5th World Bonsai Convention in Washington D.C.
May 28th thru 31st.

Is it Spring yet in Boston?


by Chuck Omer

We had a lot of snow this winter in the Boston area. In my town approximately 100 inches fell. That's over twice the normal amount. Over two feet came in one big snow fall. Some places around here had 38” during that storm. However, since we are in zone 6, the temperatures don't usually get too cold. It got below 0 F, but not lower than about -5 F or so. This weekend, April 2, 3, we are finally getting rid of most of the snow with temperatures in the upper 40's-upper-50's during the day and above freezing at night. There is still some on the North facing slopes and in very shaded areas.

As I indicated last fall, I tried a couple of ways of wintering my temperate bonsai here in Massachusetts . The primary place was a 4' x 8' pit that is 3' deep at the upper end and 2' deep at the lower. Despite the heavy snows and associated run offs, I had no flooding problems in the pit. Every tree in it looks great! I kept two larches outside with their pots covered I in mulch. They just thawed out on Sunday, but look great too.

A few of my larger trees were kept in the garage. Since the garage here is at basement level and is beneath the family room, it was a little too warm to suit two pines-one Scot's and one Japanese Black. I think that they will make it, but they don't look their best. Two junipers kept in the garage are fine, one a Shimpaku and the other a very large Procumbens (not nana!). Regardless, I think that I will keep only the Shimpaku juniper cascade in the garage after this. The other trees will either have to go into the pit or be “mulched in” like I did with the larches.

I saw in an issue of American Bonsai Society how Dale Cochoy made a type of cold frame for small trees and will do this next year. This will give me more room in the deeper pit for larger trees. All in all, it looks like wintering trees here will be a little easier than in Michigan . Given that it's one zone warmer in Acton, MA than in Ann Arbor-Saline, MI, I guess that makes sense. I'm still leery about the hardiness of Japanese Black pines here, however, even though I've seen a lot of them at the local bonsai nurseries.

With the move from Michigan , I was not able to do any repotting last year. Thus I am repotting the majority of my trees this year. I started last weekend and finished up most of my deciduous trees this weekend when I took a long weekend. I have a couple more deciduous trees to do next weekend and then several evergreens will need to be repotted sometime in April. I'm still looking to find cheaper places to get pine bark fines and Turface, but I was able to get enough to make my soil a few weeks ago. It was great to be able to get out on my deck on a nice day and sift away after having stayed inside for most of the Winter. I mixed 100-150 lbs of soil, but most of that will be gone this Spring.

The other tasks for this Spring include replanting a number of accent plants and laying out my benches and watering system at our new house. This Winter I got several new pots from Sara Raynor for accent plantings. I could probably wait a while to do that, but I suspect that I'll find time on a week night after work soon. Where to put my bonsai benches is something I'm still thinking about. My little girls want me to put up a play set for them, so I've got some negotiating to do as to what goes where.

Well, so far, so good for moving my bonsai to Massachusetts . The one thing that I still haven't found is a nearby club. That seems incredible to me given that there are three bonsai nurseries in the area. I'll keep looking. Enjoy the Spring! This is the time of year that every tree, with its flush of new growth, looks like it just might end up being a show tree (at least we all can hope!).

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