57vert
Yamadori
Thank you for that info. Will put back outside for a bit then.
The 2022 Migration Begins
- Thread starter penumbra
- Start date
Pixar
Chumono
About five year ago I had an old pomegranate in the garden which was about ten years old , would have made an excellent bonsai . While I was away on a work trip the wife decided to clean up the garden ( she dug it up and through it in the bin )
which was collected by the rubbish truck
penumbra
Imperial Masterpiece
Tele
Yamadori
Researched a bit for my own and finding conflicting information.
I believe the following is about right:
Serissa Bonsai Tree Care
Kaizen Bonsai are specialist suppliers of Bonsai tools, gifts and fertilizers accompanied by a huge archive of videos and information on Bonsai care
SC1989
Shohin
I had frost on Tuesday!!!! Tropicals came in a couple weeks ago
Colorado
Masterpiece
Looks like next week nighttime temps expected to dip into the 40s….will be bringing them in soon.
ShadyStump
Imperial Masterpiece
Same here. There's a couple I would move already except for the electric bill.
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
The last two years I've been good until mid December, and they come back out some time in March.
Crazy Diamond
Omono
penumbra
Imperial Masterpiece
You have to leave your tropicals outside? Bummer.
My house is a tropical paradise.
penumbra
Imperial Masterpiece
In in October usually, but this year I have to do it when I can do it, so it is done. Every time I put them out in April, I have to do the two step shuffle, so this year its May.
I have lost many plants to freezing in April.
Interesting to take note of variance of temperature extremes.
Paradox
Marine Bonsologist
Mine go in on or before Oct 15 just so it's done and I don't have to think about it while I get other fall bonsai chores done.
They don't come back out until June at the earliest. We can get some pretty cold nights with wind in May.
I refuse to 2 step any more. Too many trees for that. Sink or swim.
ShadyStump
Imperial Masterpiece
I'm actually a little excited for fall because of this exact thing.
First frost is usually in mid October here, but then still more warm days than cold. The two step is just a thing if I'm going to keep the electric bill down.
MaciekA
Shohin
Last-last winter, I brought my Ohi'a Lehua (metrosideros polymorpha) in under a super strong grow light in a tent and it did very well (even flowered profusely), but I definitely didn't love having to manage it in there. Having trees outdoors on winter autopilot in a place that gets steady rain throughout the winter is easy, so eating into that with grow tent management life is kind of a bummer.
I had seen Ohi'a Lehua plants at high elevation in Hawaii that I was certain had endured frost throughout their evolutionary history, so I dug into academic literature and discovered a recent U of Hawaii study that tested potted Ohi'a Lehua plants of a couple different maturity levels and sizes in varying degrees of frost down down into the teens. Their results were that this fully Hawaii-native tropical plant could withstand significant cold before any permanent damage or negative effects happened. Larger individuals managed all the way down to -8C / 17.6F without problems. Smaller ones were damage-free about half way between that and the freezing line.
(Let me just say that you should not extrapolate this to anything beyond what's strictly being talked about here, metrosideros polymorpha in a mild coastal climate, and my willingness to lose one and pick up again with a new seedling if anything happens. Don't be careless!).
So after reading that paper, last winter (21-22) I decided to try having my Ohi'a outside for much longer than the previous year. I didn't leave it outside during the really cold weeks (i.e. when it got down to -9C or 15.8F, it was fully indoors), but once spring frosts became intermittent enough that the worst that the plant would endure would be about -3C (26.6F), I left it outside.
As is tradition, I called "the end of winter!!" far too early, and my Ohi'a Lehua was at one point covered in several inches of spring snow this year. No problems. No foliage loss, no skipped beats, no pathogens, no pests, no color loss. I've been reporting my results to Aarin Packard at the Pacific Bonsai Museum as he has an Ohi'a at the museum up in WA as well, except that it goes into a greenhouse all winter. He says he tucks it in there when they go south of 10C / 50F.
I don't intend on testing the absolute limits of this, but wanted to share my discovery nonetheless for any experimentally-minded mild coastal climate folk who are in this for the "quest for knowledge" game as much as they are in it for collecting beautiful trees.
I think I'm going to stick to the 26-27F range as "safe", since I know this matches what the U of Hawaii found was to be a frost level that was safe even for small seedlings in pots. Note also that the character of frosts here is short term cold. I would not put this tree out into a freeze that lasted for a week, even if it was within safe range, until I had a few more clones and could liberally experiment.
If you have subtropical trees in the myrtaceae family and you're in a mild winter climate, it's worth experimenting and diving into academic research if you have quite a few of these plants and want to explore what's possible. It may sound crazy to some, but for me, it is the difference between having the tree at all because of lifestyle compatibility versus having to give it up because I'd rather not have to baby it all winter long and set up a lot of automation / figure out drainage / etc if I need to travel during the winter. Right now, similar to how I imagine it is for many of you fellow northerners, winter is the time when bonsai conflicts the least with our need to travel and be away from our gardens, because our outdoor trees are dormant and/or on autopilot. Anything that buys me a little less intensive labor and day-to-day babying (or buys me a few extra weekends worth of travel windows) is worth a shot, especially if it also tickles my desire to explore the species itself. I should also mention that I let this plant grow long extensions and have it in pumice/lava and a dash of akadama, I wouldn't try this with a weaker tree and once it goes into a shallow pot and out of development years, it'll be time to think more seriously about a heated greenhouse or similar.
I had seen Ohi'a Lehua plants at high elevation in Hawaii that I was certain had endured frost throughout their evolutionary history, so I dug into academic literature and discovered a recent U of Hawaii study that tested potted Ohi'a Lehua plants of a couple different maturity levels and sizes in varying degrees of frost down down into the teens. Their results were that this fully Hawaii-native tropical plant could withstand significant cold before any permanent damage or negative effects happened. Larger individuals managed all the way down to -8C / 17.6F without problems. Smaller ones were damage-free about half way between that and the freezing line.
(Let me just say that you should not extrapolate this to anything beyond what's strictly being talked about here, metrosideros polymorpha in a mild coastal climate, and my willingness to lose one and pick up again with a new seedling if anything happens. Don't be careless!).
So after reading that paper, last winter (21-22) I decided to try having my Ohi'a outside for much longer than the previous year. I didn't leave it outside during the really cold weeks (i.e. when it got down to -9C or 15.8F, it was fully indoors), but once spring frosts became intermittent enough that the worst that the plant would endure would be about -3C (26.6F), I left it outside.
As is tradition, I called "the end of winter!!" far too early, and my Ohi'a Lehua was at one point covered in several inches of spring snow this year. No problems. No foliage loss, no skipped beats, no pathogens, no pests, no color loss. I've been reporting my results to Aarin Packard at the Pacific Bonsai Museum as he has an Ohi'a at the museum up in WA as well, except that it goes into a greenhouse all winter. He says he tucks it in there when they go south of 10C / 50F.
I don't intend on testing the absolute limits of this, but wanted to share my discovery nonetheless for any experimentally-minded mild coastal climate folk who are in this for the "quest for knowledge" game as much as they are in it for collecting beautiful trees.
I think I'm going to stick to the 26-27F range as "safe", since I know this matches what the U of Hawaii found was to be a frost level that was safe even for small seedlings in pots. Note also that the character of frosts here is short term cold. I would not put this tree out into a freeze that lasted for a week, even if it was within safe range, until I had a few more clones and could liberally experiment.
If you have subtropical trees in the myrtaceae family and you're in a mild winter climate, it's worth experimenting and diving into academic research if you have quite a few of these plants and want to explore what's possible. It may sound crazy to some, but for me, it is the difference between having the tree at all because of lifestyle compatibility versus having to give it up because I'd rather not have to baby it all winter long and set up a lot of automation / figure out drainage / etc if I need to travel during the winter. Right now, similar to how I imagine it is for many of you fellow northerners, winter is the time when bonsai conflicts the least with our need to travel and be away from our gardens, because our outdoor trees are dormant and/or on autopilot. Anything that buys me a little less intensive labor and day-to-day babying (or buys me a few extra weekends worth of travel windows) is worth a shot, especially if it also tickles my desire to explore the species itself. I should also mention that I let this plant grow long extensions and have it in pumice/lava and a dash of akadama, I wouldn't try this with a weaker tree and once it goes into a shallow pot and out of development years, it'll be time to think more seriously about a heated greenhouse or similar.
I'm sure they add ambience.....Get you mind outta the gutter.
penumbra
Imperial Masterpiece
They are predicting mid to lower 40s for the next few weeks here and just 25 miles away they are predicting 36.
I am all set and will be moving my efforts more into pottery.
I am all set and will be moving my efforts more into pottery.
ShadyStump
Imperial Masterpiece
Maybe slightly premature, but the lows are supposed to dip into the 40sF this week. Some of them can handle that no problem, but some can't. If I'm burning the electricity for a few, might as well burn it for all of them.
I imagine I'll be two-stepping them on occasion between frosts like I did last year.
Definitely some rearranging to do, and another light or two will likely be added. Still need to get drip pans to put under them.
I imagine I'll be two-stepping them on occasion between frosts like I did last year.
Definitely some rearranging to do, and another light or two will likely be added. Still need to get drip pans to put under them.
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