WOO HOO... The 00's are over with, remember seeing 2001 Space Odyssey and thinking that was forever away and now here we are in 2010, not quite sure if I should be glad or scared about that? I think I will make my resolution to lighten up a little and enjoy life. I know the economy is bad but we can't let that stop us from enjoying what we love doing and that is working on our trees. So what are you waiting on, go on out there and let them take you away from it all for a while. Bonsai is not only a special plant, it is more like a pet, and a little time each day should be spent on its care, it will reward you. These winter months do give us the opportunity to study the structural lines and form on deciduous trees in nature.
WINTER CARE DECIDUOUS AND CONIFERS... So far this winter we have had above normal temperatures and rainfall in November and December. Our trees are saying, “What the hey is going on, you want me do go dormant or keep growing?”. I have some Maples that have lost all their leaves and some that still have green leaves. Your deciduous trees are not yet dormant, so no root pruning. You can carefully drought stress a deciduous tree in the fall to promote better color, but the amount of time the leaves stay on will be shortened. Once the leaves have all fallen off is a good time to wire and style your tree. The branches are more brittle this time of year so be careful on any drastic branch bending. Large branches can be removed if needed and you should prune back your secondary branches to improve taper and keep your tree in proportion. This will also give you more tertiary branching next year.
Pines and other Conifers cannot be root pruned yet either, but it is a good time to do branch or root grafting on them. You can be styling them. Take cuttings of your Junipers, Chamaecyparis and other evergreens now.
TROPICALS... If you have any of your tropicals where most of the leaves have turned yellow, and are falling off, (this occurs because of the big fluctuations in temperature we experience here) go ahead and cut the remaining ones off, be sure to leave part of the petiole (leaf stem) to protect the new buds. I would not recommend defoliating a tropical this time of year, but it has been my experience that when the tree naturally is doing it, it doesn't seem to hurt it a bit. Do not do any of your Ficus benjaminia varieties for they will die back. If you have had to defoliate a tree, now would be a good time to wire it before the new buds start swelling and leaves start emerging. I have already done mine and they are starting to bud back. The new leaves seem to be better acclimated to the cooler temperatures and will harden off and not be affected again. Be careful on how you water a defoliated tree, not too much, and do not fertilize them. You can still style any of your tropicals, just no major top or root pruning.
PROBLEMS... If you have all of your tropicals in a small area or greenhouse you still need to be on the lookout for insects, especially aphids and soft body scale. You will want to keep air circulating either by a fan or opening the area daily to prevent any mold or fungi problems. Keep the area clean of dead leaves and other debris.
WATERING... We sometimes get foggy mornings in between our cold fronts so your trees won't need as much water, but it can also fool you into thinking the soil is wet, when you check it appears so, but may only be wet on the top of the soil. So check deeply.
2010