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Mid
March is our last freeze here in Dallas, Texas, so we
really race now to prepare all our Bonsai for the Spring
Season and the beauty that they will present us in the
way of unfolding beautiful leaves and outstanding blossoms.
We have about 247 days of frost free growth and certainly
don’t want to waste any of these precious moments.
Of course
your part of the world has different last freeze times,
but the daylight time which is so important to our
Bonsai and its cyclical growth patterns is basically
the same. St. Paul, Minnesota, last freeze may be
close to the end of April with about 170 days of frost
free growing. Parts of Montana can have only 100 days
of frost free growing and the last freeze day of about
June 1. Why am I singling these areas out? Well, the
USA is a temperate climate area – BUT –
there can be extremes from within that area. It’s
important for you to know the rudiments of plant growing
in your area to help your Bonsai and your care for
them. We do have extremes in the Continental USA,
but we can cope with them if we are aware of these
little details and how they will affect the growth
patterns of your Bonsai. Keep these tidbits in the
back of your mind to make your Bonsai care go along
with the flow of Nature.
Our
suggestions for this month of March are:
| 1. |
Get
your pots ready if you haven’t transplanted
already. |
| 2. |
Have
plenty of Bonsai soil (potting medium) ready when
you need it. Be a good Boyscout/Girlscout and
be prepared. |
| 3. |
Start
thinking about fertilizers for the Spring/Summer
seasons. Fertilizers are extremely important to
your Bonsai during this “coming out”
season….even for evergreens as they wake
up from their winter hibernation. |
| 4. |
Think
about a pruning tool, wound sealant, wire and
branch benders. Of course you can prune any time
of the year, but your Bonsai will recover much
more quickly this time of the year. |
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