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iluvbotany4life

I'm worried, will my Juniper Bonsai be ok tonight? Frigid Temps..

iluvbotany4life
14 years ago

I've had a Juniper bonsai since September and I'm well aware that the plant needs a dormant period and cannot be kept as an indoor plant, so I've been keeping it on an unheated, very sunny porch that is protected from the winds. The bonsai has been doing quite well these past weeks with about 20 F temps at night, but these next few nights it is supposed to be 0 F. The porch will probly be a few degrees warmer than the outside temps but not by much. My bonsai is in a ceramic container with bonsai soil, with moss on top of the soil. The container has drainage holes and sits in a larger container the has rocks in it. I fill that outer container with water so the bonsai can draw up that water when it needs to. Lately that water in the outer container has been freezing solid. I have wraped a large towel around the container, but I am still very concerned that these temps are gonna kill my bonsai. But I definetly am hesitant about messing up its dormancy cycle by bringing it inside. Any suggestions?

Comments (6)

  • larke
    14 years ago

    Hi, first thing - get the pot out of the water (or ice) because that will kill it faster than anything. Junipers need to dry out almost completely between waterings and once the soil freezes, you shouldn't water at all until it thaws enough (in spring usually) to begin drying out again. Rocks are not mulch so I'm not sure what the point of that is, but I suggest you do sink the pot into a large container of some kind of mulch material (and forget the towel - waste of time. The point is to simulate being in the ground. Do leave it in the porch right up near the house wall, which will keep it warmer (even if you can't tell the difference). If you have anywhere else, like a cold basement that doesn't warm beyond say 40 Fahr., then that would be good too. Otherwise, if you're concerned about it getting dry, you can always dump a handful of snow on top and let that be used if and when the tree feels the need of it (on warmer days). It's also good insulation.

  • larke
    14 years ago

    And throw away the moss - it's just going to keep the soil too wet at the same time it keeps the tree from getting legitimate water.

  • larke
    14 years ago

    And throw away the moss - it's just going to keep the soil too wet at the same time it keeps the tree from getting legitimate water.

  • larke
    14 years ago

    Sorry about the duplication... BTW, bonsai, like any plant or tree in the ground, should be watered (when it's time) from above, like rain, not from below or by immersion in a sink. Maybe you were told to do that by the guy you bought it from (who probably never kept a bonsai in his life) but it's wrong.

  • iluvbotany4life
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks for your suggestions.. The rocks are just lining the bottom of the outer pot so the inner container sits upon them and water can get under there to the drainage holes so thats what the Point of it was..Anyway I have taken away the outer pot. I've heard both ways that you can water from above or below. My bonsai has been thriving for months while I've been using the tray watering method, so I think I'm going to stick with it, as I didn't come here to ask watering methods. I'm also going to keep the moss, as I've been growing it there for months, and it has not been harming by bonsai. Right now I have a thick towel wrapped very very tightly around the container, because I have no container the right size to put mulch in right now. I don't know why you think that would be a waste of time as I would think that would provide some insulation. Anyways, if I do come across an adequate container, what kind of mulch would you suggest that I use?

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    14 years ago

    Watering from below does not allow accumulated salts to be flushed from the media, nor does it re-oxygenate the root-zone the same as watering from above.

    Those are two sound, scientific reasons to abandon bottom-watering.

    The only time I bottom-water is when I am trying to hydrate a root-ball so that I can remove the old soil from a nursery plant, et cetera.

    Re: mulch in containers -
    You can use a plastic bag full of bark mulch, if you don't have a suitable container. I use white plastic bags so that they don't absorb too much heat.

    Josh

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