Course 03 · Quiz 2 of 2 · Hard cases and a lasting routine · Final synthesis

Quiz 2: Hard cases and a lasting routine (synthesis)

Dry roots and roots short of air, rain, water quality, heat waves, a routine, time away, and watering records, combined with the whole course in case-based decisions and a final case: two junipers with different moisture histories, from a week's log to a summer trip.

Covers:

As the final quiz, it also draws on ideas from the whole course.

Before you start

12 questions, each worth one point. Some ask for one answer; others ask you to select a stated number of answers.
For questions with several answers, each correct choice earns an equal share of the point.
Pass with 80%: at least 10 of 12 points.
Untimed and open book. Revisit any lesson while you work.
After you submit, you will see every correct answer with an explanation. Retake it as often as you like.

Create a free account or log in to save your results and earn a certificate.

Question 1 of 12 ScenarioCourse 01's repotted trident maple, two weeks after some of its roots were trimmed to fit a new pot: on a sunny, windy day it stands in its usual spot, its shallow bonsai pot standing flat in a tray. At noon its leaves drooped, so its owner watered it thoroughly. By 4 pm it still droops. The pot feels heavy, as if just watered, the chopstick comes out dark, cool, and wet along its whole length, and water fills the tray around the base of the pot.What should the owner do now?
Water it again slowly and check at dawn, since the noon watering may have run past its rootsLeave the tray full, since the water in it lets the few roots that are left drink it from belowMove it into a dim room until its leaves firm up, since less light means it loses less waterEmpty the tray, add no water, and move it bright but sheltered, since its roots were cut back
Question 2 of 12 ScenarioThe west balcony in July: at 6 pm, after a day of 34 °C (93 °F) with a hot, dry west wind all afternoon, the trident maple's leaves hang limp in the late sun at the back wall. Its log shows a droop like this on most hot afternoons, firm again by 9 pm over a moist root zone. It was watered thoroughly at 8 this morning. Now its terracotta pot feels light, and the chopstick comes out dry, with only the tip faintly damp.What should the owner do now?
Give it a cup now and water it fully at 8 tomorrow, since it was watered thoroughly todayPut shade cloth over it and look again at dusk, since the late sun is what makes it droopWater it thoroughly now, since a droop over a drying root zone is not temporary wiltingNot yet: check again this evening, since its leaves have firmed by 9 pm on most hot days
Question 3 of 12 ScenarioThe small backyard in July: while the owners worked long days, the neighbor who sometimes helps took over the trident maple on the bench in the western third and has given it a cup of water every evening for a week, to be gentle. This morning its surface is damp, but the 18 cm (7 in) pot feels light, and a chopstick left a few minutes partway between trunk and rim comes out damp only in its top few centimeters, and dry and pale below. Its leaves look fine.What should the household do?
Water it thoroughly now, then let a morning check decide, since a cup wets only the top layerWater it thoroughly every evening from now on, so that each day's watering wets the whole potKeep the evening cup and add one each morning, since July heat calls for more small drinksKeep the cup and check its leaves each morning, since the damp surface shows that it has water
Question 4 of 12 ScenarioThe small backyard in late August: a steady, windless rain fell from dusk to dawn, and the day is mild and cloudy. Both pots were watered thoroughly two mornings ago. The Chinese elm's light crown leaves most of its 15 cm (6 in) pot open to the sky: the pot feels heavy, as if just watered, and the chopstick comes out dark, cool, and wet along its whole length. The new juniper's dense foliage spreads past the rim of its 4 L (1 gallon) pot and covers most of its surface, which is barely damp underneath: the pot feels light, and the chopstick comes out dry, with only the tip faintly damp.Which two belong in this morning's round? Select two.0 of 2 selected
Skip both pots until tomorrow, since a whole night of steady rain soaked the yard and benchesNot yet: check the elm again tomorrow morning, since both of its checks say it is wet throughWater the juniper thoroughly now with its foliage lifted aside, since its canopy shed the rainWater the elm thoroughly anyway, since rain rarely waters a pot and two whole days have passedGive each pot half a can now, since that tops up whatever the rain missed without floodingNot yet: check the juniper again this afternoon, since last night's rain is still soaking down
Question 5 of 12 ScenarioA house elsewhere in the example city: its new owners have moved in with a trident maple and a juniper, which they watered for years with the city's moderately hard tap water, unsoftened. The house has a water softener in the basement, and nobody knows which taps it treats, the garden tap by the patio and the kitchen tap included. This morning's checks say neither tree needs water yet, and the owners want to choose a tap before the next watering.What should they do?
Read the water utility's report first, since it gives the city water's hardness and sodiumTest both taps with a hardness strip, since a softened tap shows up as almost no hardnessUse the garden tap, since outdoor taps are usually left off a softener so that its salt lastsUse the kitchen tap, since softened water leaves no white crust on the pots or the mix
Question 6 of 12 ScenarioThe small backyard in July: a three-day heat wave near 36 °C (97 °F) starts tomorrow, and the owners are home. On the patio bench, in full sun with heat off the paving and the house wall, a juniper the owners rooted from a cutting two summers ago grows in a bonsai pot only 5 cm (2 in) deep. On ordinary hot days its checks read drying by early afternoon, even after a thorough watering in the morning. The owners plan to check all their trees morning and afternoon while the heat lasts.What should they do for the young juniper?
Move it to bright shade out of the wind and check it often, since it can dry between checksStand its pot in a saucer of water until the heat breaks, so its shallow pot drinks from belowRepot it into a deeper pot this weekend, so that it holds enough water to last between checksLeave it on the bench and check it morning and afternoon, since shading in heat is a myth
Question 7 of 12 ScenarioThe bright window in mid-October: the heating came on two weeks ago. The ficus's log shows its morning check calling for water about every fifth day in September, and every second to fourth day since. Its owner, who works from home, now wants to water it at the sink every morning at 8, before the first coffee, because the radiator dries the room and a daily watering is easy to remember. This morning at 8, the growing pot feels heavy, and a chopstick partway between trunk and rim comes out damp and cool on the lower half.What should the owner do?
Keep the 8 am check daily, and water at the sink only when it says so, since the pace variesKeep the 8 am check, and move it back from the radiator, so the pot dries as slowly as in summerWater it at 8 every morning, since the heating now dries the pot faster than it did all summerHave its roots assessed, since a pot that dries sooner each week is likely filling with roots
Question 8 of 12 ScenarioThe small backyard in July: the household leaves for two weeks in four days, and the neighbor can come every day. Worried about the heat, they have just bought a drip kit with a battery timer to run from the hose tap. They plan to set it up the evening before they leave, so that the neighbor need come only every second day.What should they arrange?
Leave the kit off, since it is untested, and have the neighbor check every pot every daySet up the kit, and have the neighbor check its line and timer daily, since it does the wateringSet it up the evening before, with the neighbor every second day, since the kit fills the gapsTest the kit at home for the four days, then have the neighbor come every second day as planned
Question 9 of 12 ScenarioThe final case: on the west balcony, the two junipers stand side by side on the slatted shelf in the open middle, in afternoon sun and wind, pots' sunny sides shaded, over a tray emptied after every watering. The nursery juniper grows in dark, bark-based nursery mix in a black plastic nursery pot about 20 cm (8 in) across. The gift juniper's training pot, about 22 cm (9 in) across, holds its old, peat-rich root ball inside a ring of coarse fresh mix that its roots have grown into since spring. The owner checks both at 8 am with the lift and a chopstick, and at 6 pm with the lift and a fingertip at the rim. Their log for the last week of June, hot and breezy at 31 to 33 °C (88 to 91 °F) apart from a cool, cloudy Thursday and Friday: the nursery juniper was light by 6 pm on every hot day and left until morning, and on Tuesday and Sunday at 8 am its chopstick came out dry and pale along its whole length. The gift juniper was watered thoroughly on Monday and Friday, when the chopstick in its old core read dry, with only the tip faintly damp; on the other days, its ring was dry at the rim by 6 pm, while the core's chopstick read damp and cool on the lower half each morning. On the next Monday, a hot, windy day is forecast. At 8 am the nursery juniper's pot feels light, its mix still fills the pot to the wall, and its chopstick comes out dry and pale along its whole length. The gift juniper's pot feels lighter than after watering, and its chopstick in the old core comes out damp and cool on the lower half.Which needs water this morning, and how?
Leave both until the 6 pm check, since junipers tolerate drying and show their stress lateStand the nursery juniper in the basin until this evening, so its dry root ball soaks throughWater the nursery juniper now in slow passes under lifted foliage, since its checks read dryWater both junipers now in slow passes under lifted foliage, since a hot, windy day is ahead
Question 10 of 12 ScenarioThe final case: on the west balcony, the two junipers stand side by side on the slatted shelf in the open middle, in afternoon sun and wind, pots' sunny sides shaded, over a tray emptied after every watering. The nursery juniper grows in dark, bark-based nursery mix in a black plastic nursery pot about 20 cm (8 in) across. The gift juniper's training pot, about 22 cm (9 in) across, holds its old, peat-rich root ball inside a ring of coarse fresh mix that its roots have grown into since spring. The owner checks both at 8 am with the lift and a chopstick, and at 6 pm with the lift and a fingertip at the rim. Their log for the last week of June, hot and breezy at 31 to 33 °C (88 to 91 °F) apart from a cool, cloudy Thursday and Friday: the nursery juniper was light by 6 pm on every hot day and left until morning, and on Tuesday and Sunday at 8 am its chopstick came out dry and pale along its whole length. The gift juniper was watered thoroughly on Monday and Friday, when the chopstick in its old core read dry, with only the tip faintly damp; on the other days, its ring was dry at the rim by 6 pm, while the core's chopstick read damp and cool on the lower half each morning. The owner faces a week of early starts at work and plans to judge both junipers each morning by the lift alone, watering any pot that feels lighter than after watering. Last week, the gift juniper's pot felt lighter than after watering at every morning check.How should the gift juniper be read and watered this week?
Water it when the nursery juniper's chopstick says drying, since both pots share one weatherLift it, but read the chopstick in its old core each time, and water if it says drying or dryJudge it by the lift alone, and water it on any morning it feels lighter than after wateringWater it every fourth day, since last week's log shows its core lasting from Monday to Friday
Question 11 of 12 ScenarioThe final case: on the west balcony, the two junipers stand side by side on the slatted shelf in the open middle, in afternoon sun and wind, pots' sunny sides shaded, over a tray emptied after every watering. The nursery juniper grows in dark, bark-based nursery mix in a black plastic nursery pot about 20 cm (8 in) across. The gift juniper's training pot, about 22 cm (9 in) across, holds its old, peat-rich root ball inside a ring of coarse fresh mix that its roots have grown into since spring. The owner checks both at 8 am with the lift and a chopstick, and at 6 pm with the lift and a fingertip at the rim. Their log for the last week of June, hot and breezy at 31 to 33 °C (88 to 91 °F) apart from a cool, cloudy Thursday and Friday: the nursery juniper was light by 6 pm on every hot day and left until morning, and on Tuesday and Sunday at 8 am its chopstick came out dry and pale along its whole length. The gift juniper was watered thoroughly on Monday and Friday, when the chopstick in its old core read dry, with only the tip faintly damp; on the other days, its ring was dry at the rim by 6 pm, while the core's chopstick read damp and cool on the lower half each morning. In August the owner will be away for two weeks; the friend who waters can come every second day, and daily in a heat wave. In July, at home, the owner tested a reservoir drip kit on a timer for two weeks in the trip's layout: the trident maple and both junipers grouped along the back wall, sunny sides shaded, each on a grid over a tray deep enough for two days of drip runoff. Every pot wetted through, and none stayed wet. A neighbor shown the same round can stand in for the friend.Which plan should they leave in place for the trip?
Run the tested kit, with the friend every second day, daily in heat, and the neighbor on callLift out the grids and stand each pot in its deep tray of water, topped up at every visitRun the tested kit as the only supply, with the friend coming only if a heat wave is forecastLeave the kit off, with the friend coming every second day to give every pot a full can of water
Question 12 of 12 ScenarioThe final case: on the west balcony, the two junipers stand side by side on the slatted shelf in the open middle, in afternoon sun and wind, pots' sunny sides shaded, over a tray emptied after every watering. The nursery juniper grows in dark, bark-based nursery mix in a black plastic nursery pot about 20 cm (8 in) across. The gift juniper's training pot, about 22 cm (9 in) across, holds its old, peat-rich root ball inside a ring of coarse fresh mix that its roots have grown into since spring. The owner checks both at 8 am with the lift and a chopstick, and at 6 pm with the lift and a fingertip at the rim. Their log for the last week of June, hot and breezy at 31 to 33 °C (88 to 91 °F) apart from a cool, cloudy Thursday and Friday: the nursery juniper was light by 6 pm on every hot day and left until morning, and on Tuesday and Sunday at 8 am its chopstick came out dry and pale along its whole length. The gift juniper was watered thoroughly on Monday and Friday, when the chopstick in its old core read dry, with only the tip faintly damp; on the other days, its ring was dry at the rim by 6 pm, while the core's chopstick read damp and cool on the lower half each morning. The owner keeps the log going through the summer and into the autumn, one line per pot at every check, and reads the nursery juniper's lines, the pot that dried fastest in June.Which log pattern should send the owner to another course?
Longer gaps between waterings in a cool September, as growth slows, since it must be decliningDry and pale at dawn after a pot light at 6 pm was left overnight, since roots must fill the potA pot dry by 5 pm on one gusty August day, since a day like that shows the mix holds too littleDaily waterings into a cool October, roots matting at the holes, as cooling should slow them

0 of 12 questions answered