AusBonsai

shibui wrote:Stu, I don't think root rot starts just from overwatering for a few days. It takes a bit longer for the fungi to develop and grow. Personally my trees get watered every morning and evening to saturation whether they need it or not. I do use a very open mix but I am not plagued by root rot.
The few times I have had root problems has been late winter/ early spring when moisture and temp are ideal for fungi to grow.
Can't speak for other climates or other soil mixes but overwatering kills far less trees here than underwatering or failure to repot often enough.

totally agree with Shibui . this time of year my trees are saturated twice a day whether its 28 or 41. Better to stay wet for a few days than one day of too dry. Winter is another story but this time of year id fine it hard to overwater I think .

Temp has been so up and down here. Last thursday and Friday 41. This morning 1.8 and a very light frost . 35 predicted this wed, Thursday . amazing FLUTUATIONS atm . I do like the cold though and a jumper and beanie this morning was most welcomed

Snow on the mountains last night .

Well somehow I have been transported to Mordor because the heat we are experiencing this month in NE vic is pure HELL, here's a summery


Wed 02/01/2019 36.8
Thu 03/01/2019 37.8
Fri 04/01/2019 42.8
Sat 05/01/2019 25.0
Sun 06/01/2019 30.9
Mon 07/01/2019 33.5
Tue 08/01/2019 34.2
Wed 09/01/2019 30.1
Thu 10/01/2019 30.1
Fri 11/01/2019 35.9
Sat 12/01/2019 38.9
Sun 13/01/2019 41.2
Mon 14/01/2019 40.4
Tue 15/01/2019 43.6
Wed 16/01/2019 44

40 + predicted for today and Friday before a slight cool change over the weekend then STRAIGHT back up again next week . Casualities already a 4 figure shimpaku juniper that the irrigation must of not been hitting enough . Its crispy and doubt it will come back . a 3 figure shohin black pine same deal. Just about over the heat and the amount of water ive had to use already. GOD hoping feb will be somewhat normal temp !

Blimey Matthew - that is dire weather and more so, the forecast! I hope your plants survive.

All I can do is try to bring a smile so ...in that vein...
“Matthew looks out over struggling bonsai fields: “What is this but Lord Foul’s Bane”, he mutters. (Sorry - I crossed into a different fantasy world for a minute)

Scorched earth near and far ... but resolute, he faces the future.
A greener future awaits.



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I hear you Matthew. Surely it is still way better than Rockhampton though?
Albury and Rutherglen topped the state yesterday so I guess temps here were pretty similar to yours.
No obvious losses so far despite a controller being fried by lightning a week ago. Thank goodness I noticed after 24 hours before any real damage. I'm certainly doing a more thorough job of watering the hand watered section at the moment but still getting occasional droopy shoots by the end of the day.
Thank goodness for plenty of water.

Remember that this could be the new norm if predictions of global temp increases are anywhere near the mark.

A few of mine have fried leaves but hopefully they will bounce back. I'll have to head down to Bunnings this weekend for some shade cloth as I expect more extreme temps for the next 2 months.

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shibui wrote:I hear you Matthew. Surely it is still way better than Rockhampton though?
Albury and Rutherglen topped the state yesterday so I guess temps here were pretty similar to yours.
No obvious losses so far despite a controller being fried by lightning a week ago. Thank goodness I noticed after 24 hours before any real damage. I'm certainly doing a more thorough job of watering the hand watered section at the moment but still getting occasional droopy shoots by the end of the day.
Thank goodness for plenty of water.

Remember that this could be the new norm if predictions of global temp increases are anywhere near the mark.

Rockhampton is sitting quite comfortable at 30 degrees late and some rain. Thats our temps still at 12 midnight. I dont mind hot days here and there just not a non stop run. Remember we had almost 15 days above 35 before the new year too

I am counting down the days to the end of summer now; every single year i hate this season and look forward to not stressing about my trees every single day not to mention just my general dislike of hot weather.

I'm sorry to hear you lost a few trees there Shibui, it's a risk of such heat but we prefer to live in blissful ignorance to the reality sometimes i think.

My trees here are coping fine, temps in the west Sydney hovering around 40 since gawd knows when
Watering in the morning each day and on a few trees again when I get home in the evening. The only one showing stress in the arvo is a Lantana I repotted probably too late in the year.

Agree with Matt that Rockhampton seems cool compared to here, 30 Deg today and 60% humid. I thak that over the 39 / 45% we had today

Ken

Matthew wrote: Wed 02/01/2019 36.8
Thu 03/01/2019 37.8
Fri 04/01/2019 42.8
Sat 05/01/2019 25.0
Sun 06/01/2019 30.9
Mon 07/01/2019 33.5
Tue 08/01/2019 34.2
Wed 09/01/2019 30.1
Thu 10/01/2019 30.1
Fri 11/01/2019 35.9
Sat 12/01/2019 38.9
Sun 13/01/2019 41.2
Mon 14/01/2019 40.4
Tue 15/01/2019 43.6
Wed 16/01/2019 44

Ahhh look - I dunno... seems like you had a pretty nice day a couple of weeks back!?!?.

Seriously though, hats off to you that can keep at it over sustained hot weather like you are getting. Don’t give up, it will pass, hopefully soon!

My shohin are struggling. Last week I noticed that a melaleuca was drying out and when I had a closer look discovered that the pot was very hot to the touch. Nothing like cooking the roots to help a tree survive a heatwave. It may survive but it's touch and go. Same happened to a trident maple and an angaphora which was reported 3 weeks ago. It was doing fine but yesterday all the leaves and new growth shriveled up.

Here in Canberra we are a bit better off than you guys further inland, with 'only' 39 to 42 degrees and some rain. Last night thunderstorms rumbling around for hours and shedding 11.2 mm of rain. But on Friday the 11th we had an almighty hailstorm in parts of the city, including mine, with hail stones up to 50 mm across. It destroyed the roof of my pergola, but apart from one little branch broken off it did no damage to the bonsai. Twice had to water by temps of 36 and 38 degr. and found that if I wet my head and shoulders, I could cope quite well with the heat... for a while, not too long! Where there is no shade available, I sit the pots on the ground and water the gravel thoroughly, so the evaporation helps the plants along. We still have weeks to come with temps above 30, so just have to grin and bear it. What a summer!
Good luck, shibui, coping with your nursery and your collection in the present circumstances must be hell - literally. Love the big bonsai in the photos!

Lisa

Welcome to Central Victoria where the grass crunch's underfoot and the snakes ask to come in. Hand watering everything from my bore at full throttle. Just had a storm front come through and completely missed poor little "Bodhidharma" I guess we always have the cricket

Currently in the Philippines, so praying the person I entrusted with looking after my trees in Melbourne is doing a good job (They're not a Bonsai person). I've had my fingers crossed for the last 3 weeks haha. I put everything in full shade before I left just to be safe.

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