Summer Heat Tips

[nuttiest]

So there are a couple of people who are not understanding what we deal with in Arizona so here's a fun little video to help.

but what does the egg do in standing water is the question

 

[A. Gorilla]

So there are a couple of people who are not understanding what we deal with in Arizona so here's a fun little video to help.

And the winters kill certain things here.

Whadda ya gonna do?

 

[tomd8]

Barring shade cloth, in such heat would a thick layer of seed hay help? I use it in my garden and potted fig trees to retain moisture.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

I'm beginning to believe that natural selection is the way to go.
Any tree that heat kills is in the wrong collection.
Sell, give, or toss and keep the ones that can stand the heat.



I am VERY close to that point.
Yesterday the temp on the highway home was 112 F.

 

[August]

I'm beginning to believe that natural selection is the way to go.
Any tree that heat kills is in the wrong collection.
Sell, give, or toss and keep the ones that can stand the heat.

If it keeps getting hotter and hotter, some people might have to accept that succulents can be bonsai

 

[bwaynef]

I believe it was @johng who recently shared the importance of keeping weeds out of pots when temps get high as it creates a ...race condition for water.

 

[pandacular]

it creates a ...race condition for water.

Oh god, and here I thought I only had to deal with race conditions at work...

 

[Laddo]

Words are important, especially on internet forum where newer growers read and make assumptions from posts by more experienced members.

The real point is that water does not 'boil' or 'steam' at ambient temperatures and that there should be no real difference between standing water and water held as moisture in soil. IMHO both those concepts are in our minds rather than reality which then leads to taking unnecessary countermeasures.
Water is actually a great cooler. Consider the concept of evaporative air conditioning which has been used extensively to cool both food and homes for centuries. Does extra available water 'boil' and create problems or does it act as a cooler? There's plenty of research that shows plants use transpiration of water through leaves to help cool themselves. The corollary of that should mean that plenty of available water will help plants cope with hot weather.

I do not like at Colorado altitudes but do regularly experience summer temps well over 100F. I find the best defense against heat for my bonsai is plenty of available water. IMHO water helps rather than causes problems in summer.

geez when did you graduate from Kill Joy University?

 

[Sagebrush]

Even with East side setup it's still a struggle. Black plastic pots are an issue I need to address. All the concrete and to the right of this photo is a rock wall. We don't have as bad as milehigh though. I thought we were going to get a break but this week 102-105 daily

 

[queenofsheba52]

Great advice here, thanks @milehigh_7 and others for the good tips. I might also add that perhaps fertilizing in this heat might not be the best -- just a thought. I was an idiot last summer and used foliar feeding at too high a concentration and lost my favorite trees. I realize that was completely my fault but it popped into my head while reading this thread. Maybe others can let me know.

 

[Sagebrush]

I am sure I forgot tons of things but one thing I forgot that is important is plants effectively go dormant at about 95-100F so treat them accordingly.
Also, beware of black plastic nursery pots they get super hot and hold quite a bit of water. Tip them up at a bit of an angle to help the water drain and try to shade them as much as possible.

Milehigh, since you are in the vicinity and dealing with hot weather I wondered if you have ever seen this species. Chapparral Sage. Has an interesting trunk characteristic. At the nursery they had about 20 and all had this twisted split trunk. A landscaper was there picking up material and I asked him if it was normal. He stated he had used a few over the years and all show this trait. Sure gives an old rugged appearance. Haven't worked on mine yet but seems oblivious to the heat.

 

[milehigh_7]

Milehigh, since you are in the vicinity and dealing with hot weather I wondered if you have ever seen this species. Chapparral Sage. Has an interesting trunk characteristic. At the nursery they had about 20 and all had this twisted split trunk. A landscaper was there picking up material and I asked him if it was normal. He stated he had used a few over the years and all show this trait. Sure gives an old rugged appearance. Haven't worked on mine yet but seems oblivious to the heat.

So I did a search on the name and it came up Salvia clevelandii. I won't be much help on this one. I've had a few that did not survive the root work. They do get fantastic trunks for sure. I suspect they have the same thing going on that Artemisia tridentata does where a root is directly tied to a branch. You are right however heat does not phase them.

 

[MaciekA]

@milehigh_7 My entire garden survived the 2021 Pacific Northwest Heat Dome. I think #2 on your list is by far the most important point in high heat survival.

As for boiled/steamed, since those things can't happen in the temperatures we're talking about, I prefer the term "drowned" since it's a closer description to what is actually happening in retentive organic soil. Trees can also only move as much water when they have crappy go-nowhere unramified spahgetti roots like they do in potting soil.

This is all unintuitive because you still need to keep up with watering, and "wouldn't retention be preferable?", but a well-ramified high-density root system can chug high quantities of water while not running low on air... And what's the use of all that water retainined in the soil if the tree can't physically muster the throughput (i.e. the "drinking straw bandwidth" of the tree)? This is why the ideal for such conditions is a very well-draining air-breathing substrate and coupled with top dressing. Minimize trivial evaporation while maximizing water and air throughput, and above all, root ramification and root density to get as many "straws" as possible.

At the limits of water throughput you learn which trees are actually viable for your climate and which ones are effectively zone envy.

 

[irvinlamar]

North Alabama here... I've moved from a farm house (I had a greenhouse) to an apartment with a balcony facing the east at the back door and west at the front door. I keep most trees in the back and after about 9 they get shaded. They do pretty well back there. All brick so I put cloth covering the brick.

 

[queenofsheba52]

Hi @irvinlamar , glad you found this great bonsai site.

That must have been a tough more to downsize like that. I hope you like your new home. I would be absolutely sick if I had to leave a greenhouse.

 

[irvinlamar]

Hi @irvinlamar , glad you found this great bonsai site.

That must have been a tough more to downsize like that. I hope you like your new home. I would be absolutely sick if I had to leave a greenhouse.

It wasn't huge... but a evil roommate killed all of my trees.. hence the move back to the city... that was five years almost six years ago..

 

[kodiac]

Yes I've had good luck with shade cloth as well as natural shade from trees/ orientation. I live in ND and believe it or not we have temps in the high 90s as well as -20f in the winter. My top bench (mainly collected pines from the area) were getting direct evening sun. The pots felt like they could boil water...steam if you prefer lol. I installed four posts around my display area. I used 50% for the top and 70% for the west facing side. Its seemed to make a huge difference. Oh and yeah water helps...trees can't sweat.

 

[TrimmyWhimmy]

I slightly envy you guys. I'm in the southern hemisphere and it feels like winter has been going forever.

 

[Sagebrush]

I've made several sand trays for my smaller trees. Pots embedded in sand keeps the sun off, and the sand stays wet much longer after watering. 104 F yesterday, 110 F today and tomorrow.

Bryan I am considering a wooden box for next summer specifically for black plastic nursery potted specimens. How large did you make yours?

 

[BrianBay9]

Bryan I am considering a wooden box for next summer specifically for black plastic nursery potted specimens. How large did you make yours?

I just use this for shohin. Mine are mostly hardware mortar mixing tubs.