In my previous report we dealt with the proper fertilizing, watering, light, and humidity needs for the Japanese maple bonsai. In this second article on the way to care for your Japanese Maple we will focus on when and how to re-pot, root-prune, and branch-prune your Japanese maple, and how to care for it during the winter.
While some of Lu's patients-25 percent of whom are Asianembrace the practices, others ask whether these traditions are worthwhile. He urges them to view the traditions in terms of their historical and cultural contexts. "There may have been really good reasons for these practices, although some may have less relevance in today's world," Lu says.Another option is to hire a live-in caregiver, which my friend Kathy Chow of San Marino, CA, did last year for the month after her son's birth. Chow, 32, initially considered using a food delivery service, which would have freed her family from the hours of shopping, preparing and cooking involved in assembling traditional meals. Ultimately, Chow and her husband moved in with her parents, emigrants from Taiwan, for the month and hired someone from a Chinese nanny agency who cooked for them and cared for the baby at night. These full-time "night nannies" typically cost $2,800 per month.Lu emphasizes that building the mother's health is paramount. "Trying to help mom restore her health as quickly as possible by giving her good nutrition, by making sure she's getting plenty of rest and by having a strong network of social support around her - those are all tremendously useful for new moms and their health," Lu says. "It actually has a lot of impact on her long-term health." Not to mention short-term mental health: Lack of support after birth is one key factor leading to postpartum depression, Lu says.While post-birth care for mothers is not mainstream practice in Western medicine, many Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin, indigenous and other cultures view the month or so following birth as a sacred and crucial time for new moms to recover. Traditions vary by ethnicity, region and religion, but there are common themes: female-oriented, family-centric support networks; a focus on fortifying the new mother's health; and rites of passage and celebrations marking new beginnings. Many Asian American women abide by or adapt traditions out of respect for the older generation, and some second-generation Asian American women are following the traditions even more closely than their foremothers.While pregnant, she had read that in the southern Philippines, the placenta is seen as the twin soul of the baby, something that was once a living being that kept the fetus alive as well. Tradition dictated that it should be kept close to the home, not disposed of as medical waste. The idea spoke to her, a Filipino American who had been craving a closer connection to her heritage. So, on that night five years ago, she knew it was time to bury the placenta in her yard.Root PruningSpring is also a good time to prune the roots of your Japanese maple because temperature have not yet risen and the tree's leaves have not yet formed so there are no losses of water from the leaves through transpiration, so stress to the plant is minimized.The pruning of your Japanese maple's roots should always be combined with branch pruning so that the root system is not over-stressed seeking to supply water and food to the plants branches and leaves.As a result of root pruning your Japanese Maple will lose some of its ability to transport water and food to its leaves and branches. This is the reason fall is the best time for you to prune the roots because the tree is slowing down it's systems of moving water and nutrients through the tree anyway. Late fall or early spring are the times that are the least stressful for the tree.Juachon's act might seem unusual. But she is one of many Asian and Pacific Islander women in the United States practicing age-old post-birth traditions in order to connect to their cultural heritage.To some extent, Western medicine acknowledges the idea of a post-birth transitional period for mothers. The homebound period, which is practiced among many cultures and varies from 28 to 40 days, matches the Western view of six weeks as the time when a mom's health should be restored (hence the six-week postpartum doctor's visit).Under a full moon, she walked with a friend to the Japanese maple sapling tree in her Berkeley, CA, backyard. She took out the plastic container that she had kept in her freezer for more than a year after the grueling birth of her son.At the Rowland Heights home, a cook prepares the new mothers' meals, which include dishes like sesame oil chicken, brown rice, rice wine soup and bone broth soup. New mothers are given food six times a day - four full meals and two healthy desserts. Babies are delivered to the rooms when they need to be fed by the moms, but most of the time the babies sleep in a separate room watched over by a hired hand.For help cutting very large limbs or those high in your tree, contact your local arborist.
Bonsai gardening is a hobby that is fascinating, affordable, and easy to get involved in. Bonsai can be enjoyed by people of all ages, and can last a lifetime. Click this link to learn more about growing your own amazing Japanese maple bonsai, and sign up for your FREE 7-part introductory mini-course on how to grow miniature bonsai trees. Or, to get started growing your own bonsai trees right away check out the highly regarded "how-to" bonsai book "Beautiful Bonsai Secrets".
Author: Mike andrews
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