I recently purchased a soil tester that measures moistness, light and PH. While information on ideal PH for maples is available online, the only real information I can find on watering is that maples like moist, but not wet soil. On a scale of 1-10, where 10 is wet, what should I be shooting for?
Ideal Soil Moistness for Maples?
- Thread starter dbonsaiw
- Start date
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
I hope you kept the box and the receipt!
I'm a 10 and adjust down from there. 100% safe.
Adjust down to before you ruin the bark on the roots and low trunk.
Overwatering is a myth.
Sorce
I'm a 10 and adjust down from there. 100% safe.
Adjust down to before you ruin the bark on the roots and low trunk.
Overwatering is a myth.
Sorce
LOL, this art makes little sense sometimes. The tree is sitting in a grow box about 3.5 inches deep (It's quite wide, over 2 feet). I haven't watered in a bit and it still reads 9/10. Grow box has dozens of large holes on the bottom that is covered in mesh wire. Soil is a mix of potting soil with some extras (basically some bags of seedling soil). I had issues with this tree in the past when it was planted in the ground. The ground absolutely did not drain well and I lost a good deal of roots during repotting with even soft combing. I was left with about a 12"X12"X3.5" root ball. I suspect bad things were setting in. So, once bitten twice shy - don't want to have him sitting in soup again. He seems to be doing OK - leaves have started to change and I didn't notice a great deal of leaf loss yet.
Are you saying the device doesnt necessarily provide accurate readings or I just should relax on the watering OCD?
Are you saying the device doesnt necessarily provide accurate readings or I just should relax on the watering OCD?
hinmo24t
Masterpiece
during grow season they can handle a fair amount of water and enjoy it. offseason have to be careful
Kanorin
Omono
Pretty straightforward question, but the answer is not really straightforward.
It depends. It depends when you are measuring and how hot and windy it is that day and what kind of soil it is planting in.
Right after you water it should be a 10.
Right before you water it should be somewhere in the 3-5 range. Sometimes it's a 7, but I still water it in the morning because I know that I have to go to work for 8 hours and it's going to be 85 degrees and sunny all day and would reach a 1 or 2 before I could get to it (getting to 1 and staying there for even a couple hours is very bad).
It depends. It depends when you are measuring and how hot and windy it is that day and what kind of soil it is planting in.
Right after you water it should be a 10.
Right before you water it should be somewhere in the 3-5 range. Sometimes it's a 7, but I still water it in the morning because I know that I have to go to work for 8 hours and it's going to be 85 degrees and sunny all day and would reach a 1 or 2 before I could get to it (getting to 1 and staying there for even a couple hours is very bad).
just.wing.it
Deadwood Head
I keep mine at the Cardi B level.....WAP.
I’ve yet to find a consumer-grade digital moisture meter that was worth more than the cardboard it was packaged in. Might as well ask the magic 8 ball.
Perform a bunch of tests with the meter in a relatively short period of time right after watering. Do another batch of repeated tests on another day, right before you’re going to water. Repeat that testing process a few times. Do the results within each individual testing session agree? Do the results for the same test condition (freshly watered or low moisture state) agree across different testing sessions?
Perform a bunch of tests with the meter in a relatively short period of time right after watering. Do another batch of repeated tests on another day, right before you’re going to water. Repeat that testing process a few times. Do the results within each individual testing session agree? Do the results for the same test condition (freshly watered or low moisture state) agree across different testing sessions?
Leo in N E Illinois
The Professor
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The best water meter for horticulture, and bonsai in particular is the human, especially the human finger, but also the human eye, and the human sense of weight.
Dig your finger in, so at least your fingernails are completely buried in the soil. Feel the moisture? Is it cool at that depth? If cool, if it feels damp, then no water is needed. Look at foliage, you should be familiar over time with your own trees that you can spot the slightest wilting from 10 feet away. Your can be tuned in to your tree's appearance. Water in the tissues create turgor, the minute water supply falls, the turgor will change and how the leaves are held will drop a little. You will be able to see this, even from a distance.
Last, just lift the edge of the pot. Notice the weight. Wet soil is heavy. Dry soil is light. Within 2 weeks of purchasing a tree, or repotting a tree you should be familiar enough with the heft, the weight of that pot & tree combo, to know if it needs water just picking up the edge of the pot.
The above techniques are VERY ACCURATE, you just need to calibrate your sense of touch, weight, and be observant of the appearance of your trees.
If these tricks are not obvious to you, you need to spend more time with your trees. Notice what is going on.
I worked in a chem lab for 40 years, there are zero cheap, but accurate moisture meters. Learn to use your fingers, eyes, and sense of weight.
Dig your finger in, so at least your fingernails are completely buried in the soil. Feel the moisture? Is it cool at that depth? If cool, if it feels damp, then no water is needed. Look at foliage, you should be familiar over time with your own trees that you can spot the slightest wilting from 10 feet away. Your can be tuned in to your tree's appearance. Water in the tissues create turgor, the minute water supply falls, the turgor will change and how the leaves are held will drop a little. You will be able to see this, even from a distance.
Last, just lift the edge of the pot. Notice the weight. Wet soil is heavy. Dry soil is light. Within 2 weeks of purchasing a tree, or repotting a tree you should be familiar enough with the heft, the weight of that pot & tree combo, to know if it needs water just picking up the edge of the pot.
The above techniques are VERY ACCURATE, you just need to calibrate your sense of touch, weight, and be observant of the appearance of your trees.
If these tricks are not obvious to you, you need to spend more time with your trees. Notice what is going on.
I worked in a chem lab for 40 years, there are zero cheap, but accurate moisture meters. Learn to use your fingers, eyes, and sense of weight.
fredman
Masterpiece
That reminds me...I need to dig and look for my water moisture gauge (so I can throw it away) I bought way back in the beginning. It's been a long time, so it'll be buried deep.
leatherback
The Treedeemer
Shall we add PH meters, soil nutrient test kits etc to the mix?
You ask biologists what the best way is to learn the nutrient availability & plant suitability of soil and the answer is, grow a crop on it.
