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Sun/Water Balance

This month hosts the longest day of the year (June 21) and the official beginning of summer. As Bonsai enthusiasts we understand these arriving days as something a little different from those persons who note just another calendar day. We are having hot days and much more sun than in May. For those of us that can enjoy positioning our Bonsai in the out-of-doors we do need to think of some protection. Here in Dallas, Texas, we initiate a number of things to assist our Bonsai as they struggle with the hard times of heat and sun.

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Try to position your Bonsai where they will get as much sun as possible…with the caveat that along with the sun comes heat. With this heat please remember that your Bonsai will dry out much quicker. There may be scorching of the leaves on delicate Bonsai such as Japanese maples. To ameliorate this problem we try to cut down on the length of direct sun to the Bonsai. How? Morning sun is one answer. Position your Bonsai where they will receive 4 to 6 hours of direct sun. Our home is facing east so our backyard where our Bonsai are located is facing west which means that they have sun exposure this month up until nearly 9 PM. Now, that’s a long, long day for our Bonsai. What do we do the help them along? Place them under a larger tree so that the Bonsai receives high moving shade. We also heap on wet peat moss over the top of the pot so that the Bonsai will retain moisture for a longer period of time. This still means that we water twice daily. Once before going to work and in the afternoon when we return home. This is really not a big problem or chore for us because it gives us the opportunity to say hello to our old friends and to see how they have fared during the stressful heat.

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When we were growing Bonsai to sell at our mall locations we had our junipers in direct sun. Why? This gave them a beautiful tight growth, but we had to water 8 to 10 times a day because they would dry out so quickly. Wow – that labor intensive task isn’t worth it to most people. Remember we were with the Bonsai 12 hours or so a day pruning, potting, etc because that was our job. Yes, we had all our sprinklers on timers, but there were still dry spots that needed hand watering. When we visit the many Bonsai growers in Japan they all had their junipers, and for that matter all their Bonsai outside except for Bonsai that would be in fruit (protected from the hungry birds). Their weather was certainly not like ours here in Dallas so that they were able to care for their Bonsai so much more easily than we can.

For those hobbyist that have their Bonsai indoors you still need to be vigilant for the normal problems of watering, enough light and pests.

What's happening here at Dallas Bonsai Garden...

We keep scouring Japan for all types of items to help you along with your hobby. There are some new items that we have not been able to catalog for you just yet.
A number of new gravers and tools. A soil sifter that is mounted on a platform. More Masakuni tools. More garden saws and Silky Gomboy garden implements. We should have them up soon. There are also a number of new Chinese figures that we will place up on the site.

And a note to all our customers and would be customers:
We do invite feedback. If there is something you would like us to find for you that you haven’t found just yet, please ask us and we will try to locate it for you. We do listen to our customers and try very hard to satisfy them in their enjoyment of this wonderful hobby.

Bonsai Channel - New Video - Underwatered Damage Control

On June 7th, we will be updating the Bonsai Channel with a movie from Mike Miller concerning damage control on an underwatered Maple. Keep an eye out for that.

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Maybe It's Time To Have a Second Look At Your Procumbens Juniper

By Thomas J.

This months article is somewhat of a continuation of the December 2005 article, where I address the problem of the procumbens juniper becoming too overgrown, and in desperate need of some thinning out, and possibly some branch prunning also. These junipers can be fun to work with, but require a lot of time to keep them looking really good.