What strategies do you use when you go away?

[WNC Bonsai]

I only travel in winter.

 

[Shogun610]

Land mines and machine gun turrets with detection are set up when I leave , I also have a moat on all sides

 

[Dr3z]

I have heard these are quite good. Not super expensive. Haven’t tried them but maybe I will as this summer things are picking up.

Ace Programmable 2 Zone Digital Water Timer Mfr# 28245 - Ace Hardware

Keep your lawn healthy and the garden green with a 2-Zone HydroLogic Digital Timer. Water when you want by selecting up to four independent start times on each valve. Water on specific days of the week or every few days, depending on your plant's needs. Avoid wasting water when it rains with the...

www.acehardware.com

I like idea

I've ordered one and will report back

Well planned and reliable watering system is my first choice. If you plan to go away regularly it is well worth the time and expense.

Unless plant sitters really know about potted plants they can be notoriously unreliable just because they are not in the habit of watering PROPERLY EVERY day. So many bonsai growers have disaster stories about son/aunt/neighbour. Checking in each day you are away may help.

For occasional short absences pots can be in a tub of water. Plants do not drown or develop root rot in a few days. That takes months of chronic overwatering. 2-4 days in a tub won't hurt. No need to completely submerge the pots. Just check how fast the water in a specific tub evaporates at that time of year, multiply by the days you'll be gone then add a safety margin for particularly hot days.

Moving trees indoors or to a dark location can extend time between water. Trees in the dark use far less water. No sun or hot wind means less evaporation so trees can go 2-4 times as long between watering. I can post trees that require daily watering on the benches and they arrive healthy after up to a week in a dark box.

I would only use those last 2 methods for very occasional absence. Both will put the trees under some stress. Too often or too long could cause further problems.

I like these additional trade secrets; yiu have my thanks!

 

[Backwardsvg]

I like idea

I've ordered one and will report back


I like these additional trade secrets; yiu have my thanks!

@Dr3z let me know how they go I may get one this summer as well!

 

[Colorado]

I have an automatic Rachio irrigation system that I can control from my phone. I use overhead sprinklers.

I also ask my wife to check on the trees once a day and to water once a day just in case the overhead sprinkler isn’t quite reaching EVERYthing…however this service is very expensive and cost me a Burberry handbag. But the insurance is worth it

 

[WNC Bonsai]

If I have to travel in summer I leave my wife at home to tend the trees and take my girlfriend on the trip. Good thing my wife doesn’t read this stuff!

 

[HorseloverFat]

If I have to travel in summer I leave my wife at home to tend the trees and take my girlfriend on the trip. Good thing my wife doesn’t read this stuff!

Trick is finding a wife who IS your girlfriend.... your best friend.

 

[Stormwater]

Trick is finding a wife who IS your girlfriend.... your best friend.

Then who gets left At home?

 

[HorseloverFat]

Then who gets left At home?

Your highly trained children... when they are old enough.

Cause if you find your Romantic Best Friend, you'll want to reproduce... good breeding stock.

 

[Carol 83]

Your highly trained children... when they are old enough.

Cause if you find your Romantic Best Friend, you'll want to reproduce... good breeding stock.

My late father-in-law, who came from a family of 11 and had 9 children always said "we're piss poor stock but we breed like rats.

 

[PA_Penjing]

I'm a fan of submerging flood tolerant trees if it's just a few days (and it always is) but junipers and pines get watered heavily, put in the shade by a fence and have pots wrapped in a towel. That has been my method for years with no casualties. The trees that don't appreciate it will let you know, for example my american larch would yellow a little. But some trees will respond positively too, for example my chinese elm and ficus would have big growth spurts.

 

[canoeguide]

I've not done it, but I suspect that local club members that you are friends with would be reliable and knowledgeable waterers to trade services with. Who else but other bonsai people would truly understand the responsibility?

 

[W3rk]

Bonsai need a lot of attention and a moments neglect can undo years of care. The fast draining soils we use particularly seem to have very little wiggle room when it comes to the risk of drying out during summer months.

It's the norm for me to go away, especially in the summer, for a week or weekend and during this time of year when trees benefit from multiple watering a day I particularly worry.

What strategies do you guys employ to minimize the risk. Do you move trees to shaded areas or even inside? Are there other moisture retaining strategies you use? Automation?

My solution is The Cure.

 

[Dr3z]

put in the shade by a fence and have pots wrapped in a towel. That has been my method for years with no casualties.

I'm actually quite happy to hear this...I was intuitively thinking something similar but fearfull I would get scolded!

 

[HorseloverFat]

My late father-in-law, who came from a family of 11 and had 9 children always said "we're piss poor stock but we breed like rats.

I just realized a bizarre similarity to my own life..

My Grandfather Zornow was FROM a family of 9... and HAD 7.

 

[Mikecheck123]

New sprinkler setup in anticipation of a trip this weekend. People here somewhere recommended the timer and the sprinkler, but I couldn't find those posts to thank them.... (well maybe I should wait and see if the trees survive before doing any thanking.... )

 

[Mikecheck123]

New sprinkler setup in anticipation of a trip this weekend. People here somewhere recommended the timer and the sprinkler, but I couldn't find those posts to thank them.... (well maybe I should wait and see if the trees survive before doing any thanking.... )

View attachment 442201

What's kind of cool is that the inner area instantly became a bird sanctuary. A family of grackles (mom and fledglings) spent the day inside there, knocking over seedlings. Oh wait maybe not so great!

 

[Pelicano919]

Rain bird sprinkler system. Also lawn and gardens in separate zones as well as dedicated zone for trees with ability to activate twice daily necessary in south Louisiana later Spring and Summers. Process does take some ability to follow rather complicated manual. to program but once set has yet to fire.

 

[Pelicano919]

Oops, not fire

 

[vp999]

I paid a 14 year old next door neighbor $20 a day to water my tree once a day, he did an ok job but some of the trees weren't received enough water during my last trip, this year I till tell him to water longer for each tree.