Bonsai summer care (Part 3)

Summer is coming to the end and although the temperatures are still high, we have already seen the hottest days. This change in temperatures means a new stage in which, with our help, the bonsai will have to adapt to the new climate. In this third and final part on how to take care of our bonsai in summer, we tell you how to do it.

Summer stages. Last works of the season for bonsai care

The heat is still the most remarkable effect on our bonsais in this new stage, so, as we emphasized in the two previous blogs, the most important thing is to hydrate our bonsai properly and to adapt the frequency according to the needs of each one of them. It is time to prepare, little by little, our bonsais to reach autumn in optimal conditions. How? We explain it to you.

Fertilisation. A bonsai care that changes at this time of the year

We will increase the fertilisation with the aim of accumulating nutrients for autumn and winter. It will be a slight increase in quantity, returning to spring levels.

The ideal time for this increase will be in what we can call the second spring, the period between the beginning of September and middle of October.

It is recommended to use fertilisers rich in phosphorus and potassium, such as the well-known range of solid organo-mineral fertilisers Hiryo Gold or Bio-Gold. If you prefer liquid fertiliser, other options are Nutribonsai and Yorkey.

TIP to fertilise: This is particularly important for fruit trees, as it helps them to ripen during autumn.

Wiring

It is time to wire our bonsai. With the soft temperature drop, the circulation of the sap is reactivated, which allows this work to be successful. Do you know how to wire correctly? In the following video, our colleague, Merce, shows us how to do this task correctly with a Pistacia lentiscus prebonsai:

Pruning and pinching

Little by little, we will take up these two tasks that we had practically stopped, but we must do it progressively. As far as pruning is concerned, we can remove some small branches, but we cannot prune the thicker branches yet. However, it is the ideal time to pinch the bonsai again and start working on their shape.

TIP, Be careful with flowering trees: the more advanced flowering bonsai will already have both leaf and flower buds, so be careful when pinching and do not cut off the flower buds.

Now, our colleague Albert, shows us in this other video how to make a pinching with a Sageretia bonsai:

Defoliation

At this stage of summer, defoliation will not give the expected result. The bonsai does not have time to sprout again, and also the effort it would take to try to generate a new sprout would compromise its good health later on.

TIP for defoliation: carry out this technique before the end of summer, this will allow you to organize the branches and allow the sun to reach the inner branches.

Conifers bonsai care

This is the best time of the year for conifers. It is important to prune and clear the shoots before the arrival of the dormancy season.

TIP: defoliation and pruning are necessary to protect weak internal branches.

Disinfection

The high summer temperatures, together with the humidity from the rains at the end of this stage and the large amount of foliage on our bonsai, make it easier for pests and diseases to appear. An advantage? We know in advance! We will do preventive treatments against mites, thrips and caterpillars, as well as cleaning the leaves.

TIP for prevention: remove moss that may have developed once the temperatures have dropped, as in addition to the benefit of preventing the soil from drying out, it also tends to create excess humidity at the end of the summer, which is a source of pests and root diseases.

TIP: at the end of summer, when the intense sunlight decreases, remove the protection against sunlight so that the bonsai can adapt to the new season.

And this is the end of our blog series on the care of our bonsais in summer, we hope you liked them and found them useful! We also leave you the two previous blogs so you can refresh your knowledge:

Bonsai summer care (Part 1)

https://www.mistralbonsai.com/en/bonsai-summer-<yoastmark class="yoast-text-mark">care</yoastmark>-part-2/