August is the correct timing for Sydney to place Bonsai outside, elsewhere will need to be adjusted.

Reflecting sunlight from a wall or fence can burn the part of your bonsai that is facing it. If you turn your bonsai from time to time, it is the foliage facing the wall that will suffer. This applies in the afternoon when the sun is at its hottest. The sun’s rays are altered from their beneficial application, which reduces leaf size & stalk length; to a detrimental burning one. The safest distance to avoid burning is about 45 cm. (18 ins.) away from the wall.

Reflected light where the sun’s heat is not so severe can be used to advantage especially where the low light intensity requires the turning of the tree. Bonsai placed close to a background, especially one painted white can avoid the need to turn them. The only consideration therefore is to ensure a there is a flowing air supply.

Placing bonsai directly on the ground outdoors will cause the roots to grow into the soil. If this situation persists & the roots deeply penetrate the soil: - eventually it will block the drainage holes. Water, with no escape fills the pot & creates an unhealthy condition for the root system. Moving the bonsai if the roots have enlarged & callused around the hole, sometimes requires smashing the container in order to sever the thick roots. This situation is safe enough for deciduous plants when leafless, but dangerous during the growing time. Conifers are at risk at any time if the roots inside the container have suffered from too much water & limited air. The longer the roots have been waterlogged a plant under stress may not have the energy to regenerate.

Bonsai accidentally or deliberately placed on the ground for a short while evidenced by roots that are easily lifted becomes invigorated from their liberation. Practising this for short periods, trimming the fine rootlets causes quicker thickening of the trunk whilst in the bonsai pot. I stress again, only for short periods – otherwise? About four (waist-height) cement blocks (Besser Blocks in Australia) & hardwood palings or thicker sleepers make great bonsai benches. They can be easily moved according to varying light requirements or moving home & bonsai. Outdoors of course!

The need for sunlight is important for the food process of plants. An adequate length of time will depend on the light intensity of your particular world zone. In the Tropics where light intensity is very strong, indigenous bonsai will withstand full sun provided adequate water is given. Understory plants will naturally need more shade.

We refer to sunlight as being necessary for plant vigour and growth, but this is dependent on the sun’s intensity. Bright shade that throws a reasonably sharp shadow will provide enough energy for photosynthesis to take effect. Your plants will indicate whether they are receiving enough sunlight if you LOOK at them. Pale, large sappy leaves plus long spaces between them will tell you. More sun will make more ‘food’.

Plants accustomed to the Cool Temperate low light conditions may need morning sunlight when the temps. reach 25 deg. however, if the leaf edges burn, look to the draining capacity to see if that is in fact, the reason. Extended cloud cover can also cause a shut down in plant growth, as the shortened day-length can trick the plant into readiness for winter.

By the October, we are into the second month of spring, but in Sydney this can change according to your particular suburb or even in some instances your street. Book learning can be misleading to the point of each providing varying advice even to the point of contradiction.

Often with this misleading advice the plant dies just because you followed instructions: perhaps only your timing was wrong. Here in my area of the Sydney Hills district my plants have determined that we are indeed into the third month of the growing period whereas elsewhere the leaves may be just opening.

Many factors determine the plant dormancy & re-growth sequence. As Australia & other Countries have many time zones within their boundaries so also does Greater metropolitan Sydney varying from the mountains to the sea.

Most of us are aware that temperature affects re-growth but then so does light, which could be :-lengths of sunlight, the degree of light intensity as well as the duration of cloud cover. Any or all these factors will alter the dormancy & re-growth cycle. I put it this way – the plant knows the timing better than we. Let us so be guided by our plant & have nature working with us not against us.

Autumn or reduced light can cause adverse affects to many bonsai materials, but let me explain.

It is possible in areas that experience a mid summer semi dormancy, to defoliate plants for whatever your reason! Timing for the pruning of the root-system as determined by the forthcoming emergence of new growth should be also possible. however… If, for example the autumn season experiences many days with partial cloud cover; even worse if most autumn days are as cloudy as Sydney has experienced for many, many years, warm temperature plants especially Figs may be triggered prematurely to close down for winter.

The result of this being; the required energy for the spring growth to ‘burst forth’ is created by the function of converting nutrients into stored starch; failed to occur. In addition, the autumn thickening process can not develop.

So, although these techniques are possible in autumn, be also aware that the reduced light factor for the following six weeks is detrimental for the on-going wellbeing of our bonsai. Failure of this function to be developed weakens plant energy to extend without depleting its reserves.

As well low night temperatures at this time are another factor to influence the winter shut-down: so when both occur simultaneously?