Situation: new bonsai, taken from nursery can, then heavily root pruned to get it into training pot. Training pot has been sitting on the ground in the shade of the north side of the building for a week. Ground soil temp is 49-50 F degrees. Weather forecast is for overnight lows of 40, daytime highs of 55-60 for the next week.
Given the roots’ need for warmth to start growing, is it better to 1) leave them where they are (in shade and on the ground) or 2) move them to the east side of the building to get dappled morning light and put them up on 1x2 boards to get them off the ground so warmer air during the day can circulate under the pots and warm them?
I think either option will work as long as you can keep the foliage from drying out too much - i.e. too much sun and wind.
I put my freshly repotted trees back in the greenhouse for a couple of weeks which stays fairly humid and I only heat enough to keep it from freezing at night. I also use a fan to keep it from getting too hot on sunny days even though it is covered with shade cloth. Seems to work well for me.
I decided to move them to the east side of the house for the warmth, and put a burlap windbreak around them (fingers crossed). Now I am worried about getting enough light to the lower foliage so it doesn’t brown out. It’s always something!
