Watering Bonsai
Watering bonsai tree’s sounds simple right?
although it sounds really simple its harder then most people think!
under or overwatering are often causing problems for the tree and as with bonsai we want to take care the best of our little artworks in progress we want to do it right!
if you are having trouble or don’t know what to do to get the watering right you will have to invest some time to learn about about how trees and soils work to help you determine when to water or when not to water.
To much water can result in dead roots which can lead to a dead or weakened tree but to little water is at the same time not good and can have the same results.
A really important thing is to always make sure that your pot has drainage holes at the bottom to make sure the excess water drains out of the pot.
When watering make sure the entire pot gets saturated make sure that the entire root mass in the pot get’s watered.
Use a free draining soil mix to provide water and oxygen for the roots.
When your tree is in its nursery soil and is really compacted like a brick and the water runs just off the sides and out of the pot try submerging the pot in a tub of water to help it get fully saturated after repeating this when the soil dried up a little again sometimes the soil gets a little bit more loose and you can water the regular way with a can or hose but if the soil is in this condition its often a good idea
How to determine if you need to water or not?
As mentioned to little water is not good but to much is not helping the tree either.
some trees like more water and trees like pines can do with a little more drying in between but so always do some research on the preferences of your species or make sure you know what species of tree you have as most tree’s are kept outdoors there is also the influence of the seasons in your local climate with rain, heat or cold that affects your tree’s and their pots.
a good indicator to determine if you need to water is when the top bit of the soil is dried up a little bit but watering is hard on a schedule look at your tree’s and the pots observe look at things like the foliage is it happy pointing up doing its thing or does it hang sadly downwards.
one other simple trick to do is if you have a new tree you water it and made sure the pot is fully saturated and the excess water is drained out of the pot then you can lift up the pot to “feel” how heavy it is fully saturated and if you are not sure if you need to water that tree you simply lift it up and feel if it became noticeable lighter compared to help determine to water or not
as bonsai is not a short term quick result kind of thing with time you will learn how your own tree’s behave and that will help improve your care for your tree’s.
Using a proper draining soil mix reduces the chance on overwatering manually and by rainy periods but in summer sometimes this can be a disadvantage because you often need to water multiple times a day so its important to use a soil mix that works for your personal preferences.
Here you will find more info on Bonsai-Soil