What do you do for intense heat?

[99 Mile Creek]

We've had an especially hot spring, and it looks like a heat wave is in effect for the next week. My current bonsai soil mix is calling for watering three times a day (maybe four yesterday).

What are your tips and tricks to keep your bonsai cool during these times? I plan to make a cover for my bald cypress and dawn redwood tub to keep the water shaded and cool.

But I find myself in a predicament where I cannot erect a shade cloth (HOA) -- at least not permanently so. I cannot place my trees on the ground due to my dog attacking my trees.

Maybe I can bring some of those most vulnerable indoors from 2-4 hours? I'll be out of town for a long weekend, again, so they will have to remain outside so I can water them with my automated watering system at that time.

Would fashioning some sort of shade cloth to go around bonsai pots be effective? Adding a layer of water retaining soil on top?

Maybe my situation is a difficult one to manage, but maybe someone can chime in to give ideas to others. It seems that placing your bonsai on shaded ground and in the grass can be an effective strategy for those that can do it.

 

[Paradox]

You could wrap the pots in white towels.
It will help them stay cooler especially when wet.

Putting them in an area that gets shade in the afternoon can help too

I usually water my trees twice a day when it gets hot and if I feel they need it

 

[TimIAm]

Knowing the tolerance of different species is helpful, it allows you to prioritise what gets moved out the heat if you have limited space.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Shade cloth.

 

[99 Mile Creek]

You could wrap the pots in white towels.
It will help them stay cooler especially when wet.

Putting them in an area that gets shade in the afternoon can help too

I usually water my trees twice a day when it gets hot and if I feel they need it

Great idea. Thank you.

Knowing the tolerance of different species is helpful, it allows you to prioritise what gets moved out the heat if you have limited space.

All four of my elms (three Chinese and one American) and all various stages of development have all experienced mild to moderate leaf burn already.

My Japanese maples will need to be permanently relocated to a shaded side of the house anyway. But my trident, especially, needs shade, since it was rootbound and potted for the first time late this spring (still in the three-week shading period).

Most others should be okay with wrapping the pots to some degree. At least I think so with adequate watering.

Maybe I can still look into a shade cloth for the current (and future) heat wave. Since trees are naturally shaded -- for the most part -- the canopy layer providing protection for non-emergent layer trees, I would think it would be prudent.

 

[Gabler]

How hot are we talking? I'm trying to figure out why you need to do more than increase your watering. In my experience, if a tree (or any other living organism) has enough water, it can't overheat.

 

[99 Mile Creek]

How hot are we talking? I'm trying to figure out why you need to do more than increase your watering. In my experience, if a tree (or any other living organism) has enough water, it can't overheat.

This week it is staying in 90-95 degrees in my area.

 

[Gabler]

This week it is staying in 90-95 degrees in my area.

That's definitely hot, but not outrageous like the numbers I see from folks in Texas, Arizona, etc. Since you have a remote watering system, just set it to run more often. Let the trees regulate their own temperature through evaporative cooling.

 

[Cajunrider]

We've had an especially hot spring, and it looks like a heat wave is in effect for the next week. My current bonsai soil mix is calling for watering three times a day (maybe four yesterday).

What are your tips and tricks to keep your bonsai cool during these times? I plan to make a cover for my bald cypress and dawn redwood tub to keep the water shaded and cool.

But I find myself in a predicament where I cannot erect a shade cloth (HOA) -- at least not permanently so. I cannot place my trees on the ground due to my dog attacking my trees.

Maybe I can bring some of those most vulnerable indoors from 2-4 hours? I'll be out of town for a long weekend, again, so they will have to remain outside so I can water them with my automated watering system at that time.

Would fashioning some sort of shade cloth to go around bonsai pots be effective? Adding a layer of water retaining soil on top?

Maybe my situation is a difficult one to manage, but maybe someone can chime in to give ideas to others. It seems that placing your bonsai on shaded ground and in the grass can be an effective strategy for those that can do it.

But they can't stop you from getting a large picnic umbrella and replace the cloth of the umbrella with shade cloth. Some of my friends do that to get around the HOA position on shade cloth.
BTW, they can't stop you from tying strings to the cloth on the umbrella to stabilize it either.

 

[99 Mile Creek]

But they can't stop you from getting a large picnic umbrella and replace the cloth of the umbrella with shade cloth. Some of my friends do that to get around the HOA position on shade cloth.
BTW, they can't stop you from tying strings to the cloth on the umbrella to stabilize it either.

Hmm . . . interesting work around. Thanks for that idea.

 

[Wood]

It's not shade cloth! It's a sun sail. Which just so happens to cover your bonsai bench and the one folding chair next to the bench!

 

[BrianBay9]

I put my smaller pots in a sand tray - plastic mixing tub with some small holes, filled with play sand. bury the pots in sand half way up and water the whole thing. The sands stays wet much longer than the pots alone. Roots grow out the bottom of the pots, but can easily be trimmed.

 

[Wood]

I've been done that with chicken grit in the past to good success, and trying it with perlite this year

 

[99 Mile Creek]

I put my smaller pots in a sand tray - plastic mixing tub with some small holes, filled with play sand. bury the pots in sand half way up and water the whole thing. The sands stays wet much longer than the pots alone. Roots grow out the bottom of the pots, but can easily be trimmed.

That's clever. I've got a lot of spare sand to do just that.

 

[Gabler]

That's clever. I've got a lot of spare sand to do just that.

Be sure to rinse it first, so it's not salty.

 

[Maiden69]

But I find myself in a predicament where I cannot erect a shade cloth (HOA)

Read the DCCRs. Usually they can't regulate anything that sites at the height of your fence if you have one. In the old place I lived the rules was 6', so anything at that height or below they couldn't say squat. Also, see if they have a special "rule" for greenhouses. There are a few exemptions for those, because fancy people like their greenhouses.

 

[Cajunrider]

Read the DCCRs. Usually they can't regulate anything that sites at the height of your fence if you have one. In the old place I lived the rules was 6', so anything at that height or below they couldn't say squat. Also, see if they have a special "rule" for greenhouses. There are a few exemptions for those, because fancy people like their greenhouses.

Mine is very strict for the front yard. I can't plant any tree without their approval. The backyard is up to me so they can't stop me from planting. Not that I will plant any. Having 200 pots there kinda get in the way of planting trees.

 

[99 Mile Creek]

Read the DCCRs. Usually they can't regulate anything that sites at the height of your fence if you have one. In the old place I lived the rules was 6', so anything at that height or below they couldn't say squat. Also, see if they have a special "rule" for greenhouses. There are a few exemptions for those, because fancy people like their greenhouses.

I do have a fence, but only at the staggering and maximum height of a whopping four feet . . . we're still fighting for higher fencing and "sheds only" (I assume no other buildings?) for backyards so that we can at least store our landscaping equipment out of our garages and use our garages as intended.

Not really sure why they wouldn't allow this to begin with. It would move the cars off the sides of the streets and open up the neighborhood. But this is coming from an HOA that tried to have me remove my American flag by stating that I needed approval for the pole -- not the flag. How else are you supposed to fly the flag? . . . I'll rant about my HOA all day.

I'll have to look into greenhouses though. Good point.

 

[Cajunrider]

I do have a fence, but only at the staggering and maximum height of a whopping four feet . . . we're still fighting for higher fencing and "sheds only" (I assume no other buildings?) for backyards so that we can at least store our landscaping equipment out of our garages and use our garages as intended.

Not really sure why they wouldn't allow this to begin with. It would move the cars off the sides of the streets and open up the neighborhood. But this is coming from an HOA that tried to have me remove my American flag by stating that I needed approval for the pole -- not the flag. How else are you supposed to fly the flag? . . . I'll rant about my HOA all day.

I'll have to look into greenhouses though. Good point.

I hate HOA. I got into a house with one simply because after a hurricane and my house was destroyed, finding a home after a hurricane was tough tough.

 

[Paradox]

I hate HOA. I got into a house with one simply because after a hurricane and my house was destroyed, finding a home after a hurricane was tough tough.

I agree, I don't like them either. Some of them have a God complex and try to rule every aspect of your property.

I get expectations like making sure the house looks maintained, painted when needs it, lawn mowed, stuff like that fine. Fence height, flag poles, sheds, even down to the color of the house, etc, I feel it's none of their business unless the want to pay the mortgage and taxes for me.

I'm fortunate that I don't live under the draconian rules of an HOA. I feel for anyone that does