Sun protection for bonsai is an important task in summer care

Once the Dragon Boat Festival is over, June arrives. The damage that last year's scorching sun enthusiastically inflicted on bonsai is still fresh in memory, and before the pain has faded, another summer comes around in the blink of an eye. The gardeners of the Bonsai Garden at Shanghai Botanical Garden prepared their sun protection work early, setting up a practical sunshade for the garden's shade-tolerant plants, especially the miniature bonsai, to accompany these delicate little trees through Shanghai's long midsummer.

When it comes to sun protection for bonsai, it is indeed an important task in summer care. Some shade-tolerant bonsai trees, such as Buddhist pine (Podocarpus macrophyllus), camellia and rhododendron, should be placed in a relatively cool spot with good ventilation; semi-shade plants such as golden larch (Pseudolarix amabilis) and ginseng ficus cannot withstand the intense summer heat and sun, and must be placed in a shaded area; of particular note are miniature stump bonsai. The miniature bonsai in the botanical garden are placed in the maintenance area because trees need sunlight and cannot be kept indoors for long periods, yet they cannot be exposed to the scorching sun either, so shade shelters must be specially built to protect them. Because miniature bonsai have small pots and little soil, water and nutrients are both difficult to retain, so they can be placed on sand beds with the pots buried in the sand, using the sand's water-retaining property to keep them moist and create a microclimate.

As for the pine and cypress bonsai that were widely affected across Jiangsu and Zhejiang last year, close attention must be paid to preventing leaf scorch. Sudden direct exposure to the scorching sun after the plum rain season ends or after consecutive rainy days is the main cause of leaf scorch. Bonsai should promptly be moved temporarily under tree shade or into the shadow of buildings. If shade shelters are also used, pine bonsai must never be kept inside such a shade shelter for the entire summer, otherwise they will grow too weak due to insufficient light.

There has been a lot of rain recently, and the plum rain season will begin in mid-month; once it ends, the scorching high-temperature season follows. At this time, container plant managers must pay close attention to such drastic changes in the environment, frequently and carefully observe subtle changes in the leaf color of bonsai plants and the moisture level of the potting soil, and tend them meticulously. Whether bonsai can maintain a healthy state during this period is the key to safely getting through the summer.

Sun protection for bonsai is an important task in summer care

June 10 news from China Landscape Web: Once the Dragon Boat Festival is over, June arrives. The damage that last year's scorching sun enthusiastically inflicted on bonsai is still fresh in memory, and before the pain has faded, another summer comes around in the blink of an eye. The gardeners of the Bonsai Garden at Shanghai Botanical Garden prepared their sun protection work early, setting up a practical sunshade for the garden's shade-tolerant plants, especially the miniature bonsai, to accompany these delicate little trees through Shanghai's long midsummer.

When it comes to sun protection for bonsai, it is indeed an important task in summer care. Some shade-tolerant bonsai trees, such as Buddhist pine (Podocarpus macrophyllus), camellia and rhododendron, should be placed in a relatively cool spot with good ventilation; semi-shade plants such as golden larch (Pseudolarix amabilis) and ginseng ficus cannot withstand the intense summer heat and sun, and must be placed in a shaded area; of particular note are miniature stump bonsai. The miniature bonsai in the botanical garden are placed in the maintenance area because trees need sunlight and cannot be kept indoors for long periods, yet they cannot be exposed to the scorching sun either, so shade shelters must be specially built to protect them. Because miniature bonsai have small pots and little soil, water and nutrients are both difficult to retain, so they can be placed on sand beds with the pots buried in the sand, using the sand's water-retaining property to keep them moist and create a microclimate.

As for the pine and cypress bonsai that were widely affected across Jiangsu and Zhejiang last year, close attention must be paid to preventing leaf scorch. Sudden direct exposure to the scorching sun after the plum rain season ends or after consecutive rainy days is the main cause of leaf scorch. Bonsai should promptly be moved temporarily under tree shade or into the shadow of buildings. If shade shelters are also used, pine bonsai must never be kept inside such a shade shelter for the entire summer, otherwise they will grow too weak due to insufficient light.

There has been a lot of rain recently, and the plum rain season will begin in mid-month; once it ends, the scorching high-temperature season follows. At this time, container plant managers must pay close attention to such drastic changes in the environment, frequently and carefully observe subtle changes in the leaf color of bonsai plants and the moisture level of the potting soil, and tend them meticulously. Whether bonsai can maintain a healthy state during this period is the key to safely getting through the summer.