SUMMER CARE OF YOUR BONSAI

 By Vijay Chamundeshwari

Summer is here and we cool our systems with coconut water, avoid going out during the hours of maximum heat. We even take a cool shower or stay indoors with our aircon switched on while we rest watching our favourite TV shows. What about our little green bonsais that are fixed to the pot and stay put in which ever place they have been kept. They need our utmost care and do listen to us unlike our kids who despite our warnings run into the open to play in the scorching heat. Let us list out some points to care for our bonsai plants in this scorching summer days.

1.Never repot or style or fertilize your bonsai during these summer months. Exception is succulents like Jade and Adeniums.

2.Cover the soil with brick pieces, mulch, wood chips, gunny bag bits or even old T-shirt.

3.Watering should be done either before 8am or after 4pm. If watering in the morning wet only the soil. If there are any droplets on the leaves the sun might scorch them and cause burn spots. In the evening the entire plant can get a nice cool shower.

4. April is the last month for fertilizing. During summer, just watering will do.

5. Shift plants under the shade of larger trees or balconies. If in the terrace or any open area, shade net of 50% can be used to protect them from direct heat.

6. The tray beneath the pot can have some water in it to maintain humidity. Make sure the pot has blobs underneath to prevent root decay.

7.Keep the plants crowded together to retain coolness and humidity.

8. Segregate plants that need more water from those that need less in comparison. This makes it easier while watering.

9. Keep a close watch on every plant. Watch out for ants under the pot or on the plant. If they are already infested with ants place the pot in a tray of water and they will all drop into it. If you notice them earlier a sprinkle of Gammaxene powder will keep them away.

10. Remember to remove all wires from the plants as they might get heated and lead to die back of branches.

    Remember these little trees are like our babies that need all our care. A little bit of tender talk and touch too does wonders to them. They might not talk but they do listen. Shower them with all your love and watch the magic unfold.

Video on the recent Bonsai Exhibition, March 16-17, 2024

Video by  courtesy of  Girija Prabhakar and Suman .

Photos  by Dr  Yogesh  and Latha 

(Members of  Bodhi  Chennai  Bonsai  Association)

 

The journey of my Casurina Bonsai Plant

 By George 

This was the casurina I got
from Ravindran's farm in  Jan 2019

Did some pruning and wiring
to give it some kind of shape

The weather is nice I thought 
I should re pot my casurina 😊

Iam using a old used pot and have used
a net to cover the drainage holes

First layer broken bricks...
the advatage of broken bricks.. 
you use less soil...
broken bricks retains water...
third it gives free growth for your roots

Next layer sand mixed with small stones 
advatage is good drainage and
free air pockets for free growth of roots...

Removed the plant from the growth pot
ready to placed in the bonsai pot.

Use a axe saw to cut off excess
soil/ roots to fit into the bonsai pot

After trimming the excess roots
place the plant in the bonsai pot,
before that select the front side of the plant
before filling the pot with bonsai soil...
take your time and view the plantin different  views
and if you happy then go on to next stage

Last  I have applied some fungicide
on the cut  branches and than seald it with fevicol ..
this is to ensure that no decaying  takes place
while watering  the plant...

Now the plant  is kept under shade  for 7 to 10days..
when I see new branches and fresh needles appear...
then I will bring it into full sun..

Cascade style bonsai by Bodhi members.

Bodhi Meet at Children's Park

By Latha  Rao 

The long awaited day dawned on 15th April 2023. We were all excited to meet once again,  at The Childrens'Park, Spurtank Rd, Chennai for yet another Meeting of our Bodhi Bonsai Association.

There was an interesting Agenda set up for the Meeting.

    Dr.Yogesh  gave us an account of his experience at the Hyderabad Bonsai Convention.The SABF is to host the Convention in Chennai , in the year 2024 July19th to 21st, along with the other Bonsai clubs in Chennai.We discussed  about the important requirements for the same like, choosing a  suitable venue,  expenses involved, preparation of atleast 2 bonsais each from our members etc.

    Dr. Yogesh,Mr. George, Maria and Harini started chopping off branches from a Casuarina plant belonging to Doctor and  a Diospyros ebenum  belonging to Maria. Maria's brought one plant and happily went home with two. The Casuarina  underwent a drastic change under Doctor's hands and was giving us a clearer picture of what he wanted it to look like.

    With all the chopping coming to an end , it was time for Mr. George to speak about "Summer care of bonsai". He gave us an interesting account of what he was doing for his plant babies during Summer. His love for his plants was obvious in his enthralling talk while we made mental notes of all the points.

   Last in our Agenda was Mr.Ramkumar narrating the story of how he developed his bonsais. One was a Casuarina in a raft style , the other a wood apple  tree and the third was  a Premna in a multi level pot of his own creation. Each one of his creations were  masterpieces but he chose to call them "Misadventures"

Anyway , all of us were in awe of his "Misadventures".

    Adding to our excitement was a surprise visitor. Mrs.Suchitra Satish who had moved  to Coimbatore, happened to be in Chennai  and decided to drop in to see her Bodhi Bonsai friends. 

   We wound up the meeting by deciding on our next meeting and it's Agenda and parted ways, promising to meet in the month of June, as most of us are unavailable and traveling in May. 

   A pleasant evening spent with all the members  came to an end at 4-30 PM.We returned home , our minds full of  thoughts on summer care of our bonsai  babies, to see them safe  through  these hot summer months.

Oh! What a Drive!

 - By Vijaya Rao

Oh! what a drive it was to Suseela’s home – her Concept Bonsai Garden 😊 it was never the distance that mattered for as the invisible crocodiles led the way (they share the same compound wall), distance shortened and the car tured left, right into the lane, the excitement spiked. I felt like Alice who swallowed the potion that made her grow bigger and bigger while all that was around her grew smaller and smaller……there were lil lil over grown trees (sounds like an oxymoron) of different species and I went into a trance as I stepped out of my car and floated towards the merry chattering of Bodhi members who had not stopped entering one after the other with greetings and smiles. We quenched our thirst with water as the summer was setting in with a blaze but our thirst for more knowledge on anything to do with Bonsai increased. 

The topic for the meet was Miniature Bonsai. The tiniest was called Keishi 1”, next came Shito 3”, while the slightly taller one was Mame6”. Shohin was taller still 8”

As we (Suseela and Viji) did a demo of these different little greenies it was explained how it was nothing different from regular bonsai when it came to following specifications of form or style. The size of the pot should be 2\3 the height of the Bonsai. The soil needs to be less loose and more sticky and firm to hold the plant in the tiny pot. Some might need to be fixed with a wire. Water the plant with a spray to avoid soil disturbance. Since the container is small and soil less it might need frequent spray of water. We need to observe and wet the soil accordingly. Fertilize once in 15 days with liquid fertilizer (Suseela recommends banana peel and tea leaves dried and ground in a mixie and dissolved in water into a slush). Plants with small leaf are better suited. For quick making of miniature bonsai, we can use cuttings of branches that are already looking mature and use them after they have formed sufficient roots. The double potting method can be followed to increase the growth. While using this method the roots that grow out of the miniature pot should be cut periodically for further development.

These miniatures are easy to carry about and placed where ever suited. With most of us shifting into apartments that have less room for large pots these provide immense satisfaction of having a garden in our balconies and window sills. After a few doubts were cleared Mohan,Maria and Suseela helped with the shaping and styling of a few over grown plants of our members. It was a pleasure to have new members Jayshree, Srilatha and Suman who were all eyes and ears through out the meet.

Suseela and Mr.Verghese - our hosts for the day had their dinning table filled with yummies and we did full justice to the spread. Pics were clicked with plants worked upon. We enjoyed gathering for our signature group picture. Every meet is a drive towards bettering our bonsai skills.

 We then bid good bye and hit the road. Now the drive seemed very long as we drove away from our Bodhi Monthly Meet. Oh, what a passionate drive that was towards more and more of Bonsai skills.