knowing when to water

[nash2000]

Because when it dies, you go buy a new one, as you think you killed it.... and by then you've been bitten by the bug! Plus it's cheaper for them.

Very well put, doing whatever you can to save and make a buck. Its just too back the customer and the tree have to suffer. At least I'll know better next time.

 

[nash2000]

Water it until it drains out the bottom of the pot, a nice slow watering. Then come back in 5 minutes and do it again. If the soil has dried out quite a bit (not likely this time of year) then I would suggest a third time, to be sure you got it all wet. As you might have noticed, when the ground is very dry, and you water it, most of the water will run off the soil instead of sinking in. So you will need to make sure that the water penetrated the soil. This will be made much easier with the soil you'll repot into in the spring.

Well, I think its finally ready to be watered. I can't be 100% sure its completely dry but a its much dryer than the pady few days. I just hope the soil and pot allow the water to drain. I'm going to use this method of watering and see how it goes.

 

[nash2000]

I just watered it, keep in mind that my tree is very small and my watering can it fairly large. I watered it for latterly about 5 seconds, water pooles up and started to over plow from the pot. Immediately the pool started to drain thru the 2 water holes in the bottom of the pot. Is this enough? I know you mentioned 3 possible waterings but I didn't expect the questionable soil to drain as fast as it did?

 

[JudyB]

Remember what I said about drier soil and run off? You want to make sure you got not just the top soil wet, but the soil in the lower part of the pot too. That's why I gave you those directions. I would give it another go... BTW, when you're watering, there is no such thing as "too wet". But there is a thing such as not wet enough. NOTICE that I said WHEN you are watering. You want to soak it well, then let it dry. then repeat as necessary.

 

[nash2000]

Remember what I said about drier soil and run off? You want to make sure you got not just the top soil wet, but the soil in the lower part of the pot too. That's why I gave you those directions. I would give it another go... BTW, when you're watering, there is no such thing as "too wet". But there is a thing such as not wet enough. NOTICE that I said WHEN you are watering. You want to soak it well, then let it dry. then repeat as necessary.

I did another watering and it seems my tree is well and watered but I do have a concern. I had quite a bit of soil loss occur while water over flow, after taking another look, it appears I lost about 1/4 inch of soil evenly across the top.

 

[JudyB]

Well if you have purchased any bonsai soil, you can go ahead and fill in the parts that were washed away with it. If you don't have any, then you can use spagnum or mulch , if there were no roots that were really badly exposed. Actually if there were no roots exposed, then you don't need to do anything.

But this is why we were telling you to water is softly. Like a watering can with a fine rose on it, or a misting spray from your hose.
This also answers the question about why they glue rocks onto mallsai trees, then they don't have to be careful when they water, easier is cheaper for the seller.

 

[Klytus]

I dunno,it sometimes seems if no rocks were glued there would be nothing for experts to gauge their abilities by.

You seldom see vendors supplying the with rocks specification over here,i think they bypass beginner and opt for expert level from their sources.

Twine and moss is involved.

 

[nash2000]

Well if you have purchased any bonsai soil, you can go ahead and fill in the parts that were washed away with it. If you don't have any, then you can use spagnum or mulch , if there were no roots that were really badly exposed. Actually if there were no roots exposed, then you don't need to do anything.

But this is why we were telling you to water is softly. Like a watering can with a fine rose on it, or a misting spray from your hose.
This also answers the question about why they glue rocks onto mallsai trees, then they don't have to be careful when they water, easier is cheaper for the seller.

I only had a regular can at the time, I'll be picking up a smaller can tomorrow. There is one root that you can see a portion of, I'll research around for soil types and pick some up and top it off. I suppose I need to start familiarizing myself with the proper soil anyway.

 

[BonsaiPrelude]

Based on the photo you posted I would stay off the water as long as I possibly could. Some of the trees I have are nursery stock and the soil is similar to yours (not ideal). Sometimes I can go a week without watering them. During the late fall and winter sometimes 10 days to 2 weeks. I've never used the chopstick method personally but you really shouldn't worry so much about that juniper. Their biology allows them to retain water fairly well, a cutting on the ground will stay green for at least a few days. It's really easy to compulsively water your trees (especially if it's your first few, that's how I always killed mine). You don't have to take my word since I'm "new" to the forum, but if I were you I'd wait until I thought it was bone dry... and then wait one more day... and then water it.