Hello,

This is going to be my first winter as a bonsai gardener ( bonsai-ist?? ). I live in SW Florida. Im wondering if there are any special considerations that I have to take in with the plants I have and the zone Im in.

I have a black olive, Brazilian Rain Tree, a few Junipers, a Calamondin orange and a handful of ficus. The one juniper I bought a week ago and planted it a few days ago. I know that is way out of season to be doing that but I was thinking this is Florida, the sunshine state and the plant was huge, some new growth so why not.

Now the dry season has started to set in, we only had one rain last week and at the same time we had a cold front knocking the humidity and temp way down. With that I should have to water less but since the rain is not coming I should water more. So Im going to stick to my rule of thumb on that if the soil is dry, water it. Growth slows down in winter anyway, so the demand for dihydrogen monoxide is very low, compared to the summer.

So with the plants that I have and the zone Im in does the 'normal' pruning, transplanting and reduced fertilizer go the same? I should do my transplanting starting in late spring, pruning when needed during the summer and cut the fertilizer till I see some new growth in the spring?

Can I do any of these during the winter? Or should I just start to buy new plants on sale and wait for spring?

Thanks a lot people.

Is anyone local, to me, a regular in here? I know there was someone from Naples a few months ago.