Tree Tips

October 2024

Final Preparations for the Annual Show

Here we go. We're in the final lap before our annual show. At this month's first Thursday's meeting, bring in your show trees that you want to spruce up. We can clean the pots, put dress soil on the surface, oil the pots and do some trimming or light wiring to dial in your tree’s best shape.

I have some moss to share, thanks to Juan Cruz’s eagle eye. We will have one more shot at it with the third Thursday’s meeting the day before set up for the show.

Think about what stand you might need for your tree. We’ll discuss that at the meeting.

Seasonal Changes and Care

In late October as the deciduous trees turn color, they signal that the tree is cutting off contact with the leaves. Chlorophyl is withdrawing, leaving other pigments in what we know as our fall color. When most of the leaves have their full fall color (late November), you can defoliate the tree and cut back to the buds you want to grow in the spring or wait until January. You should not get a new growth spurt.

Also, the tree will not bleed the way it will if you leave cut back until December or January — so do it now or wait until late January/early February. Continue to fertilize through December as this is the time the trees store up energy for the big push in the spring. Plan on using the high phosphorus type fertilizers (0-30-0 to 0-54-0) on all of your flowering and fruiting trees in later November.

We already see shorter days and soon will be getting cooler temperatures. I will take down my shade cloth mid-month as we had the autumnal equinox in late September and the sun is lower, the days are getting shorter and the nights longer.

Transplanting and Styling

Your early flowering trees like quince, Ume and crabapple can be transplanted at this point. Doing it now reduces the likelihood of getting those gnarly growth-cysts on your apple family trees.

Conifers: except for black pines you candle cut in June, this is the ideal time for wiring and styling. Clean out weak, dead and sickly foliage so you can concentrate on the healthy style-able foliage. On long and lanky older branches, go back to the fresh, back budded growth for styling.

This is also the ideal time to style and wire these trees. Styling is always easier when the foliage is not there to interfere with the wire. The branches should also be flexible and easy to manipulate. Later they will become more rigid and brittle. In Japan, wiring is done October through February at which time transplanting starts. We get to start transplanting earlier (late December through mid March) because of our milder climate.

This is also a great time to plant trees in the ground for a period of growing. They get a chance to settle in for a big push in the spring. 🌳