Inside, outside, combination?

  • Inside

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Outside

    Votes: 5 55.6%
  • Combination

    Votes: 4 44.4%

  • Total voters
    9

KLefty

Seedling
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Hello.
I'm new to bonsai. I picked up a couple trees, repotted them, but haven't worked with them much yet. One is a Japanese Boxwood. Ya see, Arizona summers are hot and dry. Winters can be cold and wet. I know that dudicious trees are supposed to be outside to go through the natural cycle of things, but not sure if the weather extremes of my environment change things? Any advise?
 

Redwood Ryan

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Welcome!

Boxwood is an outdoor year round tree. Bringing it inside will kill it. What are the other trees?
 

KLefty

Seedling
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Welcome!

Boxwood is an outdoor year round tree. Bringing it inside will kill it. What are the other trees?
I also have what was labeled as "heavenly bamboo". I got both my trees from just your run of the mill hardware store garden department... I figured it was an inexpensive way to start the hobby.
 

milehigh_7

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Arizona is a BIG place with a very wide range of climate zones within the state so we will need specifics on where you are located. Put it in your profile. It will help.
 

KLefty

Seedling
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Arizona is a BIG place with a very wide range of climate zones within the state so we will need specifics on where you are located. Put it in your profile. It will help.
Okay, I'll do that. I'm located more towards the north of central Arizona, just a little south from Flagstaff but not all the way to Pheonix. Summer ranges from 80s to 110s, winters from 60s to 40s( Fahrenheit).
 

milehigh_7

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You won't have near the struggles that I have in Vegas nor the Phoenix folks. If you are around the rim which it sounds like, you will be able to grow very many species and give minimal if any winter shelter on the nights that it may happen to drop into the 20's. For Summer growing you will want a shaded growing area that protects your trees from direct sun after about 11-12. Then the species that I grow in Vegas you should do quite well with, your boxwood is one.

If you grow inside, it will really only need to be tropicals that you bring inside once temps drop below 60-50F. Unless you do that you won't need to worry about inside at all.
 

KLefty

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You won't have near the struggles that I have in Vegas nor the Phoenix folks. If you are around the rim which it sounds like, you will be able to grow very many species and give minimal if any winter shelter on the nights that it may happen to drop into the 20's. For Summer growing you will want a shaded growing area that protects your trees from direct sun after about 11-12. Then the species that I grow in Vegas you should do quite well with, your boxwood is one.
That's good to here. I have a place to put them outside that gets good shade during the worst of the heat. Is there any other times I may need to bring them inside? There's the monsoon season that I figured might be a bit of a problem with strong winds and heavy rain, but that's about all I can think of besides the heat or cold.
 

milehigh_7

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Obviously sheltering from damaging winds, hail and such is essential. What are your typical lows in the winter? In Vegas, we normally get down into the 20's and high teens at the worst. So there is like one or two weeks that I have to move things in and out of the garage. We have had several weeks over 110F and as high as 122F and the only real damage I have had is things that had too much direct sun. So fast draining soil, shade and you will be good.
 

sorce

Nonsense Rascal
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Are you a left handed pitcher?

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce
 

KLefty

Seedling
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Obviously sheltering from damaging winds, hail and such is essential. What are your typical lows in the winter? In Vegas, we normally get down into the 20's and high teens at the worst. So there is like one or two weeks that I have to move things in and out of the garage. We have had several weeks over 110F and as high as 122F and the only real damage I have had is things that had too much direct sun. So fast draining soil, shade and you will be good.
Its about the same here as far as the winter.
 

AZbonsai

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This is the set up I have. Plants are on the east side of the house. I have an automatic mister and drip system that seems to have worked pretty well while I was on vacation.
20170618_075714-2268x3024.jpg 20170605_163545_001-2268x3024.jpg
 

Bonsai Nut

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Your weather sounds a lot like ours.

Consider getting a cheap shade cloth to protect your tender trees during the heat of the day. Shade cloth plus 4 x 4 landscape timbers plus hardware plus 4 bags of concrete to anchor the timbers is going to be less than $200. You can adjust the shadecloth for more or less blockage, but I would start at 60%. You will also find with a little shadecloth area you will work on your trees more because you will have a little spot that isn't getting cooked that you can stand in.

[EDIT] You beat me with the shadecloth idea! [/EDIT]
 

KLefty

Seedling
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This is the set up I have. Plants are on the east side of the house. I have an automatic mister and drip system that seems to have worked pretty well while I was on vacation.
View attachment 152098 View attachment 152099
I've put my trees under the small overhang on my porch. This is also the east side of the house. Hopefully eventually I'll have a little better set up using a shade cloth to extend the area.
 

rockm

Spuds Moyogi
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FWIW, I would get them away from that cinder block wall. It is a heat sink and will radiate heat in the evening on hot days...
 

AZbonsai

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East side of house...sun is off the wall by 11 so it is not so bad. You are right about walls radiating heat it is a big time problem.
 

miker

Chumono
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I also have what was labeled as "heavenly bamboo". I got both my trees from just your run of the mill hardware store garden department... I figured it was an inexpensive way to start the hobby.
Heavenly bamboo, Nandina domestica grows well in Central Florida, Eastern Virginia and SE Pennsylvania (though it is at the northern edge of where it can survive here in SE PA), so I would imagine a well irrigated specimen with shade could possibly do well in Arizona.
 

miker

Chumono
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Okay, I'll do that. I'm located more towards the north of central Arizona, just a little south from Flagstaff but not all the way to Pheonix. Summer ranges from 80s to 110s, winters from 60s to 40s( Fahrenheit).

Sounds like Phoenix to me.
 
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