Bonsai in Houston TX

[al345900]

Hi,

I live in Wisconsin and I have a collection that includes Trident Maples, Elms, Black Pine, Ponderosa Pine, Azaleaz, Hornbeam, Gingko, Junipers.

My wife and I are tired of the long winters, the cold and snow.

I am wondering if I move to Houston if my bonsai trees will survive there or I will have to leave some of them behind.

Thank you

JR

 

[Poink88]

Hi,

I live in Wisconsin and I have a collection that includes Trident Maples, Elms, Black Pine, Ponderosa Pine, Azaleaz, Hornbeam, Gingko, Junipers.

My wife and I are tired of the long winters, the cold and snow.

I am wondering if I move to Houston if my bonsai trees will survive there or I will have to leave some of them behind.

Thank you

JR

I am in Austin and have the following...
Trident Maples, Elms, Black Pine, Azaleaz, Hornbeam, Junipers.

I know several here who have nice Ginkgo. It depends I think on what Hornbeam you have. Have not seen any Ponderosa locally.

Good luck!

 

[nip]

The elms, black pine, azalea and junipers will be fine. Maples, hornbeams, and gingko are doable but will need extra care. Ponderosa could survive, but not advisable.
Contact the Houston Bonsai Society for better knowledge.

 

[al345900]

Thank you,

JR

 

[Dav4]

Leave the ponderosas in Wisconsin. I've been watching my collected pondy wither and die here in N. GA over the last 5 years. I was warned it wouldn't last for long here...I wish I had listened.

 

[markyscott]

Hi,

I live in Wisconsin and I have a collection that includes Trident Maples, Elms, Black Pine, Ponderosa Pine, Azaleaz, Hornbeam, Gingko, Junipers.

My wife and I are tired of the long winters, the cold and snow.

I am wondering if I move to Houston if my bonsai trees will survive there or I will have to leave some of them behind.

Thank you

JR

Are you sure you want to come? We had a BRUTAL winter - it dropped below freezing on FIVE separate occasions this winter. TWICE it dropped into the UPPER TWENTIES. AND we had A WINTERY MIX during two different storms. Once, it even KIND OF ALMOST SNOWED!!! Right now it's 34 degrees - it won't be into the seventies again until the END OF THE WEEK!!! In fact, most days this winter, it barely got into the MID SIXTIES! I had to break out my LIGHT JACKET again this morning after having put it away for the season! They even superseded the Today Show this morning because ice had formed on SEVERAL TREES north of town. A small branch had ACTUALLY BROKEN on one of the trees!!! Yeesh - your probably thinking now that it's JUST LIKE WISCONSIN!!!

But if you choose to brave the "wintery mix" that falls roughly once every five years, you'll find that back pine and trident maples do great here as well as many elms. There is a great variety in hornbeam, juniper species and azalea cultivar. Some do well, some don't, some I've never tried - what kind do you have?. I've never tried a ponderosa pine and don't know anyone that grows them. I doubt they would do well as we have such a very short dormant season - temperatures fluctuate between near 80 to the mid twenties all winter, so really no consistently cold weather. I would probably sell, give away, or trade any ponderosa pines and not bother trying. I had to go through this process myself when I moved here from Seattle. It's a good bonsai community here - there are about 100 or so members of the society. We'd love to have you!

Scott

 

[al345900]

Thank you for your replies, I am still laughing about the harsh winter in Houston.

I am so tired of shoveling snow; since mid-December the lawn has been covered with snow every single day.

I have Satsuki Azalea Wakaebisu, Korean Hornbeam, Trident Maple, Japanese Elm, Shimpaku Juniper and Black Pine. I can leave the Ponderosa Pine behind.

I have been building my collection with refinement in mind; with the short growing season in Wisconsin it will take me decades to grow material from cuttings or seedlings. Some of the trees I acquired have been in training for more than 40 years and it will be difficult to leave them behind.

JR

 

[Poink88]

Question is... are you ready for Texas summer?

 

[accemn]

Yes, We trade short winters for long, hot humid summers. Last year or the year before we have 40 consecutive 100+ days with sweltering humidity. Its not so bad once you get used to it. Coming from Tahoe CA it took me a few years.

I am new to Bonsai so I cant comment on tree varieties but just about everything grows well that doesn't require extensive dormancy.

However if you enjoy vegetable growing as well as trees we have a long growing season. I have my vegetable garden going year round. Fruit trees that only require 100-200 chill hours do well for me. I keep all my fruit trees in containers so I can move to and from shade if required. Most of Houston has super hard alkaline water so be prepared to treat water or collect rain. My water comes out of the tap at PH 8.5-9.

 

[markyscott]

Thank you for your replies, I am still laughing about the harsh winter in Houston.

I am so tired of shoveling snow; since mid-December the lawn has been covered with snow every single day.

I have Satsuki Azalea Wakaebisu, Korean Hornbeam, Trident Maple, Japanese Elm, Shimpaku Juniper and Black Pine. I can leave the Ponderosa Pine behind.

I have been building my collection with refinement in mind; with the short growing season in Wisconsin it will take me decades to grow material from cuttings or seedlings. Some of the trees I acquired have been in training for more than 40 years and it will be difficult to leave them behind.

JR

I've heard wakaebisu do well, but have not tried that variety myself. I've had a Korean hornbeam through several summers and it is doing well. I've known others here that have grown them. I've not tried a Japanese hornbeam or Japanese elm here and don't know anyone else that have tried. Tridents and black pine love the long hot summers. I've had black pine throw 2 candles in one year. Shimpaku do ok - kishu seem to tolerate the climate a bit better than itoigawa.

Scott

 

[markyscott]

And sad as it may seem, I wasn't joking about the Today Show - it was replaced by an hour of someone driving around desperately trying to find evidence of ice on anything. It was a hoot - and it contained nearly the same news value as the show it replaced.

Scott

 

[johng]

Having grown up in Houston and still have family there, I can't believe anyone would chose to move there? You must have grandkids or something such there?? If you don't, there must be a million better place to live...its too hot, too humid, too many people, too much concrete, too much traffic, too little nature, too expensive, and too few people that do bonsai etc, etc..

Good luck?
John

 

[Poink88]

Having grown up in Houston and still have family there, I can't believe anyone would chose to move there? You must have grandkids or something such there?? If you don't, there must be a million better place to live...its too hot, too humid, too many people, too much concrete, too much traffic, too little nature, too expensive, and too few people that do bonsai etc, etc..

Good luck?
John

Another major reason I can add to the list for choosing Houston is job opportunity.

When I was moving...I did not even considered Houston (though I had an offer to work at Shell--probably a big mistake not taking it). Not a bad place but too metropolitan for me. The traffic and aggressive drivers didn't help either.

I am happy here in Austin. Probably same reason why so many Californians are migrating here...we are bursting at the seams!

 

[al345900]

My interest is job related.

The reason I am asking about Houston is because the oil and gas industry is booming. There are a lot of job opportunities there; four of my coworkers move to Houston in the last nine months; I’ve been wondering if I am missing something.

I agree that the weather is too hot and humid; too much traffic and cement.

I was in California a couple of weeks ago visiting the Lake Merrit collection and the traffic was awful.

Bonsai is an important part of my life; I am just checking the options.

Regards

JR

 

[johng]

Job reasons are certainly more understandable...I thought maybe it was a retirement move!

Good luck...I wish you success!

 

[thumblessprimate1]

LOL. Houston winter isn't that bad. It's definitely not like up in Dallas, and it pales in comparison to other parts of the US of A. It's just not common to have temperatures as cold as it's been lately down there. What's sad is that lots of people have invested decades into tropical flowering and fruiting plants and have lost them to the strange cold weather.

Most of the OP's bonsai should do alright. I don't know anything about Hornbeam

 

[pgstroud@aol.com]

Who to ask about relocating to Houston TX

​

Hi,

I live in Wisconsin and I have a collection that includes Trident Maples, Elms, Black Pine, Ponderosa Pine, Azaleaz, Hornbeam, Gingko, Junipers.

My wife and I are tired of the long winters, the cold and snow.

I am wondering if I move to Houston if my bonsai trees will survive there or I will have to leave some of them behind.

Thank you

JR

If I were you I would contact Fred Byer of Dallas Bonsai & get his opinion on moving to Austin. He runs a good business in Dallas. I have bought some items from Dallas Bonsai & he would be the one to ask about your move.

 

[edprocoat]

I bet the Ponderosa Pine would languish and eventually die from the lack of cool time and the severe summer heat, although I would never have assumed that a Trident Maple would survive there either, but Dario says his are fine so far so you know it will make it for a few years !

ed

 

[Poink88]

... although I would never have assumed that a Trident Maple would survive there either, but Dario says his are fine so far so you know it will make it for a few years !

Ed,

Some of my club mates have trident maple for much longer.

 

[markyscott]

I bet the Ponderosa Pine would languish and eventually die from the lack of cool time and the severe summer heat, although I would never have assumed that a Trident Maple would survive there either, but Dario says his are fine so far so you know it will make it for a few years !

ed

I agree that Ponderosa pines will likely languish and die, but I've had trident maples for all of my 15 years in Houston. They grow well here.

Scott