too much rain

[bonsaiDerek]

this may be a stupid question, but what do you do to dry out your trees soil when there has been a week of straight rain?
the trees I have planted in a mix with 8822, which seems to stay wet longer, I have brought inside and have a fan blowing on their pots for a day
what do you guys do?

 

[Nybonsai12]

I just put a wood block under one side of the pot so it's tilted to help water runoff. If you have good drainage in your soil you should be ok. If you don't you will have to move em out of the rain.

 

[Anthony]

Coming up on 9 inches a month.

Transplanting is from 1st January to May.
No rain from Christmas.

Rains re-start late May / June.
Tropics here.
Trees have mastered the soil and rain has no effect on them.
Good Day
Anthony

 

[bonsaiDerek]

Coming up on 9 inches a month.

Transplanting is from 1st January to May.
No rain from Christmas.

Rains re-start late May / June.
Tropics here.
Trees have mastered the soil and rain has no effect on them.
Good Day
Anthony

tropical is a different story

 

[Anthony]

Ha, rain is rain.

 

[penumbra]

Ha, rain is rain.

You know what he means Anthony. Tropical plants are not temperate plants.

 

[bwaynef]

Tilt the pot. Drill a hole if necessary to keep that side from drowning. Then plan for the rain next time you repot if your soil is holding too much water.

 

[Anthony]

@penumbra,

the idea was to get him to think
Rain will only affect when the tree does not master the soil
Anthony

Or you can block the rain.

 

[leatherback]

I just leave mine in the rain. Especially in winter we can get a month or more of drizzle that seems to never stop. Permeating everything. Does not seem to bother the trees too badly. But yeah, for winter I tilt the pots a little to aid draining. In summer.. I just get annoyed with moss growing everywhere when it rains a lot.

A weekof rain is no issue in any situation unless you have poor draining soil (And maybe some pines might object, but I do not have too many pines). Put them under a rain shelter.

 

[Anthony]

Too much rain - do as we do.
Simple shield of stretched heavy clear plastic say 6 x 10 feet long over
the weak, set at an angle, to shed water.
Rain falls and sunlight still gets through.
No big problem.
Good Day
Anthony

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

You can make a rain shield out of Aluminum foil. Just remember to take it off when it stops raining.

Only when the mix was too fine, retaining too much water have I had problems with excess rain. But that is a draw back of 8822, it is a fine grain particule.

A coarse mix would be fine with constant rain.

 

[Sansui]

Ha, rain is rain.

My son thought the same until he transferred from SE Pennsylvania to the University of Miami. Much bigger rain!

 

[Sansui]

this may be a stupid question, but what do you do to dry out your trees soil when there has been a week of straight rain?
the trees I have planted in a mix with 8822, which seems to stay wet longer, I have brought inside and have a fan blowing on their pots for a day
what do you guys do?

If you feel the trees health is in jeopardy you can try to aerate the soil using chop sticks to carefully make some deep holes to speed up the drying. Of course, you don't want the roots to dry completely either. I try to keep my JWP trees under my benches to avoid prolonged saturation. Everything else gets soaked and eventually dries out from air circulation and sun exposure.

 

[leatherback]

If you feel the trees health is in jeopardy you can try to aerate the soil using chop sticks to carefully make some deep holes to speed up the drying. Of course, you don't want the roots to dry completely either. I try to keep my JWP trees under my benches to avoid prolonged saturation. Everything else gets soaked and eventually dries out from air circulation and sun exposure.

This does not sound like a good methods to me. Risk of damaging roots vss not really doing much

 

[Sansui]

This does not sound like a good methods to me. Risk of damaging roots vss not really doing much

Hello,
Yes, I certainly understand your concern. I just wanted to provide an option for a potential desperate situation.

 

[Sansui]

Hello,
Yes, I certainly understand your concern. I just wanted to provide an option for a potential desperate situation.

In hindsight, we should ask what type of trees are impacted.

 

[sorce]

I leave my 8822 soaked AF.

Small grain or big.

You know what happens?

Roots grow!

Put em back out and apologize!

Sorce

 

[bwaynef]

Sorce, do you sift your DE/8822?

 

[sorce]

Sorce, do you sift your DE/8822?

I do.

However.....

I have been using the smalls with shocking success.
So much so I have begun to favor the smalls.

Quite certain this is only possible because they do stay soaked.

If allowed to dry, that fine dust makes it....
What's the word?

Sorce

 

[sorce]

Hydrophobic.

Sorce