SEASONAL SUGGESTIONS
By Marty Mann
January/February - 2001

A NEW YEAR!  A CHALLENGE TO IMPROVE -- PREPARE FOR SPRING (IT’S NOT HERE YET!)

January’s weather is relatively cool.  Many parts of the yard may now be in shade for much of the day.  Deciduous trees are showing their best silhouettes.  The leaves of summer are gone but dormancy is misleading.  Deciduous trees that have lost their foliage require less water due to the reduced transpiration of moisture.

It’s time to check each tree daily for evidence of wind damage or lack of moisture.  Tree surfaces are evaporating moisture through the bark and twigs -- just as they do on a summer day.  The winter sky provides a low angle sun that is not hot and drying.  Routine bonsai watering habits cause over-watering of the trees -- cut back.  Avoid winter root rot con­ditions.  Maintain even moisture content in all bonsai material.  Move deciduous trees out into brighter bench areas.  Evergreens and conifers will also do better with full sun to encourage new bud development. Face the weaker sides of each tree to the best light exposure.

Remember that the soil mixes in potted trees have been inactive due to the cooler weather of the past few months.  Soil bacterium, in its dormant state, has not been providing any nitrogen to these growing plants while they rested.  Feeding schedules are re­sumed in late February.  Now is the time to plan ahead for supplies of fertilizers.  Some of the bonsai and growing stock were fed lightly during the dormant months.  Be ready for the resumption of a regular feeding schedule on all other material in late February or early March.  Feed sparingly at the beginning.  You do not want to force new growth too quickly.  Liquid fertilizers such as Miracle Gro® will do well after signs of new growth appear.  Keep a supply of lime and gypsum. Lime is used to neutralize excess acidity.  Gypsum is used to loosen hard soil and provide acidity.

Soil mixes should also be readied for the frantic repotting time which is close at hand.  The next two months will be the time to prepare the ma­terials you need to renew, repot, and freshen up trees that have grown so vigorously last year.  Prepare a supply of a basic mix -- perhaps a combination of at least three materials that permits free drainage and still provides moisture retention qualities.  A sandy  garden loam, combined with sharp river sand, decomposed granite, pumice, or other aggregates, are mixed with a portion of good humus such as fir bark, redwood mulch or coarse peatmoss.  The mix can vary in order to accommodate the climatic conditions in your area and the more specific needs of the plant species.  The mix can be enhanced by a handful or two of bone meal (slow acting) for each 5 gallon of mix.  Some growers also add a handful of Ironite® to provide a food source as the plants grow.  Variations from the standard mix are determined by climatic conditions, watering habits, and the different types of plant materials.  Conifer materials need more roughage.  Deciduous materials need more humus.  Acid loving plants need more peatmoss.

Do the clean up chores.  Remove all the winter trash around the work areas, as well as on the potted trees and growing stock.  This is the best way to prevent infestation of insects and fungus diseases.  Do not throw any of this late winter trash into your compost heaps since it may be infectious.  It’s safer to throw it away.

Survey the finished trees in bonsai pots.  Are they still a proper match in size or color to the tree?  Has the maturity and styling of the tree changed it enough to consider repotting into a new pot?  Is it taller, wider, fatter?  Now is the time to redesign some of the potted trees.

Review the nursery stock to determine the readiness of some of the pre-trained material for transfer.  Are they ready for a  training or a display pot?  Check your inventory of pots.  If you do not have one that fits your needs, it is time to shop for a good Japanese pot.  The yen continues to get stronger and you may pay more if you wait.  Maybe you will find that perfect Chinese or domestic pot that just fits the bill.  This is pot cleanup time.  Remove accumulated layers of soil and lime deposits.  Some chemicals may help but elbow grease works best.  Use one of the new ‘erasers’ on pots to remove lime deposits.

When trees are still dormant, slowed down and resting, they allow us to see them as twiggy silhouettes (deciduous) or in full form (conifers & others).  Whether potted or still in training, this is the time to critique your own trees.  So often we attend conventions or club meetings to hear well-informed sensei or senior bonsaiists survey a tree and make an educated, constructive observance that improves or changes a bonsai.  We fail, however, to take the spirit of these programs and apply them to our own material.  Observe your bonsai.  Think of their future.  Plan for im­provement or change.  Every piece of material you own deserves this new year review.  Your hobby should always seek an improvement challenge.

There is still time to spray dormant trees to kill the over-wintering insects.  Be sure to avoid the foliage on trees.  Spray before any signs of new growth appears during unseasonable warm weather.  Use Orthorix® (Lime Sulfur) or Volck Oil solutions.  Don’t be misled by the apparent lack of insect activity around the bonsai displays during quiet winter months.  Snails and slugs are still active.  The destructive habits of sucking insects still continue.  Do not spray any trees that have begun to show bud movement.  Avoid dormant sprays on soil surfaces.

Wire may be applied during winter months when branches are free of foliage and more visible.  Be careful of brittle wood.  Keep an eye on this new wiring during the last weeks of February or early March when new growth begins.  The expansion of the woody growth can quickly consume the wire and cause permanent scar damage.  Remember to look for faults in the basic design such as crossing branches, bar branches, sharp angles, or ladder like branches.

Did you take an inventory of your bonsai supplies?  Replenish and freshen your supplies of wire, screening, decomposed granite, volcanic rock, pumice, fungicides, miticides, fertilizers (Cottonseed Meal, Blood Meal, Bone Meal, Grow power®, Miracle-Gro® etc.)  It’s a complicated hobby -- but it is fun!

Inspect all bonsai tools.  Now, before the active need arises, is a good time to clean and sharpen them.  Remove accumulated rust, tree pitch and stains.  Dip tools into a bleach solution to prevent infections from fungi that is carried over from the prior year.  Try using WD-40 to lubricate and protects tools.

Spring is coming!  Be prepared.