Before I starting writing this I read last February’s newsletter. It started out saying I hope everyone’s trees survived the freeze of “09" well, now that seems like nothing compared to the freeze we just went through. Last year, January 22nd and 23rd,, were the coldest of the season with sustained freezes of 11 hours and 7 hours respectfully. This year, starting on January 3rd, we saw five nights of below freezing temperatures, one warmer night and then five more nights of below freezing, makes me cold just writing about it. I am sure we all will remember the day it snowed in Florida, the day of our BYOT. Funny, of all the storms and hurricanes we experience this is the first time I can remember having to reschedule a workshop due to weather and it was because of snow. Made for some sleepless nights having to tend to the greenhouse and sprinklers. Talk about an ice show, we had some unbelievable icicles.
The second half of last month we saw warmer temperatures and some of our deciduous trees are a little confused. They seem to think they have had enough chilling hours and are starting to break dormancy. They will be okay as long as we don’t get another hard freeze. If so, you will need to protect them, if the sap that is rising were to freeze it could split the cambium and quite possibly kill the tree. Keep them in shade to try and prolong them from leafing out. If they insist on doing so and the leaves are emerging, place them in full sun as not to elongate the branches. Be careful on watering, too much and you will cause the sap to rise even quicker, too little and you could kill the young roots just starting to grow. Keep them slightly to moderately damp.
We usually have all of this month to do our root pruning on deciduous trees and conifers, but if some of your trees buds are starting to swell you best get it done. You can do any branch or root grafting on your deciduous trees. Good time to do any wiring before the buds swell. As it starts to warm up towards the end of the month keep an eye out for insects, especially Aphids. Start planning ahead for the busiest time of the year is coming. Make sure you have all supplies needed, especially pots and soil.
PREPARING FOR AN EXHIBIT... If you are putting a tree in an exhibit there are a few things you should do before. If it is a flowering variety know how far ahead you must prune it back to ensure blooms. Such as in the growing season Calliandras can be defoliated 32-35 days ahead and should be in full bloom. Bougainvilleas can be cut back 28-32 days ahead. Another good reason to learn as much as you can about your trees. Some trees will need to be pruned back or even defoliated 30- 60 days prior to the exhibit to show them at their best. Some will only need a little pruning. When putting a tree in an exhibit always make sure the tree is in a healthy condition and pruned of all dead or yellowing leaves. Pull all weeds and slightly top dress with new soil if needed. Moss can be applied to add to the appearance. Clean all branches, trunk and pot. A fine sanding block will clean your unglazed pots. Wiring is permitted as long as it is not obtrusive. Your trees will be looked at very closely so you want them to be in optimum condition. PS Don’t ever feel that your tree isn’t worthy of being on exhibit, if it is clean and healthy and you are proud of it, then do it. Damn the critics.
pH OF YOUR SOIL... One thing you don’t read a lot about in bonsai books is pH of the soil. This is very important, especially when you are growing trees in such a limited amount of soil, with very little or no organic material. When I have a tree showing signs of a deficiency the first thing I do is check the pH of the soil. Sometimes adjusting the pH will correct the problem in a short time. If your soil is either too acidic (low ph) or too basic (high ph) the trees ability to absorb nutrients will be diminished. A pH of 6.5 is optimum for most trees. Your Azaleas, Pines and some other trees prefer a more acidic soil.
Most pH imbalances comes from either your water or by using too much chemical fertilizers. Check the pH of the water you use. You can increase the pH by using ground limestone or dolomite. Do not use hydrated lime for it will burn the roots. To lower the pH use superfine dusting or wettable sulpher. Be very careful using these products, do so very sparingly and only as a last resort. Most times simply repotting the tree will do the trick. Using rain water and more organic fertilizers might help. Adding or decreasing the amount of organic material in your soil will help also. So there you go, yet another tool you need to get, a pH meter.
Feburrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrary Newsletter
2010