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Watering
Water is as important to a bonsai as it is important to a human
We do not advocate beginners have Bonsai in small Bonsai pots.
There is enough to learn about having a bonsai, beside having to worry about it's hydration. The deeper nursery containers, or cascade style bonsai pots, help alleviate the worry by holding more water for longer.
General watering tips.
1. Check the plant every day.
2. Lift the plant up a lot. Learn the difference in weight between the watered pot and a dried out pot.
3. Use a bamboo cooking skewer as a hydration meter. Leave the skewer in the soil. Check the skewer daily by pulling it out of the soil. If the stick is wet, the plant is fine. If the stick is dry, it is time to water.
4. In spring the plant starts drinking water before it shows signs of activity. It needs an increase of watering then, and another increase when the leaves emerge.
5. Don't water within four hours before below zero tempuratures. Give the plant time to drain the excess water which would otherwise expand when freezing, and cause damage to the roots.
Specific watering tips.
Bonsai tree in dirt.
In summer, water the tree every day. If the plant ever feels really light, even after watering, treat it for a day as though it were in old compact dirt (below). In winter, your tree should be watered by the rain. Don't forget to check it anyway.
Bonsai in old, compact dirt.
Water the plant as above. However, when watering, water three times. Most of the water will probably run off the first time, down the insides of the pot. So water again. More of the water will be absorbed. The more compact the soil the more one should repeat the watering.
Another technique is to place the bonsai in water so that the entire soil mass is underwater. The water will push the air out of the the soil, replacing it with - water! Feel free to leave the plant submerged for up to half a day. One can actually water any bonsai this way. It is the best watering job, but laborious.
Bonsai tree in bonsai soil which is partially dirt.
This includes catus soil. Treat as "dirt" or "compact dirt" according to the compactness of the soil. However, the more recent the potting up, the more one should be careful of quick drying out.
Bonsai tree in inorganic bonsai soil.
Of course this soil prevents rot in winter with its fabulous drainage; and promotes growth with its incredible root aeration abilities. It dries out the fastest. It dries out really fast in the summer. Do not go away overnight.
Testimonial:
When I first got the bonsai, the bamboo skewer told me the plant only needed water once a week.
In summer the bonsai dried out and lost many branches.
I wish I had gotten into the habit of checking it daily, rather then only checking it for the first month or so.
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