and your experience and skill will improve with time." Too many members of bonsai clubs like ours "see a demonstration of bonsai pruning and go home and kill a tree. You must get over the mentality that if you don't cut it drastically it's not bonsai. Take your time. Your best buddy is Mother Nature. The person demonstrating has no ability to put buds on your tree where you want them."
--- Harold Sasaki, from a May 13, 2000 workshop,
as quoted in our June 2000 club newsletter.
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