Clinton's Jobs

July

* After a very dry May, the first month of Winter has certainly arrived with, dare I say it, “excessive rain” in a short period of time. Much needed I know, but it is very unfortunate the damage and inconvenience it has caused particularly up in the Newcastle and the Central Coast region and tragically also leading to the loss of several lives. I hope you are all safe and well and that some of the atrocious pictures I saw was not near your particular area. Hopefully the weather will settle down to a more reasonable weather pattern in the near future and we can avoid the case of either drought or flood.

* Winter being a cooler season certainly gives us a break from religiously watering our trees. You can water your Bonsai every couple of days or so during this period. The only real exception is if the wind picks up at any time during Winter. Persistent wind can dry out your trees very quickly and windy days should be accompanied by daily watering. So keep that element very much in mind when contemplating your watering pattern in Winter. If you find that one of your trees isn't drying out in between each time you water over a period of a couple of days you may be keeping your tree in too much shade. Trees staying damp for many days on end can often lead to the root system being prone to rotting and more susceptible to fungal problems. So make sure that all your trees are in the best available areas to get as much Winter sun as possible.

* From July to August the re potting season hots up. If you have plenty to get through then obviously you cannot wait till the optimum time of late Winter just before particular individual plant species bud swell. If you have quite a few deciduous Bonsai then it can get quite hectic and it only takes a few time consuming distractions and many of your trees are left till the following season for re potting. It is a good idea to priortise your order of importance according to the earlier shooting or Winter flowering trees. An example of an order you can follow is as follows: Prunus okame, Prunus nigra, Prunus blireana, Acer ginnala, Chinese Elm, Japanese Maple, Taiwan Maple, Trident Maple, Chinese Pistachio, Premna japonica, Nyssa sylvatica, Washington Hawthorn, Taxodium distichum, Metasequioa, Wisteria's, Liquidambars, Crabapples, Gingko biloba, Celtis, English Elm, Illex serrata, English Oak, Pin Oak, Styrax japonica, Zelkovas, Crataegus, Crape Myrtle, Hornbeams and Beeches.

* You will find with a lot of the faster growing deciduous trees that annual re potting gives you strong steady growth on a consistent basis on your tree. Some trees if left 2 or 3 years without re potting can really have a quiet few years in development. So particularly if you have a younger tree and are looking for strong vigour keep them re potted regularly. This will also depend on the amount of sunlight your trees get as any deciduous trees kept in a part shade position will certainly not fill its root system in a pot nor put on top growth compared to a similar tree in full sun. The use of different potting mixes can also be another variable for consideration.

* The Winter break exposes the framework of branching on deciduous trees. It is of course an ideal time to do some wiring on any of your Bonsai. Because of the lack of vigour on your trees this time of year wire can be placed on branches on your trees without having to worry of the wire having to quickly come off because of it cutting in. Remember to anchor the wire so it is stable and to wrap it around trunks and branches in an even fashion with consistent spacing at a 45 degree angle. Wrapping the wire around branches like a spring or coil will not be effective for the movement of branches into desired positions. If you place wire in this fashion as you try and place it into position it will just spring back. Also always use the right gage of wire for the right thickness of branch. If it is too smaller a gage for a branch it will also have little effect for bending. If you use too larger gage of wire for a branch you risk cracking or breaking a branch. Also remember to slowly manipulate a branch into position and always place your fingers on the wire as you manipulate the position of a branch. Deciduous trees can look very attractive this time of year with well constructed silhouettes so even some of the smaller twiggier branches should be wired to enhance the effect and consistency in the lines in your tree and show off the ramification.

* Finally, during your re potting work you may have the misfortune in finding Curl Grubs in some of your pots. For those of you who are not familiar with this destructive pest they have a white body an orange brown head and strong mouth parts and usually rest in a "U" shape. They chew on the trees root system robbing it of its fibrous roots. I feel the best prevention of major damage is early detection. Detection can be made by noticing a lack of growth on your tree or inconsistent growth, dieback on the tips of branches, loose unstable trunks or if you push your finger through the soil surface and it moves down too easily. Unfortunately a lot of the time you only realise when you sight them during re potting of a tree. When you do find them remove every single one of them large or small. They can get wedged tightly right up into root systems so you may have to shake all the soil out to get them all.

* If you suspect that some may be in your tree but it is not the right season for re potting I would suggest you try and drown them. Totally submerse your tree for a day or two and some will crawl out of the pot and others will just drown in the root system. If you find a heavy infestation whilst re potting and they have left virtually no root system you will have to shorten some branches on your tree to aid the trees recovery.

Clinton Nesci         (Ray Nesci Bonsai Nursary)