Tropical Bonsai Tasks in September:
It will soon be time to move our tropicals back indoors for the winter. However, we should do all we can to make the transition from the great outdoors to our often too hot and dry homes, not to mention low light, as little stressful as possible.
Start watching the nighttime lows in regards to any tropicals that you have summering outdoors. While some of them may not be harmed by a short duration dip in temperature, others should not be subjected to temperatures below 50 degrees.
The time of year is fast approaching when I will constantly be moving trees into my greenhouse when the predictions are for temperatures below 50 degrees, and moving them out again in the morning. Depending on the weather forecasters often means some time I do it needlessly. Use your own judgment as to whether you believe them or not. We still can expect some good, warm fall days.
If you can, move those trees to a location where there is subdued light to accustom them to less light indoors. Begin spraying to eliminate any unwanted critters that would love to winter over inside also. Weed and clean up your pots before taking them indoors. Now is the time to go back to your indoor fertilizing schedule.
Do not bring your tropicals indoors any sooner than necessary. Let them enjoy the Autumn weather as long as possible.
