Clinton's Jobs

February

* Happy New Year to everyone, I hope you survived the festive season in reasonable order and your Bonsai have fared well over this period as well! We've had a reasonable Summer thus far (in regards to heat), it has provided a few challenging days but in the main it could've been a lot worse. In fact it has not been the heat that has been the problem this Summer but the violent storms that have brought extreme wind and destructive hail. I know of several members who were badly effected by some of these storms to their Bonsai and property and I was very sorry to hear of all the terrible damage. If branches completely snap off your trees then there is nothing you can do. But if it has partially broken then I would suggest wrapping some budding tape around the broken area as soon as possible so it is completely sealed from air and moisture. To help support the area in some cases it would be advisable to wrap some wire along the damaged branch like you would when wiring in general just to help with extra support. The less the branch moves in the wind the better chance of it healing. Some scars on trunks and branches may even end up as interesting features on your tree especially on conifers. But scars you definitely want to heal up A.S.A.P then definitely seal them with some wound dressing. Trees that lost a lot of branches can be really heart breaking. But most trees back shoot well and you may be able to replace a lot of those branches sooner rather later. Make sure the sun is the strongest on areas you want to see some back shooting. I know of some members who had to do some forced restyling. Who knows it might even eventually lead to a better image for your tree. At least it looks like we will continue where last yearleft off in regards to the rain coming back to our weather pattern. We’ve probably had too much of late and conifers in particular should be brought in out of the weather to let them dry out a bit and get some air back in the soil. Otherwise the root systems of some of these plants could become prone to rot. This weather will certainly catch out people with potting mixes that aren’t as well drained as they should be.

* The rain should stimulate some extra growth in most of your Bonsai so make sure you don't let the growth get away from you. Figs in particular should enjoy this extra moisture in the air and don't be surprised to see a few aerial roots appear on the trunk and branches. If you don't like them then simply rub them off. But if you want to encourage them than spray them with some extra water in between watering periods and they will extend towards the soil very quickly. Keep the new growth on your Figs in check as letting it go in a vigorous state for too long will only promote plenty of unwanted huge leaves on your tree. This really is the last month to defoliate any of your Figs. If you leave it any later the new leaves that will occur after defoliation will not have time to harden and your Fig could get quite burnt by any frosty weather in Winter. Figs don't enjoy our cold Winters so you really want them in a very strong condition as they go into it.

* The majority of Japanese Maples always seem to come out of the Summer with burnt tips to the leaves and in worse cases distorted rolled up leaves. This does not make for great Autumn colour displays in a few months time. So if you want to have a better chance of a colourful display in Autumn, you do have the option of defoliating your Japanese Maples of there burnt leaves and allowing for some new fresher leaves to develop. Obviously don't do this too late in the Summer, as you need a bit of time for the new leaves to mature. After care is very important with this process. Make sure your Maple gets plenty of sun to entice the new leaves out as quickly as possible. But on the other hand if you know that a day of extreme heat is predicted give your Maple some protection from this as you do not want the branches and trunk to get scorched from there temporarily bare structure.

* Moss may have been a casualty on your Bonsai during the Summer and should be replaced if it has died off. This is in order to prevent erosion around the root base of your tree, which exposes small fragile roots to the hot sun, scorching them and causing them to die off. If moss is not available a good layer of pebbles will help keep the soil stable around the root base of your Bonsai.

* Finally, pruning most of your trees can continue during this last month of Summer and early Autumn to keep them maintained in their various forms. However do not prune back any late Winter / early Spring flowering plants such as Azalea’s, Crab Apples, Wisteria and various Prunus species. Otherwise you risk poor flowering or even no flowers on these plants as they will have no time between now and dormancy to produce any more potential flowering wood.