by John Boyce | Nov 21st, 05Getting Ready for Winter
Pieces of Bonsai - December
As I write this the rains have not yet started, but I hope they will soon. The Maples have all turned nice colors for you, and maybe the only tree left with foliage is the beech or maybe a stubborn elm or zelkova. Deciduous oaks could be hanging on, too. If you want to remove dead leaves, pull back gently on them, and they should release. If they do not, do not pull on the leaf, but cut it off, leaving a tiny bit of petiole on. This will fall off in due time.
Now we can see the winter silhouette. For those who like to sketch, do a simple drawing of your bare trees, then try to guess what they will be like next year, or what you would like to see happen in the future. Then next year at this time see if what you wanted really happened. If not, you may have to cut it all off and start over again. Think about what you are doing and know why. Remember: Coarse to Fine.
Clean off all moss and dead material fallen on top of the soil and from around the benches too. If you have not done so, you can give your benches a good wash down (with the trees removed) with a Clorox solution, or a lime sulfate solution, to kill any eggs, bacteria, sleeping bugs, fungus, ets. Use the same strength that you would use for dormant spray on your trees.
With or without the rain, your trees will need less water because it is colder, and the days are shorter, and the trees dormant, even evergreens get a little sleepy. If your soil is still damp, especially after some fog at night or during the day for that matter, don?t water. Maybe some light spraying will do, or nothing if it is a cloudy day. Watch the wind, of course. Lift up your pot, and see if it is heavy or not. You should by this time be able to tell if the pot is heavy enough to not water it. If it feels light no matter how much fog or how much or little rain, water it. It is not unusual that after a light rain one might be tempted to skip watering, but check the trees, don?t assume that they have enough water.
Sap should start to move some in later December. Should you make a big cut and sap really pours out, take the tree out of the pot, and cut a few heavy roots. This should shock the tree and stop bleeding. However, do not disturb the root ball unless you are beginning to repot.
Take care of opposing branches now on opposite leafed trees, and also heavy branches high up in the tree. Make clean cuts, and seal them with cut paste. Dormant deciduous trees with open wounds make perfect landing places for disease to destroy the whole thing. Watch the collar cut, and remove excess buds when they form in the spring or you will have a bulge for sure.
Make up your spring soil mixes and keep them dry and covered. Hunt around for black lava instead of red (only for color sake.) You may have a hard time finding some; with expanded shale out of availability, you may have to use the red. Decomposed granite or D.G. is ok, but it breaks down quickly and all the fines settle in the bottom of the pot and cause a drainage problem. You can also use akadama and mix it in with the other components of the soil mix.
If you keep notes on your trees, this is a good time to complete them for the year. Measure your trees for new pots, and make a note of it, and carry it with you. You stumble on pots in strange places these days, so be prepared, don?t guess.
Something else you should do in December is to be at the holiday party. It is a club event, and you should support it. If you think that it is boring, think again. You may sit alongside a new member and find a new friend. You just may learn something from them, and perhaps you can help them out, too. Enjoy the Holiday season and dream of bonsai pots in your stocking.