How to water miniature bonsai in summer? Sharing practical tips

Watering bonsai plants is the most ordinary routine maintenance measure, and also one of the most basic tasks. By comparison, watering miniature bonsai requires much more care than ordinary bonsai; after all, bonsai are too delicate and need more careful attention, especially in the hot summer, when watering seems to be something many bonsai enthusiasts find hard to judge accurately. To help everyone do a good job of watering miniature bonsai in summer, today the editor will share with you some tips for watering miniature bonsai in summer.

Through practice and summarized experience, it has been found that watering miniature bonsai in summer often requires attention to several key aspects: water quality, water temperature, timing and method. As long as everyone can handle these aspects well, there should generally be no mishaps, and miniature bonsai often will not develop problems due to improper watering. Below, the editor will briefly explain the handling techniques for these aspects.

1. Ensure water quality

The quality of water plays an important role in the growth state of bonsai plants, and miniature bonsai often have even higher requirements for water quality. Many bonsai enthusiasts use tap water for convenience, but fresh tap water is relatively poor in quality, especially because it contains a large amount of chlorine. If you must use tap water, it is recommended to let it sit and air for a few days in advance, and use it after the chlorine has completely evaporated.

In addition, using water sources such as rice-washing water, tea water, dishwashing water or laundry water to irrigate plants is also inappropriate, because the nutrients in them often have not yet been fermented and decomposed, and pouring them directly can easily harm the plants. Frequent use can also easily cause soil compaction, which creates certain obstacles for later watering and fertilizing. Therefore, for the above water sources, they must be fully fermented and decomposed before use, then diluted and used to irrigate plants.

Of course, if you keep fish at home, then using that water to irrigate plants is best. Not only is the water source safe, it can also achieve the effect of supplementary fertilizing. Moreover, the water in a fish tank is softened water, and its nitrogen content is also high, so using it to water plants has a very good effect. Of course, in addition to the above water sources, relatively clean purified water can also be used to water plants, and it is likewise very good.

2. Suitable water temperature

Water temperature is an important aspect affecting plant growth, especially in summer. After all, summer temperatures are too high, and if the water temperature is too low, watering can easily create a huge temperature difference and cause the “baozi effect,” which is very unfavorable to plant growth, especially causing great harm to the roots. Moreover, even when watering, avoid the period around noon when the temperature is highest; the safer practice is to water in the morning and evening.

But for trees such as azaleas (Rhododendron) that are more sensitive to water temperature, even more caution is often needed, because sudden watering that changes the temperature inside the pot soil too much, especially using low-temperature tap water containing a large amount of chlorine, can very easily cause flowers and leaves to drop. It can be seen that watering must not only ensure suitable water temperature, but also be done flexibly according to different tree species, which is often extremely critical for miniature bonsai trees.

3. Appropriate timing

For watering miniature bonsai in summer, the first thing to consider is whether the watering time is appropriate. Originally, it is usually done avoiding the hottest period of the day, with the best time being morning and evening. Moreover, watering is generally carried out only after the pot soil has dried, and then watered thoroughly, achieving “water when dry, stop when wet, alternating dry and wet.” Because summer temperatures are high and the weather is hot, water consumption and evaporation are both relatively large, so watering must be timely and appropriate in amount. For general tree species, the watering frequency of miniature bonsai is often lower than that of ordinary bonsai; after all, the plants are relatively smaller and their water demand is also much lower. In terms of timing, miniature bonsai in summer are generally watered before 9 a.m. or after 4 p.m.

4. Correct method

The methods of watering bonsai plants include soaking the pot, pouring water, flushing and spraying, but due to the influence of excessively high summer temperatures, watering miniature bonsai often requires choosing the most scientific method. Because miniature bonsai, whether the plant or the pot, are often relatively small, watering should preferably be done by spraying. If directly pouring or flushing with a large amount of water, the pot soil is often washed out of the pot because the water volume is too large; after all, the pot is simply too small, so it is not easy to control the water volume well.

By comprehensive comparison, it is generally preferable to choose the method of soaking the pot or spraying. Soaking the pot means placing the miniature bonsai in shallow water and letting water enter the soil in the pot through the drainage hole at the bottom, thereby achieving the purpose of replenishing water. Of course, the editor still recommends the spraying method, because spraying often makes water replenishment more even, and can also keep the branches and leaves of the bonsai tree clean and fresh green. Spraying miniature bonsai can not only achieve the purpose of replenishing water, but also make it easy to control the water volume, with good moisture-retention and cooling effects. More importantly, it can make the miniature bonsai look cleaner and neater, with higher ornamental value.