Do you do any bonsai work during hot weather ?

[davetree]

Do any of you do bonsai work during the heat of summer ? Or do you avoid pruning or wiring in hot weather ? Thanks for your replies.

 

[agraham]

Grow tropicals.

 

[Zach Smith]

Depends on the species. For trees that grow all season, I don't have any problem doing summer work as long as I know I can get root growth (i.e., it's not too hot in the root zone). Some I work with, like water-elm, like it hot and sunny and wet and grow best during summer. American hornbeam, sweetgum, crape myrtle, no problems. Beech are "toast" during summer, so I wouldn't touch one after June.

In fact, I like to do my last round of structural work, pruning and wiring, during summer on most of my trees because I know I'll get a good round of girth-building on branches in the fall, which sets shape very nicely.

Zach

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I do very little. Normally I focus on making sure they are getting watered and fertilized properly, that the soil is good and moss isn't growing too aggressively, pull weeds from soil, etc. I will also trim growth that is inconsistent with my plans for the tree - but this is minor trimming of individual shoots of branches. I try to use the summer for making the tree as strong as possible. Of course, we're talking southern california here...

 

[Poink88]

I still do as needed or as opportunity arises.

I still collect trees, repotted one recently due to very fast drying old "pot". I wire, style, and trim when needed. This week I am planning on bending a big boxwood branch...my first attempt to document for possible tutorial later.

 

[davetree]

I have a short season in Minnesota so I tend to be careful starting right now. Just wondering what others experience is. Thanks.

 

[Jay Wilson]

I'm defoliating an oak today. I never thought about not working trees in the heat of the summer. Of course all my trees are native to my place so summer heat is normal to them.

 

[davetree]

They say trees go dormant in really hot weather. I guess that's why I am asking.

 

[Zach Smith]

Too much heat on the roots will stop growth of the roots. No root growth, no top growth. But if you can keep the root zone cooler than the ambient temperature, growth should continue. Many species grow all season long, so the idea of summer "dormancy" is probably only heat-related (and of course drought-related, but we can control both).

Zach

 

[0soyoung]

Too much heat on the roots will stop growth of the roots. No root growth, no top growth. But if you can keep the root zone cooler than the ambient temperature, growth should continue. Many species grow all season long, so the idea of summer "dormancy" is probably only heat-related (and of course drought-related, but we can control both).

It is pretty well known that root growth effectively stops when the temperature falls below 40F or so. From rooting studies, one might guess that the optimum root growth temperature is around 80F. But I haven't come across a high temperature limit, though there clearly must be one. Does anybody know the high temperature limit to root growth?

 

[davetree]

I agree. I have had all my trees on the ground for over a week now. The pots stay much cooler. Some of my elms have sprouted long shoots as a result.

 

[Paradox]

Pretty much just watering and weeding. Occasionally one of my maples puts off a very long shoot and I cut it back. Probably going to have to think about defoliating sometime this month.

It really depends on the species.
Ive read that mugo pines prefer to be potted and pruned in August rather than in early spring. I did it to my first mugo last year and it seemed to survive it fine and is grew happily this spring.
Ive got another 2 mugos Ill probably repot and prune in mid-late August.

My other pines I wont touch til next spring.

 

[tanlu]

There are actually quite a few pines that can be repotted in late summer. Pitch Pine is one of them. I collected a Pitch Pine clump last August and it's responded with roots bursting out of its pot. New growth is plentiful and a vibrant green. Other than that, I just make sure everything is well watered in the morning. My willow leaf ficus is responding very well to drastic root and branch pruning.

 

[0soyoung]

It is pretty well known that root growth effectively stops when the temperature falls below 40F or so. From rooting studies, one might guess that the optimum root growth temperature is around 80F. But I haven't come across a high temperature limit, though there clearly must be one. Does anybody know the high temperature limit to root growth?

The Warnell School of Forestry tells us that the high temperature limit to root growth is about 94F. So, when your temperatures are hitting 95F and higher you should do something to lower the root temperature (like put your bonsai pots on/in the ground) if you want your trees to keep growing.

'Too much heat on the roots' = root temperature higher than 94F

just sayin'

 

[jk_lewis]

Foil wrapped around the pot (shiny side out) helps keep the pot cooler.

Watering during heat waves is not a great solution. Water absorbs heat and releases it VERY slowly, so you may be slow-cooking your roots. Shade helps.

I'll prune deciduous trees in mid summer.

 

[Poink88]

My collected (February this year) large crabapple was planted on a milk crate with landscaping weed barrier to hold the Turface in. It worked and the tree is lush now but as summer came the tree just hybernated. The pot, having holes all around transpires water so fast that I cannot keep up with watering wise so I had to repot last week. The new pot (bussing tub) is lined with styrofoam boards on the sides and this weekend, the tree just pushed out a lot of new growth on all its terminal buds!!!

Poor thing was collected, potted, re-potted, then re-potted again all in less than 5 months! No regrets, I would have done the same thing again since I think the steps helped it get where it is now.

Feb 04, 2012

around April 17, 2012

no photo of the latest repot yet but will post this week.

 

[fantasmagore]

I think what some of the focus of this thread should be is that you can work on bonsai all year long, in some way, anywhere. What is most important is what you can do where you are. It's the beginning of July here in the Puget Sound in Washington, and I'm still transplanting and digging stuff up and lopping stuff off, which is usually a no no for this time of year, but we have had an exceptionally cold and slow starting year here. It's kinda fun for me because despite slow growth, it's damn near impossible to kill anything right now no matter what I do to my plants, so I've had a chance to get a lot done.

 

[Adair M]

For those who have JBP, this is the time to decandle. I decandled mine earlier today.

 

[davetree]

I guess what I should have said is do you do any stressful work like heavy wiring or pruning, or defoliating. Not in summer, but during hot weather above, say, 90 degrees.