October Bonsai Newsletter
AWWW, OCTOBER... is here! Finally some cooler weather, this is why we live in Florida. The cooler nights mean the growth of your tropicals will slow down. Your deciduous trees are preparing for dormancy. Now we can enjoy their fall colors. If you have a tropical tree in need of repotting it is getting almost too late. Once the nights get into the fifties root growth stops. Now you should be looking at your deciduous and evergreen trees that will need repotted this winter. Be looking at your pots, might be a good time to start hinting to family members about that pot you might want for Christmas, for that special tree. Oh, and we just happened to get a new shipment of pots in.
HEADING INTO OCTOBER... we get to look forward to fall foliage. Here in Florida we don't get a lot of color, but there are areas in Central and North Florida that are still pretty spectacular in their own right. The Sumacs with their bright red foliage are the first and then the Maples, Elms, Sweetgums, Beech and Sassafras to name a few. We can expect some color on our deciduous bonsai trees also. Since fall is generally a dry season I have found that keeping my Maples more on the dry side, almost to the drought stress stage, enhances their color. If you have wire on any deciduous trees check that they aren't getting too tight. Deciduous trees and especially Pines tend to swell going into dormancy. Leave your cold hardy trees outside, they need the period of dormancy.
TIME TO THINK... about winter protection for your tropicals. The days are shorter so they will need to stay outside as much as possible to get the light they need to keep the leaves small and not to lose any small twigging. What tropicals don't like are big differences in temperatures, which unfortunately we get quite often here. Cold night and then a warm day, we can have 30 - 40 degree variation in one day. Tropicals aren't accustomed to this and will react by yellowing and dropping of their leaves. So it is best to keep temperatures as moderate as possible. No colder than in the low 50's. If any of your tropicals get shocked going into winter do not try to water and fertilize them back to health. Keep them slightly damp, depending on how bad the leaf loss is. Trees without leaves cannot transpire water, which means their roots cannot breathe and they will rot.
WATERING... As the days are much shorter and the nights cooler our watering requirements are less. I will start going from watering every day to every other day and on into winter every third day. Tropicals will require a little more your dormant trees will require less. Watering in the winter is just as important, not to over water, as it is not to under water in the summer, although winters low humidity can dry a tree every bit as quick as the heat. Daily check on your trees and individual hand watering is always best.
FERTILIZING... All nitrogenous fertilizing of your deciduous trees should be stopped by now. Applying a little phosphorous fertilizer now will help promote healthier roots and they will flush out better in the spring. Bloodmeal is a good slow release fertilizer that can be used. You should lightly fertilize your tropicals only to maintain health, not to promote new growth.
2011
FRIENDLY TIP... There is one thing for sure regarding common names of plants and that is that they are unsure. Common names are often determined by a grower, a nursery, a region, a characteristic, or an individual. Some common names have become widely accepted and are used often and many recognize the tree by that name, but knowing only the common name of a plant will often not help you find the necessary care information you will need. Only the botanical name is universal and reliable. Always make sure to get the botanical name whenever you purchase a plant.
AWWW, OCTOBER... is here! Finally some cooler weather, this is why we live in Florida. The cooler nights mean the growth of your tropicals will slow down. Your deciduous trees are preparing for dormancy. Now we can enjoy their fall colors. If you have a tropical tree in need of repotting it is getting almost too late. Once the nights get into the fifties root growth stops. Now you should be looking at your deciduous and evergreen trees that will need repotted this winter. Be looking at your pots, might be a good time to start hinting to family members about that pot you might want for Christmas, for that special tree. Oh, and we just happened to get a new shipment of pots in.
TOWARDS THE END OF OCTOBER... we get to look forward to fall foliage. Here in Florida we don't get a lot of color, but there are areas in Central and North Florida that are still pretty spectacular in their own right. The Sumacs with their bright red foliage are the first and then the Maples, Elms, Sweetgums, Beech and Sassafras to name a few. We can expect some color on our deciduous bonsai trees also. Since fall is generally a dry season, I have found that keeping my Maples more on the drier side, starting at the end of the month, enhances their color. If you have wire on any deciduous trees check that they aren't getting too tight. Deciduous trees and especially Pines tend to swell going into dormancy. Leave your cold hardy trees outside, they need the period of dormancy.
TIME TO THINK... about winter protection for your tropicals. The days are shorter so they will need to stay outside as much as possible to get the light they need to keep the leaves small and not to lose any small twigging. What tropicals don't like are big differences in temperatures, which unfortunately we get quite often here. Cold night and then a warm day, we can have 30 - 40 degree variation in one day. Some tropicals aren't accustomed to this and will react by yellowing and dropping of their leaves. So it is best to keep temperatures as moderate as possible. No colder than in the low 50's. If any of your tropicals get shocked going into winter do not try to water and fertilize them back to health. Keep them slightly damp, depending on how bad the leaf loss is. Trees without leaves cannot transpire water, which means their roots cannot breathe and they will rot. They may not respond until we start to go into spring.
WATERING... As the days are much shorter and the nights cooler our watering requirements are less. I will start going from watering every day to every other day and on into winter every third day, this is for general watering at the nursery. Daily check on your trees and individual hand watering is always best.
Tropicals will require a little more than your dormant trees. Watering in the winter is just as important, not to over water, as it is not to under water in the summer, although winters low humidity can dry a tree every bit as quick as the heat.
FERTILIZING... All nitrogenous fertilizing of your deciduous trees should be stopped by now. Applying a little phosphorous fertilizer now will help promote healthier roots and they will flush out better in the spring. Bloodmeal is a good slow release fertilizer that can be used. You should lightly fertilize your tropicals only to maintain health, not to promote new growth.