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Text Box: December 01 and 02 it finally pushed the temps down into the 30’s at night then held the daytime heat to the low 60’s. That’s not enough to make your bonsai go dormant but it will hold any new growth in check. We will probably follow this up with a near freezing night or two when the next cold front blow by. The deciduous trees that have dropped leaves can be pruned now. It’s now Dec 14, 15 and the cold dipped into the high 20’s. I moved most trees down to the ground. Like most first freeze nights I don’t think it ever got to freezing at ground level.

Text Box: The trees I needed to go dormant probably didn’t ever experience enough cold to make them go dormant. It will get 25 or so this Monday 20th. I don’t want to move the trees back to the benches and risk a freeze that could crack the pot so I will leave than alone and hope the ground heat will be a bit more diminished allowing the temps to get to freezing just not a hard freeze. Allowing trees enough cold to help them while preventing any damage is a touchy business. The 25 night came and went . I check my trees that were all out of the wind and on the ground.

Text Box: The soil in the pots was frozen on the surface but not completely frozen. As is the weather on the coast it was in the 20’s on the 20th but will be back up to 70’s on the 21. Friday night is now said to be down to 17 degrees. The warm up’s between the lows will keep the soil warm . I plan to have a winter outside storage area by next winter where all the trees that love the change of weather will be placed and remain until the winter has passed. If all works out I also plan to have a new building to store my less then hardy trees for the winter. We shall see how it all works out. Joe.

Text Box: wood will seal the wood and keep moisture out of the wood. The glue must be thin to penetrate the wood. You have to keep the tree out of the rain or the watering hose until the glue dries. Summer this drying is fast, a couple of days. Winter it takes longer but it will dry. When the glue is wet the first month it can turn a bit white but as the glue dries completely it shed water and looks completely natural.

Text Box: We live in a very wet climate so the love of Jin and Shari creates a never ending problem. Wood rots, all wood rots and nothing I know of can keep that from happening. I do know something that can delay for many years the decay. It’s only limitation is it can not prevent decay deep into a tree if moisture has a way to get deep in the tree. Exterior white wood glue (it’s actually a bit yellow) thinned with enough water to make it very fluid painted on the surface of dry dead

Text Box: This is a cheap and easy way to treat dead wood. You can paint the wood with Lime Sulphur before you put the glue on. It is possible to put lime sulphur on after the glue but it will not do much to help the wood but it will dry a white color. I’ve used this for over 15 years and it works. Joe.

Text Box: I can remember repotting 3 years ago. 3 years ago, it seem like just this past winter. Bonsai is also the same as house work. You clean, wash and tidy up then tomorrow you clean, wash and tidy up the same stuff. I guess this is why we always create new trees. It breaks up the routine to some degree.

Text Box: It also adds another tree to the next year of routine! With some of my trees near the 25 year mark they remind me of a baby that never gets any older. You provide all the care. Unlike children the amount of care is the same even if it is 50 years old. Gotta love it or you wouldn’t do it. Joe.

Text Box: He was the Dunkin Doughnut man in the TV commercial. 3 A.M. he was up each morning to make the doughnuts, again and again. I remembered him today as I surveyed all the bonsai work I need to do this winter. Time to repot the bonsai, wire the bonsai, clean up the bonsai area. Some of my trees that need repotted this year

Text Box: “ You have to love bonsai or you wouldn’t do it .”