JustALoneSpirit
Yamadori
Just ordered this from an online nursery.... What cultivar or species is this one?
What cultivar of Japanese maple is this?
- Thread starter JustALoneSpirit
- Start date
Just ordered this from an online nursery.... What cultivar or species is this one?
Jrmcmich
Shohin
Not sure but might struggle in zone 12?
JustALoneSpirit
Yamadori
I'm planning to put it in the fridge for dormancy during the hot summers... While other time temperature never exceeds 30°c
Jrmcmich
Shohin
Look up putting in fridge. Saw a thread where one did that and nearly lost tree. Never tried myself so no experience but just what I’ve read
Jrmcmich
Shohin
[IMG alt="MACH5"]https://www.bonsainut.com/data/avatars/m/12/12251.jpg?1548740467[/IMG]
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Nice little tree Bolero! Below is a kiyohime that I have had for over a decade. I nearly killed it a couple of years ago when I attempted to stall bud brake by placing it in a fridge. The dry air inside desiccated and killed all but one branch. It is now being redesigned completely out of that single branch.
Orion_metalhead
Masterpiece
Jrmcmich
Shohin
Right but did you see what he did with that tree afterwards? Pretty awesome tree he turned it into.
TrevorLarsen
Chumono
It looks like it’s a tree in very early development so trying an experiment to see if the fridge works seems like a good idea to me. If it doesn’t work then you know more.
JustALoneSpirit
Yamadori
It cost me abt $20 so I'm a bit scared...
What about adding a misting setup or you know misting it now and then? Or adding a plastic bag over it for extra humidity
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Dormancy is NOT due only to temperature. It is brought on by shortening daylengths as summer turns to autumn in temperate climates. Cold is only the last part of the dormancy process. Plunking a tree into a dark cold refrigerator will shock it, not induce dormancy. The dry air in the fridge is also a problem as mentioned above. Placing it in a bag with moisture can work, but it will also be a damp still environment that's perfect for mold and fungal activity.
Sure try it, see what happens, but be skeptical of it working long term, or even short term.
Sure try it, see what happens, but be skeptical of it working long term, or even short term.
JustALoneSpirit
Yamadori
I have an entire plan for that. I will start reducing sunlight hours and eventually put the plant into the fridge for one hour, then 5 hours and then at last 24 hours... Along with a humidifier
JustALoneSpirit
Yamadori
Will it be okay to skip dormancy this year? Just to see the best time to keep them in the fridge so that they don't get fried by the heat and sun. I will let them be for this year without dormancy and wait till next year summer and decide whether to make them go dormant when I have summers or follow the normal cycle based on months.
Paradox
Marine Bonsologist
Trying to reverse engineer dormancy out of season is very unlikely to be successful. Tree will leaf out in spring then you plan to put it in increasing shade and cold to try to trick it into dormancy without the benefit of gaining strength from growth. It will lose its leaves and have to regrow it's leaves again afterwards. The weeks to 2 months of acclimating it in and out of that artificially against its natural biological rhythm will probably weaken it anyway on top of regrowing it's leaves
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Skipping dormancy will stress the tree a lot. It will complicate things even more.
As far as simply putting the tree into darkness for longer periods to replicate seasons, not sure that will work as you think it will. Shortening daylength in temperate zones is not just fewer hours of sunlight. It is the angle and apparently the color of that light. In late summer and autumn, sunlight hits temperate zones at less acute angle. That shift changes the quality of light because the light has to pass through more of the atmosphere. In tropical zones, Zone 12, that light pretty much remains the same, since the angle of sunlight remains pretty much the same, or at least there isn't a dramatic variation.
I have no evidence of this, but read through here:
extension.psu.edu
You can plan, but this process is pretty complicated and reproducing it in a manner that keeps the tree healthy won't be easy.
There's also the process of getting the tree to EMERGE from dormancy...
As far as simply putting the tree into darkness for longer periods to replicate seasons, not sure that will work as you think it will. Shortening daylength in temperate zones is not just fewer hours of sunlight. It is the angle and apparently the color of that light. In late summer and autumn, sunlight hits temperate zones at less acute angle. That shift changes the quality of light because the light has to pass through more of the atmosphere. In tropical zones, Zone 12, that light pretty much remains the same, since the angle of sunlight remains pretty much the same, or at least there isn't a dramatic variation.
I have no evidence of this, but read through here:
What Causes a Tree to Enter and Exit Dormancy?
The fall colors and spring blooms are tell-tale signs of the changing seasons. Have you ever stopped to wonder what makes a tree lose its leaves in the fall and flower in the spring?
extension.psu.edu
You can plan, but this process is pretty complicated and reproducing it in a manner that keeps the tree healthy won't be easy.
There's also the process of getting the tree to EMERGE from dormancy...
JustALoneSpirit
Yamadori
I totally agree, but then how does a tree imported from northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere acclimatize? The summer and winter seasons are opposite in both.Skipping dormancy will stress the tree a lot. It will complicate things even more.
As far as simply putting the tree into darkness for longer periods to replicate seasons, not sure that will work as you think it will. Shortening daylength in temperate zones is not just fewer hours of sunlight. It is the angle and apparently the color of that light. In late summer and autumn, sunlight hits temperate zones at less acute angle. That shift changes the quality of light because the light has to pass through more of the atmosphere. In tropical zones, Zone 12, that light pretty much remains the same, since the angle of sunlight remains pretty much the same, or at least there isn't a dramatic variation.
I have no evidence of this, but read through here:
What Causes a Tree to Enter and Exit Dormancy?
The fall colors and spring blooms are tell-tale signs of the changing seasons. Have you ever stopped to wonder what makes a tree lose its leaves in the fall and flower in the spring?
You can plan, but this process is pretty complicated and reproducing it in a manner that keeps the tree healthy won't be easy.
There's also the process of getting the tree to EMERGE from dormancy...
JustALoneSpirit
Yamadori
W
What will be the consequences? Why won't the trees be healthy?Skipping dormancy will stress the tree a lot. It will complicate things even more.
As far as simply putting the tree into darkness for longer periods to replicate seasons, not sure that will work as you think it will. Shortening daylength in temperate zones is not just fewer hours of sunlight. It is the angle and apparently the color of that light. In late summer and autumn, sunlight hits temperate zones at less acute angle. That shift changes the quality of light because the light has to pass through more of the atmosphere. In tropical zones, Zone 12, that light pretty much remains the same, since the angle of sunlight remains pretty much the same, or at least there isn't a dramatic variation.
I have no evidence of this, but read through here:
What Causes a Tree to Enter and Exit Dormancy?
The fall colors and spring blooms are tell-tale signs of the changing seasons. Have you ever stopped to wonder what makes a tree lose its leaves in the fall and flower in the spring?
You can plan, but this process is pretty complicated and reproducing it in a manner that keeps the tree healthy won't be easy.
There's also the process of getting the tree to EMERGE from dormancy...
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
The tree will decline and eventually die with no dormancy period. That decline might take a couple of years, or it might happen in a year. It will be sparser, weaker growth, dropping branches, increased susceptibility to insects and disease, etc., as the tree fades in health. Maples are simply not genetically adapted for year-round growth. They're not even reliable as landscape plants in teh Southern U.S.--there are hot weather varieties, but they still require dormancy
And take the "success" of others who grow maples in tropical climates with a grain of salt. They usually have specific climates that allow some maples to succeed.
what you're attempting is not easy even for experienced growers.
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
The importers dont care about that. You bought the tree it's your problem, basically. yeah, they will skip a dormancy period, but they will be weakened by doing that.
BrightsideB
Omono
It’s easy to want the exotic tree’s that don’t grow in our environment. Caring for a tree like this will be a job in itself. Have you examined your local wild species?
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