Seasonal work!

Brian Van Fleet

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Good point, Brian - I don’t do it with pines or junipers either.


Curious - why do you remove it? I find it very useful in the summer, when it’s really hot and dry here. I just leave it on all year and change it out when I do the soil cleanup at this time of year.

- S
It gets slimy and ugly, that’s all. If I have a tree that is really getting dry fast or slow to acclimate to a shallow pot, I’ll leave it on longer.
 

Maiden69

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What are your thoughts on green moss instead of sphagnum, to retain moisture and promote surface root growth? In your location that's not viable but further north it should elicit the same effect, no?
From a podcast that I was listening from Mirai, Ryan recommends 1:1 white sphagnum moss to green moss (collected from your area). He dries the green moss, then sifts it the same way Scott does the white sphagnum, then sifts the fines out (to the smallest size of particle you will be using) and mix them together in a bag before applying it. He doesn't mention using it to encourage surface roots though... his points where to solidify the top of the soil to prevent particles from moving, help the even distribution of water, and to hold moisture in.

I'm going to try the sphagnum in my repots, right now I am using a layer of large kiryu particles (larger than the 3/8" screen I sift my soil first) to top dress to prevent pumice from moving around.
 

Tidal Bonsai

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My European Hornbeam and rose were the first things to start pushing buds in the heated shed. Besides repotting those two trees, I have the "To Do" list ready to go to keep me organized, I am preparing soil, and getting ready for a whirlwind of bonsai activity!

In the next few weeks, I will be repotting my deciduous trees, grafting and creating air layers.

Conifer work usually follows around the end of March.
 
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My spring consists of all kinds of shenanigans to delay spring because I need a long potting/repotting season. Also, I use a greenhouse for a lot of my established trees and February sun here in Michigan comes on strong and creates spring in the greenhouse when its not spring outside the greenhouse. If I'm not careful, most everything deciduous will explode in a 2 week window and then I'm screwed. My trees are packed in tightly and I cannot afford full on growth too early. Its like watching Great Stuff when you've used too much. Peaceful, satisfying, relaxing bonsai turns into unmitigated anxiety and stress. Ice, snow and cloudy days are my friends; sun is my enemy. Like yesterday. Out of nowhere comes a almost 50 degree sunny day. Talk about a sucker punch. I have a love/hate relationship with spring. I love spring work but the volume and anxiety makes me throw up, regularly.
 

markyscott

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My spring consists of all kinds of shenanigans to delay spring because I need a long potting/repotting season. Also, I use a greenhouse for a lot of my established trees and February sun here in Michigan comes on strong and creates spring in the greenhouse when its not spring outside the greenhouse. If I'm not careful, most everything deciduous will explode in a 2 week window and then I'm screwed. My trees are packed in tightly and I cannot afford full on growth too early. Its like watching Great Stuff when you've used too much. Peaceful, satisfying, relaxing bonsai turns into unmitigated anxiety and stress. Ice, snow and cloudy days are my friends; sun is my enemy. Like yesterday. Out of nowhere comes a almost 50 degree sunny day. Talk about a sucker punch. I have a love/hate relationship with spring. I love spring work but the volume and anxiety makes me throw up, regularly.
I feel for you Don. Last week it was 15. This week it’s 75 and my trees are ready to explode. I have a 4 week dormancy and a lot to pack in to a very short time. I have to be organized and efficient or things just don’t get done. And I’m sure I don’t have near the collection size that you do.
S
 

ghues

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Dug out the smaller and sensitive trees out of raised garden bed, cleaned, trimmed and wired if necessary. Reviewing repotting plans, preparation of pots, soil, etc. Moved larger trees back to the benches. Exploring any soil ingredients options with local nurseries. 😁😎🇨🇦👍
 

Lazylightningny

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Haven't done much yet, we still have a few inches of snow in the back yard. I took my bigger conifers out of the greenhouse and put them on the benches outside. I sprayed lime sulfur last week. I pruned back two early starters- a J. quince and a blueberry. And that's about it. I feel for @Don Blackmond and his greenhouse woes. This is my first year with a greenhouse, and I'm finding that keeping the roots moist has been a challenge with the warmer temps inside the greenhouse, and I expect things to start popping soon. As the daylight period is still short, I don't have enough time during the week after work to repot, so I'm limited to the weekends, and could possibly lose an opportunity if something starts budding on a Monday. Might have to call out sick.

My soil is ready, I just need more pots. I always need more pots.
 

markyscott

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Haven't done much yet, we still have a few inches of snow in the back yard. I took my bigger conifers out of the greenhouse and put them on the benches outside. I sprayed lime sulfur last week. I pruned back two early starters- a J. quince and a blueberry. And that's about it. I feel for @Don Blackmond and his greenhouse woes. This is my first year with a greenhouse, and I'm finding that keeping the roots moist has been a challenge with the warmer temps inside the greenhouse, and I expect things to start popping soon. As the daylight period is still short, I don't have enough time during the week after work to repot, so I'm limited to the weekends, and could possibly lose an opportunity if something starts budding on a Monday. Might have to call out sick.

My soil is ready, I just need more pots. I always need more pots.
Mid-seventies right now here and it looks like it will be this way through early March at least. Fatal last words, but its likely we’ve seen the last of winter here. We’ll send spring your way as soon as we’re done with it. Lol
 

markyscott

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OK - early spring work is more or less done. Next up is my spring fertilization. I replace all my fertilizer bags and apply a liquid fertilizer as well. Then I’m into wiring season for broadleaf trees - that’s a very busy time for me. After that, I have to make more soil for tropical repotting season, which, for me, starts as soon as night time lows are reliably above 60 degrees or so.
 

namnhi

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Here are some details of the steps involved in the ‘soji’. Any tree that wasn’t repotted gets the soji.
  1. With a pair of bent nose tweezers and working from the trunk outward, scrape the top layer of soil away by pulling the tweezer radially away from the trunk. Remove the top 1/2” or so. As you scrape with the tweezer end, you’ll find the old soil will build up at the edge of the pot. To remove it, flip the tweezers around and use the spade to push the soil up and out of the pot. Goal is to damage crossing roots while leaving radial roots intact. Your trying to remove the soil with fertilizer and silt buildup to improve water flow and aeration.
  2. Cut any crossing or upward growing roots. Reduce any strong ones.
  3. You can make a staple with aluminum wire to hold the roots in place.
  4. Replace the top soil and work it between he surface roots with your tweezers
  5. Place milled sphagnum on top.
  6. Water gently. When the shagnum is dry, a stiff stream will wash it away. Once it’s wet, it will stay in place easily.
Here are some pictures to go with the steps.

Removing the old soil
View attachment 356113

Cutting crossing and upward growing roots
View attachment 356116

Repositioning roots
View attachment 356115

Adding new soil and working it in
View attachment 356117View attachment 356120

Putting milled sphagnum on top
View attachment 356119

Watering it in
View attachment 356122
Scott,
I don't remember seeing this clump. Did you sneak it in when wife was at the mall again?
 

markyscott

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Scott,
I don't remember seeing this clump. Did you sneak it in when wife was at the mall again?
😂 The secret for me has been to encourage my wife in her own expensive hobbies. We are each others enablers. It’s worked out perfectly.

- S
 
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I haven’t tried it myself. I know that various professionals advocate differently on cultivating moss on your soil surface. I can see its benefits in keeping moisture levels up on the soil surface, but I can see how it might make it more difficult to decide if you need to water or not.

- S
I use both moss and sphagnum. I think they work the same. And I also leave through the the year. i mostly have shohin trees and I find essential in summer. I find it easy to find if the tree needs watering even when mossed. Just touch the moss and feel whether it’s wet or dry.
 

Paradox

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My spring consists of all kinds of shenanigans to delay spring because I need a long potting/repotting season. Also, I use a greenhouse for a lot of my established trees and February sun here in Michigan comes on strong and creates spring in the greenhouse when its not spring outside the greenhouse. If I'm not careful, most everything deciduous will explode in a 2 week window and then I'm screwed. My trees are packed in tightly and I cannot afford full on growth too early. Its like watching Great Stuff when you've used too much. Peaceful, satisfying, relaxing bonsai turns into unmitigated anxiety and stress. Ice, snow and cloudy days are my friends; sun is my enemy. Like yesterday. Out of nowhere comes a almost 50 degree sunny day. Talk about a sucker punch. I have a love/hate relationship with spring. I love spring work but the volume and anxiety makes me throw up, regularly.

With all the tridents you have, this must be nuts. If yours are like mine, it has to be repotted each year because of the enormous amount of root growth they put out each year. It just fills the pot with 12-18 inch long roots that circle around the pot.
 
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With all the tridents you have, this must be nuts. If yours are like mine, it has to be repotted each year because of the enormous amount of root growth they put out each year. It just fills the pot with 12-18 inch long roots that circle around the pot.
I still have over 2000 tridents in pots. Most are young, in the 4-10 year range. Some of my old large tridents can go several years between repotting. The growing stock should be done every other year. Shohin every year. Its a 12 round title fight every spring just on tridents alone.
 

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Once repotting is completed, it’s time to turn our attention to fertilization. I have three different strategies.
  1. Hand fertilizing (liquids). Hand fertilizing is labor intensive, but I can mix fertilizer with a few supplements. It varies all the time based on what I have on hand, but I have a couple of constants: A) a liquid organic fertilizer like fish emulsion, B) a humid acid supplement, C) a silicon supplement
  2. Automatic fertilizing (liquids). I generally use Hasta Gro Plant. It’s partly organic and partly chemical. It’s main advantage over something like fish emulsion is that fish emulsion can clog your injectors. So I stay away from it.
  3. Fertilizer bags. I use a fertilizer called Microlife.

I start hand fertilization when the trees show signs of growth and add to it through the spring.
 

markyscott

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Right now, all the maples, the bald cypress, the Chinese elm, one of the cedar elm, the water elm and the yaupon holly are all in growth. I hand fertilize those. Here’s what’s going in this year’s mix: 30ml of Hasta Gro, 30ml of fish emulsion, 60ml of ful-power, 10 ml of Pro-tekt, and 20ml of kelp 1BDADCA5-B997-4A2F-B236-DBAF5B4ADD4A.jpeg85E1659F-6670-46E2-BDA5-AB4A4E00F501.jpeg203A1E91-34CD-4BB6-9091-C3144CF7A4BC.jpegAE225334-734A-44A9-AD1F-E677B51F5B31.jpeg90DFDB17-06E0-450C-B9F5-8EC06F215146.jpeg
 

markyscott

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It all goes into a 2 gallon watering can. Have a Haws. But honestly I don’t use it that much. The holes in the water breaker are too fine and clog easily. I use this can with a coarser breaker instead. 70A845AC-2549-4CF7-9B4E-31C0F21E5FFD.jpeg
 

markyscott

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That’s it. I’ll do this weekly as the trees start waking up. In a few weeks I’ll change out the fertilizer bags (I change them in the spring and fall) and fill up the injector system. By early summer I’m pretty much done with the liquids, but I’ll start up again in autumn.

s
 

markyscott

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Starting to get tip growth on my black pines. That tells me it’s time to apply the systemic fungal control Thiophanate-methyl (Cleary’s 3336, Bonide Infuse) for needle cast and tip blight. I use Bonide Infuse. I might be a week or two late with it this year. I sprinkled a little on the soil surface of all my pines. Next step is a liquid copper fungicide. I’ll apply that when the needles start to emerge from the extending candle. I’d guess I’ll do that in another week or two.

- S
 
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