Yews and spruces and their preffered growing conditions

[tuscanpistoia]

Hi all, I'm considering getting a yew (taxus baccata AKA English yew)to bonsai. I'm wondering about their preferred growing conditions - I live in the Gold Coast hinterland - summer temps are in the low 30's winter gets down to 0 - sometimes a bit lower if its a nippy winter. The nurseryman I've been in contact with suggested that the major problem with yew in this climate is the humidity - in particular, root rot. I wanted to know if any of you would concur with this opinion, and if so, can it by overcome by using a very free draining mix?

As for the spruces - can you give any tips - I'm just over from tambourine mountain where a nursery sells them, and they seem to thrive there. any tips on helping me do the same where I live, I'm a little concerned about the humidity in my particular micro climate?

Any advice or tips you can offer would be wonderful

Daniel

[awkbabs]

Hi Daniel,

I can't give you any advice on yews as I have no experience with them.

However, I do have a Spruce. It has been going strong since 2002. They prefer to be kept in full sun but smaller Spruce should be sheltered from winter frosts. As winters aren't too bad in Sydney, I have not needed to really "protect" it per se. If you need to, 'submerge" the bonsai pot in a larger pot full of bark with the bark coming up to the the base of the trunk. This will protect the roots and also help retain moisture in winter. Also, keeping it in an area where it is sheltered from heavy, cold winds might be useful. In terms of watering, the usual rules apply. Do not water it on a schedule. Water when you feel the soil is getting dry. Finger pruning is best in autumn/winter. The branches can be wired but they seem to have poor memory so often you will have to re-wire them. Fertilise as you would any other conifer. Repot every 2 years in spring till they are about a decade old then every few years should be suitable. Obviously, a well-draining soil should be used. One of the bonsai nursery specialists down here uses 50% standard bonsai soil mixture but adds 50% crushed blue metal. This works wonders and I have never needed to "tie-down" any of my bonsai when they are re-potted. As the blue metal has rough edges, the roots of the bonsai split when they come into contact with the blue metal. Hence, the roots grow faster and stronger. Also, the soil has excellent drainage. Well that's all I have on the spruce.

Hope that helps a bit.

Abdal.

[NBPCA]

This morning at the collection we repotted 2 large black pines and one white pine. The soil mixes that they were in were appalling and the worst was at least 50% blue metal so I would be wary of such a mix; at least in Canberra anyhow. Plus it was exceptionally heavy and staying too wet.

Grant

[Scott Roxburgh]

Hi Daniel,
One of the bonsai nursery specialists down here uses 50% standard bonsai soil mixture but adds 50% crushed blue metal. This works wonders and I have never needed to "tie-down" any of my bonsai when they are re-potted...Hence, the roots grow faster and stronger.

This morning at the collection we repotted 2 large black pines and one white pine. The soil mixes that they were in were appalling and the worst was at least 50% blue metal so I would be wary of such a mix; at least in Canberra anyhow. Plus it was exceptionally heavy and staying too wet.

The weight of blue metal/gravel has been something that I had previously thought meant that I did not need to "tie-down" any of my bonsai when repotting, and my trees put on new growth...

However, I started wiring trees into their pots last year and completed almost all of them this year. Of anything that I have recently changed, I believe that this technique has provided the most benefit to my trees.

IMO every tree should be securely wired into its pot, once you start doing it, you won't stop.

[craigw60]

Tying trees into the pot should be standard procedure at potting time, use a pair of pliers to lift and twist the wire so the trees are really firm. I used to use gravel(graded granite) in my potting mixes pre-diatomite its important to sieve the other components to remove all the fines or you will end up with a soggy mess.
Craigw