Our California weather has been forebodingly beautiful, as we experienced another month of almost no rain. Climatically, challenging times face us again.

A spread of Sphagnum moss can substitute for the more expensive Japanese mountain moss as a soil cover for most bonsai when appearance is not as critical.  Shredding of it through a quarter inch screen improves its appearance when packing the moss down, although the latter does not seem necessary to achieve its goal of helping our trees through this drought.