holidays...

[spookedhippie]

Right I thought I'd start this off to give me time to sort everything I may need to do out. At the end of May (Usually the warmest part of the year in the uk) I'm going on holiday for a week. I lve a distance from the rest of my family and so I have no one to water them... what can and should I do to ensure they are still ere when I return?

[tomfisher]

if youve got a garage you could keep it there so its nice and cool but I dunno what you would do about geting it watered =/

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

You could set them up on a timed watering system. You can usually buy them as a kit and they set up quickly. It's not the prettiest thing, but it will make sure they get watered during that period. I've done this before without damage to the trees... but that was when I only had a few... less than 20. Now that would not work for me in the least... lol

Kindets regards,

Victrinia

[Marsman]

I've got a two week vacation this summer and I'm going to purchase a timer to use with my [url=https://i956.photobucket.com/albums/ae50/marsman61/Bonsai/Various%20Hosting%20Pics/v-612x2.gif]oscillating rotor sprinkler head[/url]. My brother-in-law got me a rotor head with a hose attachment. I have it mounted on a metal stake and can set the degree of spray. My teacher said I could also leave some of my trees with him as well.

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

All of my holidays are in the Fall or Winter. It's just not worth the risk for me. I have more local bonsai friends now who could help, but I have just gotten so used to not taking summer holidays I just don't think of them now.

V

[Marsman]

I have a wife and kid, so summer holidays are the norm.

Pictures from our last one in [url=https://s956.photobucket.com/albums/ae50/marsman61/Maine%202009/]Maine[/url].

[spookedhippie]

Thanks for the advice guys, aren't the timings for outdoor cause my bonsai are indoor. Also we have a scary amount of birds around by me and they'd pick apart anything I'd put outside!

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

So how many are there?

[spookedhippie]

lol... well it was just one, but now I seem to have ten, I really need to post my new ones on! I now have three fully grown bonsai, 3 that I think are about 3/4 years old if not less and 4 that are just springing up from seedlings. Its the last I'm most worried about...

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

Well that's not so bad.... and you are going to be gone for a week? You could almost set up something like a terrarium. If you create a micro climate where the humidity can stay relatively high, water them well, and have humidity trays for them, it would likely be fine. So figure out how much space they will take, get some pvc pipe and make a frame, get some clear plastic you can cover the frame with, and make a tent of sorts. Make the frame just a little taller than your tallest tree, so there is less air volume in there.

The plants won't draw as much water if they are not expiring it into the air. The more humid it is, the less they will draw - and the less the soil will evaporate it as well. So the key would be to make it as contained as possible, don't just drape the plastic over it, but make it as sealed as possible.

Don't put any plants with any illness or infestations into that space though, because it will become a breeding ground if you do and it will spread to the other plants. So check them over carefully for scale etc before putting them in.

V

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

Of course... if you do this, I encourage you to take photos of it and create a thread, because it would likely be very helpful to other people in the future.

V

[spookedhippie]

I'm surprised that would work as the soil I use is highly drainable, but thanks for teh advice I may very well have to do that! Presumably that would be good generally for the bonsais let alone for when I'm on holiday?

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

Its about the only thing I can think of which would help you when you have no one around to help you. If you were going to be gone more than a week I'd be more concerned. But just make sure you are watering really well before hand so all the particles in your soil are fully hydrated. The more you water the more the soil can accept and hold on to that water.

When you say you have highly drainable soil, do you mean its 100% inorganic? Whats your ratio?

You could experiment with it beforehand to make sure it's going to work... build the frame now and test it. So you are there to monitor it for a week and see how it does.

V

[spookedhippie]

On two of my bonsais its kitty litter so 100% inorganic. The others are in bonsai soil I picked up at your run of the mill garden shop. I'm trying to do an experiement as I seem to be finding the kitty litter is far superior...

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

I'm not surprised you are finding better results with kitty litter, the vapor exchange is far better than soils with high organic content. They require more watering which is the problem, but it is a better enviornment. I would definitely build this on some scale with one of them and test it.

V

[spookedhippie]

Thanks Vic, I've just brought some trays to be able to support the build and will be constructing something in the next week or so. I'll make sur to post lots of pics!