Indoor/grow lights for bonsai “intensive care?”

[wharf_rat78]

It’s awfully hot this summer. All of my plants are struggling but I have a couple that are repots from this spring which are particularly struggling, even with ample shade etc.

Is a decent indoor setup with a humidifier and lights preferable to soldiering on outdoors for trees in recovery or with health issues? I use this in winter for tropical trees, and am wondering if it’d be best for my sickly hornbeam and azalea while they recover.

Thoughts?

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

That’s a valid short term option imho. I’ve brought in different trees for up to four days during blistering hot spells.

cheers
DSD sends

 

[wharf_rat78]

Thanks for the response and sharing your experience.

I know that an indoor environment even with good lights is going to be sub-optimal over the long term (particularly for trees requiring seasons/dormancy) but in general don’t know why I haven’t read more about using an indoor set-up for trees that are under stress or recently repotted or otherwise could use a more controlled/mild environment for recovery.

The reason I expand on that is that you mention doing it to protect from extraordinary external factors (much in the same way we might take measures if a hurricane or extreme cold spell were coming), but I’m wondering specifically about a use case that has more to do with pampering an unhealthy or recovering tree in general - a tree which otherwise I might leave outdoors in the heat.

If that distinction makes sense, wonder if anyone uses indoor setups in this fashion, or why one wouldn’t do so.

 

[Glaucus]

I have moved azaleas indoors during winter. They leave dormancy fine, grow well. No issue with the lower humidity, short term.

However, the challenge comes in moving them back outdoors in late spring. They get a cold shock or shorter daylight shock and they go into dormancy early. They also bloom a second time outdoors. So they get confused. Not sure if they are storing a ton of energy reserves or are growing roots like crazy. But their leaf growth stagnated, at least for me.

So one might need to fine tune daylength and moving outdoors with night temps, to get a proper double growing season.

For plants in poor health, it will work.

 

[wharf_rat78]

So one might need to fine tune daylength and moving outdoors with night temps, to get a proper double growing season.

I was about to ask, but instead googled (see I’m not completely helpless!) and confirmed that they make timers which supposedly synch with dawn/dusk times given a zip code. Hm

 

[Glaucus]

I got flower bud development indoors with long daylight. If it wasn't for that, it could actually be a usual thing to do for people in colder climates. Move your azalea bonsai (or some other species) indoors in January. And get a way longer growing season.
Maybe the GPS zipcode linked timer works. Didn't know they existed. Can you also adjust to make days slightly shorter or slightly longer than outdoors? The optimum is likely not 100% the same as the natural daylength.

 

[wharf_rat78]

Can you also adjust to make days slightly shorter or slightly longer than outdoors? The optimum is likely not 100% the same as the natural daylength.

The features of the unit I got on google include “Set by Dusk, Dawn with offsets or Realtime” so I assume the answer is yes.

Even if it’s useless in a practical sense, it would help me spend more money which is apparently one of the primary psychological needs underpinning my participation in bonsai.

 

[Bridge]

This is my first post. Being a newbie, I can't really advise about bonsai but I can recommend this smart outlet. It can be programmed on multiple devices to turn on at sunrise and turn off at sundown. Of course, you can set any on or off time if you need a longer period.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083R3YBTM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1