What to Do with Your New Plants

• Trees in Small Pots Intended for Bonsai

  If you purchased your trees with bonsai as the intended use, you must ask yourself how large a bonsai you desire. Little bonsai do not become big bonsai. Plants are trained for a particular size by growing them rapidly in training pots until the desired trunk size is achieved.

  For most purposes there are three sizes with which you should be familiar, Small (the Japanese word is 'mame', or palm of the hand), usually two to six inches tall. Medium (or 'shohin'), up to ten inches tall. All the larger bonsai up to four feet.

  If you are happy with the height, trunk caliper, and branching of your small tree, it is suitable for mame immediately. A three to four inch bonsai pot less than one inch deep will be the most suitable. Late winter and early fall are usually the best seasons to shift your small tree to its bonsai pot.

  Your tree may be wired, pruned and otherwise shaped, but should not be allowed to get very much larger, unless you decide to change its design. Mame require diligent pinching and pruning to keep them from outgrowing their pot. They should be root pruned and repotted once a year, or more for faster growing species.

  Trees intended for shohin or any of the larger size bonsai should be immediately shifted to a one gallon pot without disturbing the roots, except to slightly loosen them. Allow some time for your tree to acclimate to its new environment by giving it only morning sun for a while, slowly moving it to a brighter location suitable for the species. Dormant deciduous plants may be placed in full sun, or overwintered in the dark if they need to be protected from freezing.

  Let them grow without any pruning at all the first season. This will give you the fastest root growth and insure that your plant will be well established prior to any training. You may begin pruning, wiring and training the following fall. For shohin, this may give you enough trunk caliper, or you can decide to let it go another year for a more dramatic trunk. If the tree is becoming root bound shift it to a two or three gallon can. The object is to grow it as fast as possible. You may continue to wire, prune and shape your shohin as it grows, but be aware that the more you prune, the slower it will grow.

  If you desire larger bonsai shift your tree to a five gallon can or into a prepared bed in the ground. Do this as soon as it develops an intact rootball in the one gallon can, usually the first fall, or at the latest, the second. Do not allow your tree to become rootbound, it will slow it down and perhaps cause later problems due to circling roots.

• One Gallon Size Trees Intended for Bonsai

  One gallon size trees are often shipped with some soil removed to reduce shipping weight. You should have some soil on hand to repot these if you desire to grow them out to larger trees.

  Many of our one gallon size trees are sufficiently developed to be root pruned and repotted immediately as shohin IF the season and the species will permit it. Plants received in the fall and early spring (before the sap runs) can usually be root pruned and repotted. It is always safer to delay root pruning and repotting to a bonsai pot until the next opportunity. This will allow your plant to overcome the trauma of shipment and to acclimate to your area.

  Trees destined to be larger bonsai may be immediately potted to a larger size in almost all cases, but should be kept from sunlight and temperature extremes until they can acclimate.

• Trees Destined to Become Landscape Specimen

  Perennials may usually be planted immediately in the ground from their small pots, except for midsummer or other temperature extremes. Trees and shrubs in our small pots are not suitable for immediate planting in the ground. There are too small to withstand the vagaries of nature. They should be grown out in one gallon cans before transplanting. Larger trees will have the highest success rate if grown out to five gallon size before transplanting into the ground.

• Potting Mixes for Containers

  A good grade of commercial potting soil is the best choice for most gardeners to use for growing out their plants. For plants that require excellent drainage and plants destined to become bonsai, most commercial mixes will be somewhat dense and can be improved with the addition lava rock, coarse perlite, VERY coarse sand (particles larger than 1/8 inch), or other coarse inorganic material. This may be added up to 50% in most cases. Avoid any mixes or amendments that contain very much fine material, and avoid using native earth, it will usually contain too many fines and too much clay.

  If you want to make your own premium mix, use one half fir or pine bark (particle size from 1/4 to 1/2 inch with NO fines) and the other half coarse inorganic material. Up to ten percent peat moss and/or vermiculite can be added if you desire additional water holding capacity. Water should drain through your mix as fast as you can put it in. These mixes will require close monitoring because they dry out very fast. The advantage is that you will get very good root growth from the increased aeration. Regular fertilizing every two weeks during the growing season is a must. Use a soluble one such as Peters or Miracle Gro. Whatever fertilizer you use, make sure it contains minor and trace elements. If you live an a hard water area, try using an acid forming fertilizer such as Miracid.

• What to Do with Plants in Freezing Weather

  We do not hold plants in cold storage, and our mild weather induces a very low amount of cold hardiness. If you are from a colder climate, and order plants for delivery before warm spring weather arrives, you must protect them from hard freezes. This can be done by keeping them as cool as possible, but above freezing. You may use a sheltered location such as an unheated garage, cold frame, cold area of a greenhouse, or even keep them in the refrigerator. As soon as the danger of hard frost passes you may place them outside.