Watering and Feeding Bonsai
Japanese White Pine Bonsai Tree
The amount of water you give your bonsai tree will depend on a few factors. Firstly some trees are thirstier than other, and the time of year will also effect the amount of water and nutrients a tree needs. The drainage properties of your bonsai soil will also be a factor, and a good draining soil will hold less nutrients and water than a slightly pot bound tree in poor draining soil.
One of the biggest factors that cause bonsai trees to die is a lack of water, and we are always amazed when we turn up to customers houses to drop off a tree and see their bone dry trees lying around the garden. Some of them are very valuable and yet still seem to be lacking water. The type of pot a tree is potted in will have a factor on how much water you give to them. A shallow pot will dry out much quicker than a deep pot, and a small shohin pot will dry out rapidly compared to a large deep pot on a mature tree. This is possibly why there is so much debate among bonsai enthusiasts when it comes to watering. The simple answer is there is no correct answer and every tree will be different. Experience will tell you what to do, and this is the reason it is best to experiment with inexpensive bonsai first before attempting to look after valuable trees.
In summer most types of bonsai will need to be watered every day, and during winter when the trees are dormant if they are outside then you will propably not need to water them very much at all. If you are keeping your trees in a cold frame over winter then you will still need to check on the trees and water them every now and then. The soil should be damp but not water logged.
White Pine bonsai trees for example will thrive outdoors in winter and will benefit from the freezing temperatures. A world renown bonsai expert advised us that the colder the winter the healthier the growth of White Pines will be during the growing season. But White Pines do not like to be water logged and will do best under cover but still exposed to the full wind and freezing temperatures.
Water in the evening to allow the tree to benefit from the water throughout the night and the following morning. If you water in the morning a pot can dry out in a few hours giving the tree little time to benefit from the watering. IF you do water your tree in the morning then make sure you do not water the leaves as this can cause them to burn in the sun.
One important thing to note is that if you live in the UK then you will know that our summers can be unpredictable and very wet at times. If you have a tree than is in poor draining soil and it gets rained on week after week then the roots of the tree can start to rot. Not many trees like to be in waterlogged soil and they will certainly sulk or die if this is the case. It is for this reason that we like to stay on top of our re-potting in the UK climate. A re-potted tree will have good drainage properties and will happily be rained on for weeks with all the excess water simply draining out of the pot.
In summer most types of bonsai will need to be watered every day, and during winter when the trees are dormant if they are outside then you will propably not need to water them very much at all. If you are keeping your trees in a cold frame over winter then you will still need to check on the trees and water them every now and then. The soil should be damp but not water logged.
White Pine bonsai trees for example will thrive outdoors in winter and will benefit from the freezing temperatures. A world renown bonsai expert advised us that the colder the winter the healthier the growth of White Pines will be during the growing season. But White Pines do not like to be water logged and will do best under cover but still exposed to the full wind and freezing temperatures.
Water in the evening to allow the tree to benefit from the water throughout the night and the following morning. If you water in the morning a pot can dry out in a few hours giving the tree little time to benefit from the watering. IF you do water your tree in the morning then make sure you do not water the leaves as this can cause them to burn in the sun.
One important thing to note is that if you live in the UK then you will know that our summers can be unpredictable and very wet at times. If you have a tree than is in poor draining soil and it gets rained on week after week then the roots of the tree can start to rot. Not many trees like to be in waterlogged soil and they will certainly sulk or die if this is the case. It is for this reason that we like to stay on top of our re-potting in the UK climate. A re-potted tree will have good drainage properties and will happily be rained on for weeks with all the excess water simply draining out of the pot.
Feeding Bonsai Trees
Typical Liquid Bonsai Feed
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Biogold is a popular block fertilizer
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It is important that you feed your bonsai trees to get the most out of them. A tree will not necessarily die through a lack of feeding but it will not flourish either. You will need to research what food is best for your particular tree. An Azalea bonsai tree will want an ericaceous fertilizer. We feed most of our other trees with Bio-Gold. Bio-Gold is not the cheapest but is regarded as being on of the best. We also feed our White Pines with Seaweed supplement that can be purchased in most garden centers. In Spring to summer a balanced fertilizer will do for most bonsai trees, but in Autumn you will want to switch to a feed that has low Nitrogen but high potassium and phosphorus. Most fertilizers will be sold with the properties printed on the label and these go in the order of NPK. N is for nitrogen, p is for phosphorus and k is for potassium. An autumn feed should have a 0:10:10 ratio on the label.
There are tons of fertilizers on the market at any given time and you can choose between a liquid or solid fertilizer. Our expert has advised us to always use a solid fertilizer when possible because it takes a while for the fertilizer to break down and every time it rains a little more feed is given to the tree. A liquid fertilizer gives the tree an instant hit of nutrients but can be washed away in a heavy rainfall fairly quickly without the tree getting the proper benefit from it.
Block organic fertilizers are also preferred over chemical liquid fertilizers because of the benefit they organic feeds give to the immune system of the tree. A tree with a stronger immune system can fight of disease better than a weakened tree. This area of bonsai is quite specialized when talking about the immune systems of trees and what is best for them, but so long as you feed an organic fertilizer you should be ok. Everyone has their preferred way of doing things and like everything with bonsai you will need to find out what is best practice for you.
Block organic fertilizers are also preferred over chemical liquid fertilizers because of the benefit they organic feeds give to the immune system of the tree. A tree with a stronger immune system can fight of disease better than a weakened tree. This area of bonsai is quite specialized when talking about the immune systems of trees and what is best for them, but so long as you feed an organic fertilizer you should be ok. Everyone has their preferred way of doing things and like everything with bonsai you will need to find out what is best practice for you.