It's cold (but not as cold as we've seen before). It's unpredictable (witness the lack of cold) It feels endless. And, most important for the purpose of this article, it messes with shipping your bonsai orders.
When buying a bonsai you are offered a number of shipping choices, none of them are cheap. First a few general comments on shipping costs:
1- Shipping in Canada is far more expensive than shipping in the USA. We have few people, spread out over a larger area and it shows in our shipping costs.
2- Bonsai trees need careful packing and packing materials are not free. Most trees need plastic wrap, two boxes (one to protect the pot) and starch based peanuts. On average, my cost for packing materials is between $5-$8 dollars per tree depending on the size of the box. Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, so I'll share an amusing bit of irony with you. The packing peanuts are super bulky and can't be shipped via a regular courier. So it costs a fortune to ship them to me and almost doubles the cost of packing materials and I've found that unless I use the double boxes and a big enough box to allow for lots of protection with the peanuts, pots start arriving broken. And just in case you're wondering - No. The courier companies do not compensate for broken pots. So, not only does the pot need replacement we also have to pay the same courier company to reship the new pot. (Makes me nuts!)
3- Courier companies charge by either the size or the weight of the box- which ever is bigger. (Figures, eh?)
If you select ground transport (the lower prices) then please be mindful that while it might be lovely where you are, your tree has to travel by truck from Toronto. If you're in BC, don't think about the daytime temperature in Vancouver, instead look at the nighttime temperatures in Nipigon (ON), Winnipeg, Regina and Calgary - cause your trees will spend 4 days in a truck travelling this route.
If you're in the Maritimes, again the trip is by truck from Toronto. Look at Kingston, Montreal, Quebec City. Usual transport by truck is at least two-three days to a major urban centre plus one more day if your destination is a little smaller. And I've also found your weather in the Maritimes does not follow the same pattern as the rest of the country. But, I guess you know that already!
Trees going west of Ontario and east of Quebec must travel by air if they ship in the winter- So if you have ordered ground, please be prepared to wait until the spring. I operate on the assumption that air cargo shipping is more likely to leave Pearson Airport in Toronto at night and because the bonsai trees travel with the regular cargo (at least the hold is heated) there is always a chance that the trees could sit on the tarmac for over an hour in the wee hours. So unless the night low temperature is going to be warmer than say 2 below C I can't risk the trees shipping out that night - even though most will go with a heat pack. And then there is the issue of the temperature on the receiving end.
Finally, there is the tree itself because some are hardier than others.
Junipers are the hardiest but that doesn't mean I can let them freeze, since they have all been greenhouse grown. Elms are reasonably resiliant as well. At the other end of the specturm we have Brazilian Raintrees and Black Olives which hate, hate, hate the cold and Mini Jades that literally turn to mush if the frost gets them. And not all trees will tolerate heat paks either. I'm still working out ways to protect the trees from the heat packs.
So if you're wondering why I haven't shipped your bonsai, I hope this little explanation has helped you to understand. I'm guessing it hasn't exactly been a riveting read!
The sun is stronger now than it has been for months. It is triggering your tree to grow and it's hotter than what your tree has been used to for a while.
Add to this that the air in your home is probably about as dry as it has ever been. You've been running the central heating for from 3-5 months. Do sparks fly when you touch your cat?
Regardless how your tree has fared though the winter until now, check it and be prepared to change your watering and/or take some steps to up the local humidity. Over the winter your tree hasn't done much of anything. The air has been cooler. The sun has been insipid. That has changed and the immediate result is that your tree needs more water now than it did in December or January.
I can only share that over the years, I have had more complaints from customers about junipers that have dried out and died at this time of year than any other. So, check your trees. Check the soil. Look carefully at the foliage for any small webs or pinpoint sized insects ( spider mites) that thrive in the dry winter air. Give them a spray. Pull them back a bit if they're sitting right on the ledge of a southern or western window. If your soil seems to be dry, I recommend a really good soaking- so sit it in water, almost up to the rim of the pot and leave it for an hour. You don't need to do that every time.
Try not to swing too much in the other direction. Only water once your tree seems dry. Just know that it will dry out faster now.
While junipers are the most popular tree- by a mile, they are actually not the easiest tree to grow and there is only one reason for that. They don't give you a lot of feedback on your care of them. They look fine- right up to the moment you realize they are dead. And this is the time of year that it seems to happen the most.
I didn't make them that way!
The rule is to be vigilant when you bring your trees inside. Inspect carefully for aphids, scale, mealybugs, whitefly and fungus gnats. Mealy bugs, scale and aphids can pretty much be dealt with using physical intervention techniques. Q-Tips dipped in insectical soap are a great tool for removing mealy bugs and scale (Had a great story from a customer who turned some grade 7 boys loose on a heavily infested plant, armed with Q-tips. Happy kids- No more bugs.
You can wash aphids off smaller plants ( might have to do it a few times). At the first sign of fungus gnats use yellow sticky traps to catch the adults before they lay more eggs and a drench made of 50:50 water and 3% hydrogen peroxide will take out the larvae. Again, it might take a few hits.
If you see whitefly on a plant- DO NOT bring it indoors - at the very least don't bring it anywhere near any other plants. Whitefly is about the hardest insect I've found to get rid of.
About the biggest challenge with indoor air is evident by late February or March. It is dry. Killer dry. Junipers kept indoors are super susceptible in early spring when the combination of dry air and strengthening sunlight will kill trees. And spider mites love dry air. ( Wash them off and then put the tree into a large plastic bag to super boost the local humidity) I'm not a fan of pesticides (especially in the house) so that colours my suggestions.
Finally, and no surprise, the indoor air affects how you water. Whether is the lack of moving air- or HVAC air getting pushed at your trees, or just the lack of needed humidity requireing some extra interventions ( local humidifier, spraying, pebble trays) that might affect the amount of moisture getting into the soil. The slowed winter growth means less water will be taken up by the roots so you actually can be dealing with dry foliage and water logged roots at the same time.
But never fear- spring is coming
Light. The sun is lower in the sky than it's been over the warmer months. Have you noticed that warm, rich yellow tone that the light takes this time of year. It's beautiful - unless you're trying to find a golf ball, then it's a pain. The light is not as strong and the day length is shorter.
What does it mean for care?
The spot where you tree sat in the spring and summer and got plenty of light might need adjustment. If you can't move your tree to another place in the house then supplemental lighting might be in order. Not to worry- some plant lights are quite inexpensive and not even ugly. Here's an example
In reduced light black olives will often stop growing and drop leaves (not dead- just sulking). Some trees will show elongated internodes ( more stem between leaves- best known as getting "leggy"). Jades will get leggy, refuse to back bud and even drop leaves.
Less light slows growth and slower growth means you tree needs less water.
Next article - Air Circulation - The Good, the Bad and (you guessed it) the Ugly
Campeche back buds well on older wood- a valuable trait for a bonsai and that means that if you choose you can trunk chop a campeche and it will resprout. You can wire the branches on a campeche and they will usually accept the new position on the first wiring although heavier branches might need a second application.
Campeche does have thorns, but these can be removed so you only need to deal with thorns on new growth (and you can of course remove them as well) I've noticed that the new leaves have a coppery redish colour which morphs into a bright green as the new growth hardens. Several customers have commented that Campeche reminds them of Brazilian Rainforest trees and that's pretty much a function of the rounded heart shaped leaves which are among my favourites for indoor bonsai.
As you can see from the images, Campeche makes a beautiful bonsai. It can be grown and styled as a single specimen or in clumps or forests.
There isn't a single tree that will fail to benefit from a summer outside. They get better light, better air movement, better humidity and the wonderful summer will play a big role in helping your trees make it though the winter inside. Remember, the only reason that bonsai trees are indoors for the winter is because they originate in tropical or sub-tropical climates and they won't survive our freezing winters.
Any tree that can survive the winter- must winter outside-so if you have acquired a pine or maple or cherry bonsai and you bring it indoors, you will kill it.
The spring sun is strong and if you move a tree outside and immediately put it in direct sun, you're going to burn it. Start by placing your trees outside in the shade which is probabaly still brighter than it is in the house. After a few days give them about an hour of morning sun- the earlier the better. Watch your trees for any sign that they are burning. Gradully increase the amount a light they get until ( for most trees) they are getting full sun up until about 1:00 pm and then getting shade in the afternoon. Surprisingly it seems that the time to really stay away from is the late afternoon. Don't take my times as Gospel- pay attention to your trees and see how they are tolerating the outside.
Two major factors in the summer affect how much water your trees need. The first is their rate of growth and the second is the weather. Your trees are going to put on a major growth spurt and that means they need more water. For some trees ( junipers for example) when the weather gets really hot they will actually slow down their growth, but they are still going to need lots of water because it's so darned hot. Remember your bonsai trees are not from a temperate climate like the maples and pines, they are tropical so bring on that sun and that heat- they love it.
You might need to water them every day. If they are planted in real bonsai grit you might have to water them twice a day (another reason that Zen Garden does not use bonsai grit).
Dealing with the rain. I talk about needing to water your trees, but of course if its raining for days on end, the last thing they need is more water from you. For the summer- put the drainage trays away if you can. You dont need them. If your trees are getting too much water you might need to move them to a more sheltered spot, but first you can try wedging one side of the pot higher which will send the water to the low side of the pot and encourage better training. Whatever you do make sure they are not sitting in water.
A special note for Chinese elms. When they put out new foliage and for as long as it's still that lovely bright green and the leaves are still quite soft (new leaves look differnet from old leaves) try and keep them out of the rain. Water on new leaves can encourage a fungal infection that looks like black spots.
Finally, Feed your tree over the summer for sure.
Now, like any other tree it is the happiest outside and in fact, procumbens can be wintered outdoors in Canada (albeit with some protection). Still, many people who want a bonsai in their home love the look of the Juniper. It's easy to understand because the juniper is the most easily recognized almost archetypical bonsai tree. But it is not the easiest to care for especially at this time of year.
I'm writing this article because I have had more of my customers with happy healthy junipers find that about now - from early March through to early May - their trees can rapidly go downhill. It's because of the changing conditions we experience in our homes this time of year and for our junipers, it's a perfect storm.
Junipers:
So why is this time of year so difficult? Lots of reasons really so here are some of the reasons why your Juniper goes from healthy to dead in (apparently) the blink of an eye.
Dry Air
By March, the air in homes with central heating is super dry. OK, maybe you have a humidifier built into the furnace but are you using it? I have one too, but it never seems to be set high enough. This time of year if you're waking up with super dry sinuses and if touching your cat can be shocking, then your air is very, very dry. Ideally Junipers like 40-50% humidity.
Stronger Sunlight and Under-Watering
As the sun climbs higher in the sky, the rays become progressively stronger and that "coolish" spot that worked up until now might be getting much too warm. Couple that with the dry air. Bad news.
As the sun climbs higher, nudging your tree out of its winter semi-dormancy, its water uptake will increase so that schedule you put yourself on might not be providing enough water. Junipers can handle drying out but not getting and staying bone dry.
Over Watering
Many of the remedies people try to cure the dryness, are ineffective and/or create their own problems. Everyone will recommend a pebble tray. I confess- that includes me, but honestly their effectiveness is seriously limited. If you have a very low-growing spreading tree and a tray that is wide enough to cover the full circumference, the moisture that evaporates from the stones MIGHT do some good to foliage that is close enough, but otherwise, that moisture doesn't stay localized. It evaporates and distributes through the whole room.On the negative side, if you overfill the humidity tray and it covers the bottom of the pot, you'll be denying oxygen to the roots and possibly keeping them wet. Wet feet kill junipers.
Misting. Mist your tree early and later in the day when the sunlight won't evaporate the water immediately. But here is the problem with misting. That Mist will drip off the foliage to the soil surface and very easily contribute to overwatering your tree. Just be aware of that. Be super conscious of the difference between watering the tree and misting the foliage. ( Kinda reminds me of the difference between Church and State).
Spider Mites
Just for the record, when you're looking at your juniper watch for small webs in the foliage. This likely means the tree has spider mites, which thrive in dry conditions. If you suspect you might have them, check out this link https://www.zengardenbonsai.com/blogs/growing-on-you/bugs-killed-my-juniper-meet-the-spider-mite/
No Warning
The thing that I least like about junipers and the reason I might not recommend them to beginners is that they are really stingy with their feedback. When Mini Jades start to dry out their leaves become obviously wrinkled. Chinese elm leaves start to curl when the tree is dry. Stress an elm or ficus and they will drop their leaves- and they do it long before your tree is sitting on death's door. New shoots on many under (and over) watered trees will noticeably droop. The point here is that the trees give off obvious signs that something is wrong.
But not junipers- unless you're watching them like a hawk, they give you nothing, and even when you are watching closely enough to catch that very subtle look of dryness, or a paler shade of green or a slight wrinkle showing up on the stem it's entirely possible that your tree is already past the point of no return.
I have seen instances where what was thought to be a perfectly healthy tree was in actuality quite dead. But that's just a juniper thing and in spite of their perverse tendency not to forgive mistakes, Junipers have and will remain one of the most popular bonsai choices.
Just pay extra attention to it this time of year and try to keep it happy until you can put it outside in May.
What I am looking at right now are
There is what used to be a lovely tiger bark sitting downstairs that dropped every one of its leaves because I repotted it and then let it dry out- that's called "yer bonsai double jeopardy".
Watching the soil is one hint on when to water.It changes colour, the texture is different and if you've really let it dry out you will see it pulling away from the sides of the pot.
Feeling the weight of the pot is another
Invest in a moisture meter- use it to verify your judgement of when to water.
A common measure is to feel the soil below the surface to determine if it's wet and I confess I've used that instruction many times, but to tell you the truth I personally can't feel "wet". I can feel hot and cold, hard and soft, but not wet. Try it! Stick you finger in a glass of water and ask yourself how does wet feel? Nadda- until you take your finger out of the glass and some water is still on it. So I'm thinking that as a way to tell if you need to water your plant- this is kinda useless. I'll be removing it from my instructions and looking for better help.
A better - but more difficult way to know when to water is to carefully study your tree.
Water your tree well and the next day look at the leaves and the new shoots. (And pick up the pot to feel the weight- Water is heavy)
The leaves should look firm, maybe even a little shiney and relatively bright. Look to see how prominent the veins are ( if there are any). Are the spread out like an open hand? Now look at them every single day. If you're paying enough attention you'll see the lose some of that gloss, get a bit duller. They'll look a little thinner and the veins will stand out. They'll start to curl in.
On deciduous trees you'll see the ends of the new shoots start to droop as they are one of the places on the tree that are the most sensitive to watering since the tissues are holding so much more water and haven't hardened off yet.
A closing point for this article - and a chance to conclusively demonstrate why I will never make a living as an artist- is the highly scientific illustration below.
Here's what its about:When adding water to any potted plant, gravity will pull the water down until a small - but consistent amount- is left in the bottom. The problem with bonsai pots is that - for example- an inch of water at the bottom of an 8 inch deep pot is one thing but in a 3 inch deep pot you still have that same inch of water in the bottom, which means that most roots will be sitting in it.
Everyone expects ( and not without good reason) that a large is taller than a small and wider than a medium, and when that rule is not upheld some customers can be disappointed ( which I really hate), but the true determination of a tree's "size" when it comes to offering for sale on this site is most often based on what you cannot see- the roots.
Every tree I see comes to me in a growers pot and I move it to a bonsai pot before it is shipped. When I can, I'll do it a few weeks ahead of time, but sometimes that isn't possible. But with lots and lots of practice I'm quite confident that I can transplant a tree without damaging it as long as I've worked with that tree before and know what to expect from the roots. Serissas have super fine, almost hair-like roots. Bougainvilleas have brittle roots and Juniper roots are more woody than anything else.
Root pruning is one of the regular steps of bonsai care and it's possible to leave a tree in the same pot for many years by simply lifting it out of the pot, trimming back the roots and putting it back in the same pot. (simply is probably not the word I should have used as you must exercise care when working with roots).
The first "repot" from a growers pot to the initial bonsai pot is the toughest. You can't take more than 1/3 of the roots at any one time and I much prefer to take less since in addition to a new pot, most of these trees are headed off to a new home. so let's not pile too many stressors on a tree at once.
But it's entirely possible that I can be working with two junipers that are visually the same size and yet once the roots are uncovered one of them will fit in a medium pot and the other must go into a large pot....and so because the part that you don't see is so much better developed on one of the trees, it can be puzzling to understand why one is a medium and the other is a large.
Naturally enough, occasionally I hit a very small tree with root structure that demands an oversized pot, no so much because it is well developed, but often because it has developed a few tap roots with a massive tangle of feeder roots on the ends. These are the trees that on their first repot will ideally have one of those feeders removed in the hope that better roots are developing ( with better care) closer to the base of the tree.
]]>A raft is a single tree, laid on it's side so that the branches look like individual trees and the whole effect is a small forest. It's also "What you can do with an ugly tree, with a spindly trunk and branches only formed on one side. And that explains, how my particular raft came into being.
Making a raft is actually quite simple, but like most things "bonsai" it requires a lot of patience. Simply plant the tree on its side. Keep the original roots still buried. Remove or redirect any branches that are not facing the new "up". Carefully scrape away some sections of bark on the underside of your stem to expose the cambium (green) layer. It's super thin so you'll scrape right through it. Not to worry, just do your best. Coat that scraped area with rooting hormone. Bury the stem and if possible pin it into place to prevent movement. You can use a large, shallow, biodegradable planter that will allow you to push wire though the bottom to hold the tree in place. Water it. Be sure to protect the original roots which can be easily exposed and keep it alive for a year or two....or more, until roots form along the stem and you can remove the original root.
At any rate, this is a picture of my still unfinished raft. Its about 4 years now since the original work was done. I moved it into this planter last year and might be able to take of the original root next year and move it to a better pot. Then again, once i have a look I might instead have to scrape a bit more stem, add more hormone and keep waiting for enough new roots to form to sustain it. I don't know yet. We'll see.
You have options: either move it to a bigger pot or plant it into your garden and just for the record, unless we’re talking about trees that resent being moved around a lot ( Ficus and Eugenia (brush cherry)) spring to mind, you can plant trees that winter indoors outside in the ground for the summer. Just be sure not to plant your moisture loving Serissa in super hot, dry ground, and do protect your trees from the lovely little bunny that does not look so lovely after it strips the bark from your Chinese Elm.
This tree is a juniper procumbens "nana" - exactly the same juniper as sold on ZenGardenBonsai. I named her Daria and wanted her to get bigger so I took her out of the pot and stuck her in the ground 2 years ago ( bonsai needs patience). Unlike many trees that will survive winter indoors, this juniper can stay outside year round.
Here are two Chinese elms- same age and almost the same care, except that the tree on the left spent about 18 months in an oversized pot, heavily fertilized and allowed to grow in any direction it wanted. Once it hit the size I wanted, it was trimmed and root pruned back into a bonsai pot where is now behaves most politely.
You will, of course, need to dig it up around September and repot it for the winter, but unless it’s put on enough of a growth spurt to satisfy your desire for a bigger plant, don’t put it back into a bonsai pot yet. Plant it in a pot that you would use for a house plant so that you don’t need to trim the roots back- yet. For the winter give it the best light you can and be very careful not let it sit in water.
If you choose to simply move your bonsai into a houseplant pot, choose something bigger than you would normally use ( but not too big or it will hold too much water).
What kind of soil? Go with a lightweight potting/seed starting mix amended with PERLITE or a cactus mix. Do not use garden soil, top soil, triple mix or anything heavy in the pot.
If possible, put the tree outside for the summer.
Feed heavily. Use any type of fertilizer, but try for something balanced like a standard tropical plant food and push to the max for the summer.
Don’t prune, unless you’re pruning to correct a structural issue - and that’s the subject of a much more complicated post. But think of this- as the branches on your tree elongate, they will accommodate more foliage, which will photosynthesize, producing more sugars and starches that will feed your tree. More leaves and more branches draw more nutrient through the trunk and those same branches, causing thickening. Your tree will look shaggy, but it will expand much faster than it ever would as a neatly trimmed bonsai.
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We call them indoor bonsai, which is a little wacky since, truly, there is no such thing as an indoor tree, just trees that will survive indoors.
In Canada and much of North America, tropical and subtropical trees are brought indoors for the winter. In Canada, virtually every tree sold on this site must come in for the winter. There are really only two exceptions. Rosemary - which can winter outdoors in the warmest parts of Canada only - like southern BC and Juniper procumbens- which can winter outdoors in any part of the country, but must be protected.
Let's focus on the trees that need to come inside.
It’s October 2 today and if you still have bonsai trees enjoying the outdoor conditions, it's time to make the change. In a perfect world, you will bring them indoors the same way you moved them outside - gradually. In the spring when you put them out, the biggest consideration was not to burn them. In the Fall, the idea is to minimize the shock they will experience from reduced light, warmer temperatures, and dryer air. If you have the time, first bring your trees indoors just for the night and during the day move them to the shade. You can keep this up for as long as the daytime temperatures are staying about 15C or 60 F, but check on what type of tree. Chinese elms are fine, but the real heat lovers - like black olive will not be thrilled with the cooler days.
As you watch your trees, you’ll see signs that they are slowing down for the winter; no new growth, some yellowed leaves. Generally, winter is a time to rest and just about every tree needs a period of slowed growth. Trees from a temperate climate have their rest period triggered by shorter daylight hours and lowered temperatures
Pick your indoor spot, one that will provide as much light as possible, is away from heat vents and drafts, and out of the reach of kids and pets. Pick this spot with the exact tree you have in mind- for example, a ficus will appreciate steady warmth, but your Chinese elms and definitely your junipers will be best in a bright but cooler spot.
Light: Even the best spot you have indoors might not be bright enough for your wintering bonsai. The easiest way to tell will be if you start to see weak growth- long stems, spindly with a longer than average internode ( which is the space between leaves). If this is the case you should probably supplement with artificial light, but don’t break the bank. Google indoor plant lights, there are many to choose from.
You’ll even notice a difference in the lighting if you keep your trees indoors year-round. The winter sun is lower in the sky, fewer hours of weaker light.
Fertilizer: This is pretty much unnecessary over the winter. At the most lightly feed your bonsai maybe once a month. Personally, I don’t bother. To me, Winter is just something I need to get through.
Water: Water is a double-edged sword in the winter. On one hand, a tree that is semi resting does not need as much water so be prepared to cut back on your watering, not to the point of turning your bonsai soil into a rock hard desert landscape. Be mindful that the water that got gulped up in the summer will not be used as quickly in the winter. Overwatering in the winter is a big problem, but don’t turn into a dribbler- when you water- water well, none of this shot-glass-a-day foolishness.
Now, here is the other side of the sword. Central heating is very hard on many plants. The air dries out and while you don’t want a lot of water going into the pot, you might need to use a pebble tray or spray the leaves to raise the local humidity. Note- when you spray the leaves, get the underside, which is where the stomata are located, and if necessary cover the soil while you spray so that the water does not drip into the pot.
Oh ….and if you decide to go away during the winter- please don’t forget about your tree(s).
]]>Wire cannot stay on forever, usually it can stay for about 6 months, but that depends on the time of year. For example in the winter, the tree isn't doing a lot of growing so it will take longer for the diameter of the branch that has been wired to expand enough to create a problem. In the spring and early fall ( September-October) many trees are in active growth, so you need to check the wire more frequently.
Regardless of what I might have planned, this is your tree now, if you don't like the shape/style, change it. Just don't make really big moves on a thick branch without checking out several videos about wiring. Bend the wire, not the branch and first, study the branch carefully to identify the weak spots ( like the crotch) where careless bending might induce a break.
If wire cuts into the bark of a deciduous tree- like an Elm or Fukien Tea, it will leave a permanent scar- not good. With evergreens like the Juniper, it's not such a big issue because as they mature the bark gets rougher and can quite effectively hide the scars.
Removing Wire:
Heavy, structural wire - Cut the wire at short, regular intervals so it more or less drops off the tree. You'll need wire cutters with a rounded head. Like this:
If you have the right cutter, don't hesitate to use it to remove medium or even fine wire. If the wire has already started to cut into the branch, unwinding the wire can easily break the branch, so again - cut the wire. You can't reuse it anyway.
If for some reason you MUST remove by unwinding- be careful. As you unwind the wire, be sure to also support the wire and the branch with your other hand so that through the entire operation you are putting the least possible pressure in any one direction.
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Native to Southeast Asia including China, Indonesia, Japan and Australia and named after the Fukien (or Fuijan) province in China, the Fukien tea is a popular choice as a bonsai in North America.
]]>What exactly is the science behind talking to plants? How is it beneficial to us, their human caretakers, and them, these green organisms we are so fond of? Let’s find out.
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Benefits to the Plants
We will take a look at a few studies, formal and informal that test the age old adage of talking to your plants.
You can watch the segment on YouTube.
Overall, the scientific research is lacking a bit and we are going more off informal experiments and anecdotes. However, if you enjoy it and your plants seem to enjoy it, keep doing it! Comment or email me about your plant talking habits.
Benefits to Us
We’ve already covered all the benefits of bonsai in a previous post, but did you know that a lot of what’s covered there applies to houseplants and gardening?
Having green foliage around is better than a bare office and being around plants can help focus your attention and increase concentration. There’s also the feeling of pride and accomplishment. I know seeing a sick plant revive after some care makes me feel really good! There are numerous benefits like an increase in empathy and responsibility. Knowing that you have to take care of this living thing is beneficial to our state of being. Lastly, plants are proven to improve air quality, and for those of us in cities, that is important! Look at NASA’s air quality study here.
Of course, now we have to go over how talking to plants benefits you. Here are a few things I’ve found from talking to my plants:
What is Meditation?
Meditation is the art of slowing down, of being mindful. We hear that word thrown around a lot these days, “being mindful” but what does that actually entail? Well, it’s the art of being aware of yourself, your emotions, your reactions. It’s the practice of slowing down and seeing yourself, your life, and your situation as it is. It’s “being present”. The skill of mindfulness allows us not to get swept up in our lives and our emotions. The nice thing is that human beings already naturally possess mindfulness, we just need to cultivate it! (Learn more in-depth about mindfulness here).
Introducing, meditation. Meditation is an ancient practice that humans have been partaking in for thousands of years, and it’s just recently in our super-busy-technology-highway lives that modern society has really seen an upswing in interest and modern practitioners. Meditation is cost-free, you can do it anywhere, and it’s full of benefits which we’ll cover next.
Meditation really allows you to sit back and take inventory of your life. If you find yourself carrying a lot through your day, like that one driver cutting you off, or maybe the barista made your coffee wrong, meditation puts these incidents into perspective and can help you see where your sending your energy.
The beautiful thing about meditation is that, just like with gardening, you’re always learning. You can meditate from 5 minutes to 2 hours or more. There are a ton of apps and videos out there, to help you get started, and some or most of them are even free!
Meditation begins and ends in the body, by sitting and closing your eyes, focusing on your breath, and allowing yourself to just “be”. This is a wonderful way to reset yourself in the middle of a stressful day or to gain some extra energy in between errands. It’s my secret weapon when I am tired, burnt out, stressed, anxious, depressed… the list goes on. I started meditating by using the app, Stop, Breathe, & Think. It’s a simple way to build your meditation muscle. I don’t use it anymore but frequent YouTube for meditation videos. I recommend the following:
If you’re not a fan of videos, you can also practice on your own by following these steps.
That’s it! It’s easier written than done and is known as “simple” thing to do but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.
Do you meditate? Are there any topics you’d like me to cover in the newsletters? Email me!
]]>What makes them such an appealing bonsai? Some people will say the flowers, which arrive - usually quite abundantly about 2-3 times a year. The leaves are well suited to bonsai as well. Solid green or variegated they're small, oval and shiny- and usually evergreen. But what I really love about Serissa is the trunk and the bark once the tree has (at least started to mature) Gooved and twisty they have a ton of character. Adding to Serissa's general popularity is the fact that it grows quickly and ramifies very well. (Ramification is the growth habit that results in many fine branches.
Serissa is naturally an evergreen or semi-evergreen shrub found in open sub-tropical woodlands and wet meadows in southeast Asia, from India, and China to Japan.
The thing that I find funny about Serissa is that some people think its a piece of cake to grow and for others "it's impossible". I think there are a few factors contributing to that rather wide range of opinion.
Serissa does not like change and to prove it to you, it will drop leaves quite freely whenever it's unhappy. And what makes serissa unhappy? Under-+watering, over-watering, air too dry, too hot, too cold or because you moved it (haha reminds me of a ficus). But once you recognize that, you're half way to growing it successfully (kinda). I realize it sounds rather perverse, but I like it when trees let me know they are not happy. It means I can find out I'm doing something wrong, before its too late.
They love sun and they love water (naturally found in wet meadows is a strong clue). You don't want to keep it wet all the time, but never let the root ball dry out completely.
Indoors, give it good light- 6-8 hours of direct light is good, but not on a windowsill as the temperature varies too much to make Serissa happy. If possible grow it outside during the summer. Bright morning sun - late afternoon shade.
Feed your Serissa sparingly with a balanced fertilizer once a week during the growing season.In the winter if your tree stops growing, don't fertilize also if the tree is not healthy - no fertilizer. When you do fertilize- water it first so you don't burn the roots.
The Serissa tolerates an annual hard pruning in the spring, if necessary. Young trees are trimmed back to 2 leaves when the shoots have produced 4 – 5 leaves. Older trees are pruned thoroughly after flowering. About every three years you'll need to cut the branches back to old wood to maintain control of the shape. Wire any time but do it carefully as the branches and shoots of serissa are quite delicate. Remove the wire after about 6 months or when you can see that it is too tight on the branch and starting to cut into the bark.
]]>You can eat delicious tomatoes right off the vine, and they are my number one cooking ingredient. You can put them in salads and pastas, dry them, or make preserves, which is a bit of a lost art but there are still some of us dinosaurs who like to make our chili (not from a can). And, my favourite, using them in a hot tamale sauce (let me know if you want the recipe, it’s not spicy). Lastly, TASTE! Commercial tomatoes have been bred for certain characteristics like uniformity and shipping and I assure you, if you grow your own, the taste is much better.
Different Types of Tomatoes
Indeterminate (Cordon): These are the main types of tomatoes. They grow on a vine and keep on growing. They must be staked and they will get tall. The tomatoes keep coming until the frost stops them.
Semi-Determinate: The vining type, they also need staking but don’t keep on growing.
Determinate (Bush): These ones don’t vine, instead the stems trail out like a bush. They grow to a certain size. These ones can be easier for a balcony garden as they are planted in pots or hanging baskets and don’t require stakes or removing extra shoots.
Tomato Growing Basics:
Tomatoes require rich, fertile soil or peat-free potting compost and a sheltered but sunny spot. They require regular watering. Once they begin to flower it’s a good idea to fertilize them regularly.
If you choose tall-growing tomatoes make sure to get rid of the side shoots and properly stake them, using soft string to tie the plants to stakes. Secret tip? When the first teeny tiny fruits appear strip away the leaves underneath to allow more light and air to reach them. Leave them on to ripen naturally – unless you’ve got raccoons. ( I’ve been known to turn a blind eye to children stealing cherry tomatoes)
Bush/determinate tomatoes can be left to flower and fruit but make sure the foliage doesn’t block their sun.
When summer is over, prune off old leaves to allow light in and prevent mould. You can try bringing them indoors for the winter but I’ve found it just too much work to get them enough light and the winter yield is almost non existent.
SALAD LEAVES
Why Salad Leaves?
Salad leaves are surprisingly versatile and provide great variety for your salads. If you want a peppery tasting leaf or some extra crunch, there’s so much variety that will be different from your box of mixed greens. They also don’t require as much room as growing whole lettuce heads. They take in poor soil and provide high yield. If you cut them often then the plant will keep cropping for longer.
Salad Leaf Tips
These salad leaf bunches can be grown from seed and even take in poor soil but that doesn’t mean you should treat them any worse! The seeds can turn bitter if the soil isn’t moist enough so an option is well-rotted organic matter – or nicer soil.
Seeds can be sown in March. I know this article is a bit late but you can start and still get salad leaves as it takes 6 weeks from sowing to picking. The salad can be grown in between spaces in your garden or pots and containers. Check this link for some tips: https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-grow-salad-in-a-container/
Don’t let the soil dry out! You can start cutting when they are 5 cm tall and make sure to mulch. Different varieties require different care so make sure you do your research.
PEAS
Does anyone else feel like peas have been forgotten? Well, they’re easy to grow and don’t take up too much space! Also, they taste infinitely better than frozen peas. They are sweet and tender and there’s still time to plant their seeds – quickly though.
I love snow-peas. They are the first thing you can plant and you can plant another crop in mid August to take advantage of the cooling fall weather. They need something to climb though.
Basic Care for Your Peas:
Peas need to be planted about 3cm in the ground, try to have the soil be rich in compost. Once sprouted they will require staking as they grow tendrils which grasp onto anything that’s around. Garden stores will have stakes specifically for peas but I am sure you can be creative and come up with alternative options. Peas require a sunny and well-draining spot. Harvest once they’re grown and swollen with peas. Harvest snow peas sooner than that- you don’t want the peas to grow or the pods get tough.
Herbs are also wonderful options for the summer. Parsley, basil (sweet and Thai basil) and thyme have high yield and are lovely when homegrown.
French tarragon ( not Russian) is a perennial herb that does just fine in my zone 5 garden.
Just be sure not to let your culinary herbs flower
Oh, and speaking of perennials- Rhubarb-I love rhubarb.
Time to go back outside (I possibly forgot to mention weeding)
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For the dressing:
You can throw all the ingredients in a blender or food processor or you can throw them into a container and give it a really good shake. Whatever works, right? Save the dressing until just before serving the salad as it will get soggy.
For the salad:
Cube the watermelon, or cut it up in an aesthetically pleasing manner – triangles, wedges, circles, you can be really creative with this salad! Add the cut-up cucumbers and the red onion. The red onion can be finely chopped or sliced, it depends on what you or your guests enjoy. I find people like them thinly sliced because the dressing and watermelon soaks in and they give a nice bite!
Add half of the dressing to this.
Crumble the feta on top.
Add the rest of the dressing (or if you want to do light dressing you can add it on to taste)
Serve and enjoy!
I could launch into a short (or long) lecture about shallow pots and the movement of water through different sized particles, but honestly, I’d put you to sleep. Suffice to say that dedicated bonsai growers use a “soil” mix that has nothing in it that looks like dirt, because over the long haul, overwatering is the biggest danger. But I have found that a soil mix that drains really well but holds more moisture than the traditional substrate gives beginners a better chance at success. Underwatering can lead to a very quick death without giving the beginner a chance to uncover and correct the mistake.
Most people want to know how often they should water their bonsai tree and the answer they are looking for will always be something like – every other day or twice a week. But- You Cannot Water a Bonsai on A Schedule.
Do you want to know how often to water your bonsai? There is only one honest answer and that's "When it needs more water", and depends on many factors. How big is the pot? What kind of tree? What time of year? Where is it placed? How big is it? What type of soil is it in?
But still it's not a tough question. At first, you'll need to stick your finger in the pot and feel the soil to see if it needs water. I still do this every time with every tree. Water when the soil about an inch beneath the surface feels dry. For the majority of trees, if you're not sure err slightly to the dry side. But some trees like Serissa, Sageretia theezens and Formosa Firethorn (pyracantha) really hate to dry out, so if you're not certain, err on the side of more moisture.
Never water a tree that is obviously already wet and never, ever allow a bonsai to sit in a drip tray filled with water. You'll kill it faster by not watering at all, but overwatering will kill a tree just as surely.
Some people have been told that ideally you give a bonsai just a little water every day. Bad idea. Drench it. Let it dry out (as much as that tree will allow). Drench it again.
Just about everyone at one point or another will allow a tree to go too long without water. Almost for sure you're going to drop a lot of leaves. Maybe they'll go crispy first – a sure sign that you waited too long to water. If it's flowering, the flowers will fall. If it has fruit, they'll drop. It’s a natural stress reaction, but it doesn't necessarily mean your tree is dead. Many bonsai will recover so just keep caring for it and give the leaves a few weeks to grow back. It's worth a try.
When you first water your tree, take notice- How heavy is the pot? How does the soil look when wet? If you have moss on the soil or the tree, how does moisture affect the appearance? What about the leaves on your bonsai? Look at your tree carefully after you water and you'll see that the leaves seem a little firmer, stand a little more upright. Once you've been tending your tree for long enough, you'll be able to tell by looking at it from across the room if it needs water.
Inspect your bonsai on a regular basis. That's how you'll really get to know the tree – does that sound crazy? Maybe it will to many people, but with caring observation you can see what's growing, how the shape is evolving, where new branches are starting out, or dying. You’ll spot problems early, before they threaten the health of your bonsai. You'll spot the aphids and mealy bugs and notice the fine webs of spider mites and get rid of them before they ever become a problem.
And best of all, you'll really learn to appreciate how marvelously beautiful your bonsai is.
Water from the top or from the bottom. It's up to you. Regardless of whether you water from the top or the bottom, make you’re your tree gets a thorough soaking so that the full root zone benefits. Rain water is good. Tap water is ok, if possible, let it sit for twenty-four hours for the chlorine to disperse.
Moss- I have a love/hate relationship with moss and the hate part comes in because while the moss does shelter the soil from summer heat and overall has a moderating effect, once it dries out it repels water and it irritates the heck out of me to pour water on a tree only to watch it roll off the top.
If the moss on your tree dries out, spraying it with water a few minutes before you water the tree reduce the run off. Even then, after you’ve watered, lift up a corner and make sure that the soil under the moss is wet. You will often find it isn’t wet. So, either sit the pot in water until it soaks up from the bottom, or water several times or do both.
Dry Core – By core, I mean the root ball immediately under the tree. Bonsai pots tend to the shallow side and it is not unusual for the base of the tree to sit above the level of the rim of the pot, which makes it very easy for that core area to stay perpetually dry. The cure? Pay attention when you’re watering. Mix up top down and bottom up watering. Drip water slowly at the base of the tree.
Super Dry – It happens. The weather got hot. You got distracted. You went away. You missed a watering (or three) and the soil is so dry that it’s pulling away from the side of the pot. You water and it first runs off the top and then simply runs down the inside of the pot and out the drainage holes.
Pot bound- You’re tree is healthy and growing well, but you can’t help but notice that the water sits on the top of the soil and takes forever to percolate into the soil. Um, when did you last repot that tree, because this is pretty much the classic indication that your tree is due for a repot.
Overwatering – A classic sign of needing water is wilted shoots, so what gives when the shoots (branch ends) are wilted but the soil is wet. Root rot. You have overwatered this tree. First – stop watering it. Tilt the pot up on its side to help the water drain. Do not feed it. If that doesn’t work you might need to take more extreme steps.
Remove the tree from the pot. Trim the rotten roots, put it back in the (washed) pot with new soil (in a pinch you can use something like cactus soil from a hardware or garden centre). Now grow it on the dry side and cross you fingers. Good luck.
Those are my quick takeaways for some bonsai benefits. I’m so grateful for you taking the time to read this and hope that I’ve convinced you to try out a bonsai plant – or perhaps in getting many more. As always, I am open to questions and will answer as soon as I can. If you have any suggestions for future articles please email me too. If you like this article make sure to subscribe to our newsletter!
If you still want to know more about Bonsai, see this amazing guide by Virginia Tech University.
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