midori tsumi- pinching the point of growth. By shortening the shoot, you provoke the laying of new buds below the pinching point, thus obtaining dense paws with many branches. Depending on what kind of trees you are working with, the time of work changes:
- for hardwoods - pinching begins during the period of active growth of shoots and lasts until mid-summer. On the remaining branch there are 2-3 leaves (buds). They finish work at the end of July, so that the regrown branches prepare for the winter;
- for conifers - pinching begins when the branch is in the “candle” mode, but the needles have already moved away from it at an angle of 45 °.
Kiri modoshi- pruning all the shoots of the last year to form dense brushes. It is produced at the beginning of sap flow, before the buds open.
Hamu-siri– thinning needles – is used only for pines. All the needles of the previous year are plucked, and the remains are thinned out by half or less (depending on how many shoots you want to get).
Fuse-zukuri- special techniques for changing the shape and direction of growth of shoots.
For these purposes, the branches are bent in the right direction to the required angle and fixed.
When bending, the main task is not to damage the tree, therefore, at the slightest crackle, the slope is reduced, and the branch is fixed. Bamboo spacers, soft copper wire, twine, burlap are used to protect branches from damage. They carefully monitor that the strapping does not grow into the bark - as soon as the branches thicken, they are tied up. Full fixation of the branch occurs after 2-3 seasons.
Shitate- barrel bending technique. Such niwaki styles, like mogi, kengai, syakai require that the barrel is not located in a vertical plane. To give shape, use spacers, stretching, bending to the ground, followed by fixation with pegs.
The trunk can be formed in two ways:
- setting the right direction for a young seedling from year to year (for example, planting a plant at an angle);
- changing the shape of the rootstock in a mature tree (usually used to reinforce existing bends).
There is a risk that the unnatural position of the trunk may cause the root system to not hold it, so the extensions are installed as follows:
Where to start?
We advise a novice bonsaiist to first practice on trees and shrubs growing on the site. Nivaki can be formed from both a young and a long-growing tree. They begin work in early spring, before the buds open. At this time, the shape of the tree, natural curves, strong and weak shoots are clearly visible. For bonsai, choose a healthy plant that can survive the stress caused by drastic interference in its life.
Operating procedure:
- at a tree or shrub, cut off all diseased, broken and dry branches;
- choose the style in which nivaki will be formed, paying special attention to the age of the tree and the natural shape of the trunk;
- decide where the front side of the composition will be, mark the branches of the first order (bases) and the topmost branch crowning the nivkai.
Skeletal branches should emphasize the levels as much as possible - for this they are placed in a plane parallel to the ground, using the techniques described above.
After that, all excess shoots are removed, leaving on the skeletal branches those that will later form the crown. If necessary, stretch marks are installed, directing the growth of shoots in the right direction.
The next stage starts only next year:
Examples of elementary niwaki
Jasmine. The shrub gives abundant shoots, and without corrective pruning after a few years has an unsightly neglected appearance. What can be done? Remove all excess growth, leaving a few of the strongest vertical shoots. Pull them together with a soft wire - at the top you will get a compact “hat”, which in the spring will turn into a wonderful white cloud with a delicate aroma.
Spirea. The lush blooming "Rich Bride" is an excellent material for bonsai. Leaving a few skeletal branches, weave them together, and cut off all excess at the root. Give the stems the desired height, form the side shoots in the form of a ball.
Lilac. An ordinary bush can become a garden barefoot masterpiece if you work a little:
- cut out all the shoots and remove the stem branches under the root, leaving one, the strongest or crooked shoot;
- cut it to a height of no more than 1.5 m;
- using the fuse-zukuri technique, form a crown from young shoots in the form of a bowl, shell or cap at the top of the main branch;
- try to direct the growth of young upper shoots parallel to the ground, tying a load to them;
- be sure to remove all excess growth at the root and adjust the top growth point.
After flowering, be sure to remove all dry candles - this stimulates an increase in peduncles for the next year.
Holly maple. The bright red leaves of this plant are good on their own. But if you give the tree the desired shape, you will get a unique composition that will decorate the shore. artificial reservoir or alpine slide. Plant two young seedlings side by side, which can later be intertwined with each other, or you can grow a tree in the sokan style - with a forked trunk.
Don't be afraid to experiment! For an enthusiastic person, there is no such plant that could not be turned into a masterpiece to the envy of all neighbors.
Growing bonsai is a constant discovery, discovery and creative work that makes a person truly happy. And to achieve this effect, you need to know the methods and some features of growing bonsai. In order to grow bonsai according to all the rules, you need special utensils, tools, special care, etc. etc. In this article I will talk directly about the cultivation process.
Juniper Sargent Bonsai. Age 15 years. Han-Kengai style. © Cliff
Choosing plants for bonsai in the nursery
From the young plants purchased in the nursery, beautiful bonsai can be formed relatively quickly. Most nursery-sold plants have been grown in containers for many years. Because of this, they tend to develop a well-formed and dense root system, which is ideal for bonsai formation.
The plant is removed from the container, the old soil is removed and the first root pruning is carried out to obtain a flat shaped root system. After that, the plant is planted again in a regular container, now filled with bonsai potting mix. Very soon, such plants can already be transplanted into low special containers (bowls).
The only thing to remember when carrying out a strong pruning of the roots is to observe correct timing planting, in other words, all these activities are carried out at the end of winter, before the period of active growth has yet begun.
The range of plants sold in nurseries is very large, and it is easy to get confused in it. That is why in the nursery it is best to thoroughly review all the available plants and try to find the most suitable specimens for the formation of bonsai. In addition, it is worth regularly visiting gardening centers and nurseries and looking into the farthest corners there, where, perhaps, prematurely aged dwarf trees may be.
True, beginners are advised to select younger plants from which it is easier to form bonsai. The choice of plants must be approached very critically. Trees intended for bonsai formation should be densely branched to the ground, so that after pruning, branches suitable for various styles can be left.
When examining plants, the soil around the trunk must be slightly excavated in order to be able to clearly examine the base of the trunk. The grafted plants must be grafted in such a way that the grafting site is not visible in the formed bonsai.
Particular care is needed when buying plants with a very dense crown, the inside of which is usually completely bare. These plants take a very long time to grow. inside branches have new shoots. This applies mainly to large species of Norway spruce (Picea abies) "Pumila Glauca" and gray spruce (Picea glauca) "Conica".
Rhododendrons with a spherical crown shape are more suitable, since they give young shoots relatively quickly from old wood. For the formation of bonsai, we can safely recommend all undersized forms and varieties of pine, not grafted fan maples, field maple, all types of barberry, local types of elms, not grafted common hornbeam, cedar elfin (dwarf pine), juniper, hawthorn and many others.
Bonsai. Composition of several trees. © Sage Ross Collectors who have the necessary experience and prefer difficult-to-form and expensive plants can only be advised to look for suitable source material in nurseries. Since bonsai became known in Germany, the first nurseries also appeared, which, in addition to the usual assortment, began to grow trees intended for the formation of bonsai.
Now they have a good choice suitable and very inexpensive plants, from which, after a couple of years of work, very beautiful and very valuable bonsai can be obtained. Therefore, plants from nurseries are the best way to learn how to form bonsai.
Bonsai taken in nature - Yamadori
In nature, there are beautiful trees that, despite their age, are great for bonsai formation. Mostly, high in the mountains, on the border of forests, you can find centuries-old trees that do not exceed 50 cm in height. A very short growing season allows plants to grow only a few millimeters per year. Due to constant strong winds, ice and snowstorms, they remain dwarfed and acquire a bizarre, often very twisted shape.
In order to dig up plants in nature, you must obtain permission from the landowner. When digging up a plant, a seedling is planted in its place, if possible. In order to form a harmonious bonsai from such source material, it is necessary to have the appropriate experience. First of all, it is very difficult for beginner bonsai enthusiasts to make something decent out of this intertwined, intricate and abstractly shaped material. That is why they are advised to look for younger specimens with a compact root system.
80-year-old trees 50-60 cm high often have roots 5 m or more long. Such plants are found in rocky ground, as their roots, in search of moisture and nutrition, grow deep into cracks and crevices of rocks. In order to dig up such plants, it is necessary to cut their long roots with skill. In some particularly unfavorable cases, this procedure is extended for years, so that during this time new roots form at the base of the trunk, thanks to which the excavated plant can survive.
The best time to dig up plants is early spring when the soil has already thawed, and plant growth has not yet begun. From the tool you need to have a folding shovel, a climbing pick, a pruner, a folding saw, a hammer and a chisel.
The roots of the dug up plants are placed in plastic bags filled with wet moss to withstand shipping. At home, such plants are first planted in large plastic containers.
Japanese clay granulate (Akadama) is used as soil, as large as possible, 6-12 mm. After planting, the plants are placed in a place shaded and protected from strong winds. After about 3 years, they can be transplanted into a smaller container. As a rule, it takes from 5 to 10 years until powerful and imposing bonsai are obtained from dug up plants. Older yamadori take even longer to become well rooted in a container.
Plants from the nursery, on the contrary, take root excellently, most often in the same year. If strong leaves or needles begin to form at the tops of the shoots, this is a sure sign that the plant is well rooted. Only after that it is necessary to start fertilizing with fertilizer. When transplanted, deciduous trees take root much faster than conifers. Juniper dug out in nature takes root especially slowly in a container.
That is why it is advisable to dig up the plants not in one go, but gradually cut off the long roots year after year. After a few years, such a plant can be painlessly dug up.
A beginner who has yet to learn to recognize shapes in the original plant material and who is still unsure of the techniques of bonsai formation is not recommended to use yamadori.
For beginners, younger densely branched deciduous trees with a trunk as thick as a finger are quite suitable, although they are not typical yamadori. For experienced bonsai collectors, there is also the option to take plants from their garden.
Over time, it is not uncommon for a garden to need to remove some trees because they have been planted too often, or to redevelop the garden is on the agenda. These plants are ideal source material for the bonsai collector. Very often it (material) is distinguished by arm-thick trunks, powerful root bases and strong long branches.
These plants also take a certain amount of time to take root well, so they are first planted in large plastic containers. After about three years, depending on the size of the plant, they can be transplanted into smaller dishes. Already in a plastic container, you can begin to rough form the plant, until after three years it will be transplanted into a suitable bonsai container. For such plants, the rough formation phase lasts approximately 46 years. But later you get a bonsai at the age of about 50, looking very impressive and powerful.
Rhododendron in the form of a bonsai. The plant is 22 years old. © Andreas D Bonsai from native tree species and their benefits
There are a number of tree species native to Europe that are well suited to form bonsai. Often, local breeds are even much more hardy than exotic species. Added to this is that we know better their needs in terms of location, quality composition and soil structure, as well as possible pests and diseases. The trees growing in our forests are frost-resistant, and therefore, they do not need to overwinter indoors.
Many questions can be clarified for yourself at the place of natural growth of the selected trees. In principle, bonsai can be grown from any European tree species that has never been used as a bonsai before. There are many possibilities for this.
First, you can simply experiment on the plant with soil, light and water for irrigation, which, in general, is hardly recommended to do, or prefer a more acceptable solution, which is to find out about the growing conditions of one or another species in nature.
When growing bonsai from local tree species, you can get a clear idea of \u200b\u200bthe growing conditions of a particular tree if you carefully observe it in its natural habitat and ask yourself the following questions:
- What soil does the tree grow on?
- How much light does it need?
- Location of the tree: shaded or light?
- Does the tree grow only in a place protected by a forest or a gorge?
- What kind of places does it prefer: dry or wet?
Example: it is necessary to form a bonsai from black pine. In search of old trees, they usually go to tall woodlands. Tops of black pine are densely covered with needles. The rest of the crown, primarily its lower part, remains transparent. This is because black pine is a very light-loving plant and develops lush needles only at the tops of the crown.
From this one should proceed: black pine bonsai need very bright lighting, therefore, the place for them should be several meters away from walls and buildings and slightly elevated above the ground so that the bonsai also receive some light from below.
Under natural conditions, pines grow on well-drained lime-sand or karst bases. Therefore, for bonsai, a soil mixture of coarse sand or gravel with a small addition of humus is chosen. When forming bonsai from black pine, it is not at all necessary to accurately copy the natural shape of the tree, traditional Japanese forms are also possible.
Thus, the natural forms of trees of any species growing in our country can be used as a model for their subsequent transfer to bonsai. For those who want to pursue the art of growing bonsai more intensively and purposefully, it is necessary to make it a rule to pay attention to the beautiful trees on the street and study them closely, especially those that you pass by every day,
When forming a bonsai, it is not at all necessary to be guided by classical Japanese or Chinese forms. When working with local species, it is even much more reasonable to take as a model the forms of trees growing in our forests. We have some very beautiful trees that deserve to be modeled as bonsai trees.
In addition, it is much easier to carefully consider and study trees in natural conditions and then transfer their shape to bonsai. Isn't it interesting to imagine that an oak tree only a meter high, together with branches and branches, can look like an old mature tree. Among the tree species growing in our latitudes there are at least a dozen that can certainly serve as good source material.
Anyone who from time to time attempts to use tree species that are almost unknown in this capacity for the formation of bonsai very soon comes to the conclusion that not every tree is suitable for the formation of bonsai from it. So, for example, the chestnut tree has amazingly beautiful flowers and leaves, and besides, it also has a magnificent crown, but because of its huge inflorescences and leaves, this tree is not suitable for the formation of bonsai.
Conversely, hawthorn bushes in natural conditions are not very attractive and do not have much charm, however, for use as a bonsai, this is an excellent source material.
Therefore, when choosing local tree species, you need to mentally answer yourself the following questions:
- Does this tree have small leaves?
- Does it produce young shoots from old wood?
- Does it form many branches?
- Does his shoots grow strongly?
- Does it grow well in a small pot?
- Is the base of the roots beautifully formed?
However, in addition to the type of wood, the appearance and condition of the individual plant is also of decisive importance when choosing the source material.
Bonsai. Style Yose Ue (Youse-Ue). © William Neuheisel Bonsai grown from cuttings
Growing bonsai from cuttings is also a time-consuming and patient undertaking. True, growing plants in this way gives a gain per year compared to seedlings.
Cuttings are cut parts of branches (lignified shoots) without roots, which are cut from healthy mother plants and stuck into the soil for rooting. A suitable time for cuttings of coniferous trees is the beginning of September or April.
Cuttings from deciduous trees are best cut from the beginning to the end of June. To stimulate root formation, cuttings can be treated with a special growth stimulant (phytohormone). Deciduous tree cuttings take root in a few weeks.
In coniferous trees, the process of root formation can last more than a year. It is best to use plastic mini-greenhouses as dishes for rooting cuttings. Its lower part is filled by two-thirds with a mixture of sand and peat and the cuttings are stuck into the soil at an equal distance from each other.
Then the cuttings are carefully watered and cover the greenhouse on top with a transparent lid. To place a greenhouse with cuttings, a dark place is chosen and soil moisture is monitored daily, if necessary, the soil in the greenhouse is watered.
When young leaves appear on the cuttings, which is possible in a couple of weeks, this means that roots have already formed. Now the transparent lid of the mini-greenhouse can be lifted from time to time for ventilation in order to harden young plants and gradually accustom them to a normal climate. After a few months, the cuttings are already well rooted and can be planted in separate containers.
For this, a loose, clay-containing soil mixture for plants is used. This year, young plants do not need to be fed with fertilizers, since fresh soil contains a sufficient amount of nutrients. For overwintering of such plants, it is necessary to take care of a special shelter, since their delicate roots are not yet able to endure prolonged frosts. Containers with young plants should be well dug into the soil and covered on top with a film folded in several layers to protect from the wind.
Not all trees propagate by cuttings. For example, cedars and pines cannot be propagated in this way. They are propagated exclusively by seeds. Elms, on the other hand, can be grown very quickly from cuttings, as can most trees and shrubs used for hedges, such as privet, common hornbeam, field maple, barberry, and dwarf elm.
Bonsai from Lanta kamara, plant 3 years old. Sekijoju style. © JCardinal18
Bonsai grown from seeds
Growing from seeds is the longest way to form bonsai. It takes 12 to 15 years to produce approximately bonsai-like plants from seeds. Most of the plants sold in gardening centers and nurseries have this age. Why is such a long journey necessary?
There are some types of trees in which the optimal form can only be achieved if you start shaping the plant from the very first days of its life. This applies, for example, to elms, from which it is planned to form bonsai in a strictly vertical style. In such plants, it is necessary to cut out part of the roots already in the first year and regulate the growth of young stems with the help of pruning.
In about 20 years, it will already be clearly noticeable that these plants are formed at an early stage of their development. This can be determined, first of all, by the base of the roots. All the roots protruding on the surface of the soil diverge from the trunk in the form of a star, and the trunks themselves are beautifully shaped. When looking at the base of the branches, their harmonious distribution is striking.
The proportion of the height of the trunk to the height of the crown forms a balanced spatial relationship. All these benefits come from growing plants from seeds. In annual and biennial seedlings of coniferous trees, the stems can be very strongly bent, giving them any complex shape.
In all coniferous trees with a rough bark, the wire applied to the trunks and branches should grow into the wood to the depth of the bark thickness. Due to this, a curved and uneven trunk additionally receives the effect of healing wounds, which quickly heal in young plants.
Two-year-old black pine trees, for example, can be very strongly bent in winter, which is only possible with seedlings. The superimposed wire is allowed to grow into the bark and is removed only after 3 years, without fear that the plant will be damaged.
Miniature bonsai. © Norio NAKAYAMA Later, the wire can be applied again to again get the effect of scarring of the wounds. When the plant has grown to such an extent that in the next 45 years it will be ready for display as a bonsai, in no case should the wire be allowed to grow into the trunk. Since the stem of plants grows in thickness much more slowly with age, the wounds from the wire ingrown into the bark heal much worse and it will take more than a dozen years for the last traces of the wire to become invisible.
Self-collection of tree seeds is a very exciting and full of surprises activity. While walking in the park or in the forest, you can constantly find more and more seeds of trees and shrubs. If bonsai seeds are harvested in autumn, they can be sown directly into seed boxes or bonsai containers.
In this case, it is necessary to take into account the following: there are seeds that need cold (freezing) for germination.
These are seeds with a hard shell, such as seeds of cherries, blackthorn, hawthorn, hazel, juniper. The seeds of these trees are sown in a flat container with wet sand and also covered with a layer of sand on top. Then the container is covered with a film so that the crops do not dry out. After that, the container with the sown seeds is taken out into the street to a place darkened from direct sunlight and left there for the whole winter, so that under the influence of frost the hard shell of the seeds cracked. In the spring, the first shoots appear.
Usually, not all seeds germinate. In this case, such seeds are not thrown away, but they try to get seedlings from them for the next year. You can also carry out artificial freezing of seeds in the freezer of the refrigerator. Bonsai seeds with a soft shell can be partially sown in autumn, immediately after harvest. Mountain pine seeds are harvested in August and sown immediately. They germinate in 34 weeks.
A container with emerging seedlings is added dropwise in a place protected from the weather so that tender seedlings do not die in winter from drying out the soil. The seeds of most maples growing in the forests of Germany also germinate in the year they are harvested.
To do this, proceed as follows: the seeds are scattered in a flat container with wet sand, after which they are sprayed with water from a spray bottle. Newspaper is then placed over the seeds to keep them moist and allow some light to pass through the newspaper, as maple seeds need light to germinate. If the winter is mild, then the first shoots appear in winter. A year later, next spring, when the seedlings are a little woody, they can be carefully planted in small pots and shaped pruning during the summer.
Juniper Sargent Bonsai. Grown since 1905. Han-Kengai style. © Cliff Bonsai sizes
Bonsai can vary greatly in size. The smallest of them barely reach a height of 8 cm, however, there are also trees of impressive size with a height of 130 cm. At the same time, things are by no means so that small bonsai are young, and large ones are old, grown over many years.
The future size of the bonsai is approximately set at the very beginning of the formation. More often than not, the main skeletal branches, at least the rudiments of them, are already present on the plant, and they largely determine in what style a bonsai can be formed. And although over the years the bonsai grows a few centimeters in height, the growth of the tree is mainly limited to the development of the ideal shape that the amateur strives for.
The ideal size of a bonsai depends primarily on the size of the leaves. Trees with small leaves can form bonsai of any size.
Trees with large leaves or long needles should have minimum size, at which they can be represented in correct proportion(the ratio of the size of the leaves to the size of the tree itself). So, for example, a chestnut must have a height of 1.20 to 1.50 m to look harmonious.
Juniper bonsai © Daniel Lombrana Gonzalez Suitable trees for various sizes bonsai:
- 8-20 cm: juniper, irga, rhododendron, spruce;
- 20-30 cm: barberry, field maple, rock maple, privet, mountain pine with small needles;
- 30-70 cm: birch, hazel, pine, ash-leaved maple (American), elm;
- 60-100 cm: beech, oak, elder, false plane maple (sycamore), plane maple, black pine, larch, linden, ash, ash-leaved maple;
- 100-130 cm: plane tree, chestnut, black pine, elderberry, acacia, wisteria.
Features of growing bonsai
To form a certain shape of the branches and trunk of a bonsai, usually, you can not do without the use of wire. It doesn't matter if you wire the branches or change their direction with the help of tensioners, any technique of working with wire is very important for the formation of bonsai.
Wire laying is the most time-consuming technique for shaping bonsai, especially in coniferous trees. Here it is necessary to fix with wire all the branches without exception to the very top of the shoots. In deciduous trees, the shape can often be perfectly controlled only by pruning, and the need to wire the branches is relatively rare.
In trees with smooth bark, such as beech, elm, maple, linden, the wire should only remain on the plants for a short time, since the unsightly traces of the wire ingrown into the trunk remain visible for decades. The juniper or pine trees are quite different.
These trees have a rough bark, and traces of the wire overgrow relatively quickly. However, even in such trees, the ingrowth of the superimposed wire into the bark should not be allowed, since otherwise spiral scars form on the trunk here too.
Wire laying is best in winter or early spring, when the bonsai is also pruned. At this time of the year, the deciduous trees are still leafless and all branches are easily accessible.
With the onset of sap flow and growth of young shoots in spring, the branches quickly become thicker, so the wire must be applied very loosely and subsequently regularly checked so that it does not cut into the bark or does not grow into the wood.
After about three months, the desired shape is usually stabilized and the wire can be removed. It is carefully bitten off with wire cutters, and not untwisted, as this can easily break off the branches.
Proper wire laying requires skill and dexterity. Therefore, before proceeding to fix the fragile bonsai branches with wire, you can practice wire on tree branches from a garden or forest.
Copper-plated aluminum wire for bonsai of various thicknesses sold in specialized stores is used as a wire: from 0.7 to 7 mm. To determine the correct thickness of the wire, there is a basic rule: the thickness of the wire \u003d 1/3 of the thickness of the branch fixed by it. Thus, with a branch thickness of 1 cm, it is necessary to use a wire with a thickness of about 3 mm.
Iron wire or wire used in floristry is not suitable for shaping bonsai because it is not flexible enough and rusts. When the bonsai is first formed from the original plant, the wire is applied entirely to all branches, including their thinnest parts.
In this case, no branch should cross with another. In conclusion, each branch is separately given the desired direction and shape. The imposition of wire on a bonsai is not carried out for the purpose of decorating a tree, but only to improve and change its shape.
Bonsai with wire attached to the trunk and branches should not be displayed or displayed at exhibitions. Wire staples are used where it is no longer possible to achieve the desired result by applying wire, for example, when changing the direction of growth of thick branches and trunks.
In bonsai formed in a multi-stemmed style, using wire brackets, you can correct or correct the direction of growth and the shape of individual stems.
The performance of this work requires the application of a certain force. In this case, it is necessary to regularly check whether the wire has grown into the wood, and rearrange the brackets from time to time.
In order not to damage the bark of the tree with wire brackets, pieces of leather are placed under them. Changing the direction of growth of branches with the help of wire tensioners is appropriate where it is no longer possible to apply wire on too thick and powerful branches.
Pulling the branches down, of course, is not as laborious as laying the wire. The disadvantage of wire tensioners is that this method allows you to change the direction of growth of the branch in only one specific direction. This bonsai shaping technique is mainly used where the branches grow upwards and need to be pulled down.
In order to learn how to accurately and accurately form bonsai with wire, some time and training are needed. That is why it is desirable as an exercise to often wire the trees and give the branches a different shape. Only with the help of regular training can you constantly improve your skills in shaping bonsai.
Rhododendron Indian in the form of a bonsai. © KENPEI artificial aging bonsai
To give a relatively young bonsai the appearance of an old tree, use various techniques and tricks. One of them is the removal of the bark from the branches and trunk with a knife or wire cutters. The job will be more difficult when the trunk has to be cut or split. To engage in these techniques, certain theoretical knowledge and practical experience are required.
In addition, you need to know that from those branches or trunks that are supposed to be left alive, you cannot remove the entire bark. It is necessary to leave thin strips of bark leading to the top of the branch or trunk, through which water and nutrients will flow to the needles.
The situation is different with parts of branches and trunks that should be dead on bonsai. From them, the bark can be removed entirely and the bare wood can be processed with a carving knife. Removing the bark from the branches and trunk is not particularly difficult, but the processing of bare wood with a carving knife (chisel) requires a certain skill.
Therefore, before you start working with bonsai, you need to practice on a piece of wood. Coniferous trees such as juniper, yew, spruce and pine are the ideal material for artificial aging among bonsai, since their wood is not affected by fungus and does not rot. However, deciduous trees can also be artificially aged.
In order to master these special techniques with confidence, it is absolutely necessary to observe plants in nature. Trees in "war zones", that is, in particularly open and unprotected areas, are the best examples.
Particular attention should be paid to trees marked by lightning, windbreak or drought. Before starting work, it is necessary to prepare the appropriate tool and aids. Among them, there must be a set of knives for wood carving, bark pliers, concave pliers, skin, a special bleaching agent with a dye for impregnating bare wood.
There are also many power tools that make the job much easier. However, they are more difficult to handle. That is why at the very beginning of mastering the techniques of aging bonsai, it is necessary to use a conventional tool. Those who are constantly engaged in this craft, using the appropriate tools, will quickly find out which woodcarving power tool can be used.
Sharimiki- a technique of artificial aging, in which the bark is removed from a significant part of the bonsai branches, after which the bare wood is processed with a knife or a special cutter. Beginners should not use expensive plants for this, because it takes some time until the necessary sense of form develops.
sabamiki called bonsai with a split trunk. Outwardly, they look like trees that have been struck by lightning. Very often they are no longer whole trees, but they are very expressive. In bonsai, this effect can be achieved by splitting the trunk with wire cutters and wedges. Thanks to this, the tree itself becomes more powerful and strong.
Plants found in nature suitable for sabamika, which have the desired trunk thickness, often exceed 2 m in height. To obtain a bonsai of a suitable format from them, such plants are first shortened in height to 70-80 cm. as if struck by lightning. The upper part of the trunk must be conical in order to make the tree look natural. In such places of the trunk, balls can be used.
Bonsai from Red maple. © Quinn Dombrowski Maintaining small size needles and shoots in pines and spruces
Pines growing in the forests of Germany often have very long needles, especially black pine. The size of the needles in such trees can be slightly reduced by watering the plant smaller and using a poorer soil mixture. It is also desirable to fertilize less often.
In order to keep the overall shape of pines and spruces compact and harmonious, the tops of young shoots are broken off from pines from April to early May. In spruces, young shoots are allowed to grow a little, and then they are shortened by half or two-thirds.
Due to the radical breaking out or pruning of the tops of young shoots with the tips of scissors during the summer, new tender buds are formed on the needle-covered part of the branches, which bloom in next year. A year later, new apical shoots are formed.
They are allowed to grow long enough and then shortened by one third or one quarter of their length. From September to the end of October, two or three-year-old needles are plucked or cut.
Bonsai from Rhododendron. © Michael Bentley Air layering for bonsai
Bonsai air layering is obtained in cases where a too high trunk violates the harmony of the tree, in addition, with ugly or uneven roots diverging to the sides, or when the tree trunk is rejuvenated down.
You can also get air layering from beautiful branches of trees growing in natural conditions. Bonsai hobbyists and collectors in Germany do not use air layers as often as they do, for example, in Japan. However, this technique is necessary for many bonsai in order to achieve an improvement in the shape of the tree or to get a new bonsai from a beautiful, bonsai-like branch. The technique itself for obtaining an air layer is not particularly complicated. It takes longer for coniferous trees than for deciduous trees.
Technique for obtaining air layering from deciduous trees
Let's say you want to get an air layer on a bonsai with a poorly formed trunk. To do this, above an ugly place, a circular incision is made on the trunk or branch and a strip of bark is removed. Then a small amount of wet sphagnum moss is tied to the cut site. A kind of casing is fixed on top of the moss bigger size from a metal mosquito net, which is filled with soil mixture for bonsai.
Then the plant is watered as usual. In late autumn, the place of the cut is checked. To do this, open the metal mesh and carefully remove the soil and moss. If the roots are formed evenly around the entire circumference of the cut, then the metal mesh is fixed in the same place and filled again inner part soil. Now you need to wait until stronger and more powerful roots are formed. The trunk can then be cut off just below the new roots and the new bonsai thus obtained can be planted in a container.
Bonsai in the style of Sokan, Sozhu (Sokan). © Bjorn Watland Technique for obtaining air layering from coniferous trees
Here the technique is slightly different. Not a circular incision is made on the tree trunk, but a loop of wire is applied, after which it is tightly pulled together and rotated so that the wire cuts a little into the bark. Then, with a small hammer, the wire is carefully tapped around the trunk so that small wounds form on the bark. In this way, root formation can be stimulated. A small part of the trunk or branch on top of the wire is treated with a growth stimulator (phytohormone).
Then a handful of wet sphagnum moss is applied to this place and fixed with a bast or twine. After that, around the trunk, in the same way as in the first case, it is superimposed metal grid and filled with bonsai potting mix. After a year or two, new roots form. When they become strong enough to nourish the tree with water and minerals, the bonsai stem between the old and new roots can be cut and planted in a container.
In deciduous trees, air layering is carried out from mid to late April. You can carry out a similar procedure in coniferous trees a little later. At the same time, the air temperature should be within 18-22 o C. Plant care is the same as for freshly planted bonsai, namely: you need to put the plants in a slightly shaded place and turn them every 14 days, since the roots grow faster on shaded areas.
When receiving air layers, pruning of plants is not carried out, since the strong growth of branches and shoots contributes to more powerful root formation. Plants from which air layering is obtained should be healthy and vigorous in growth. Young plants produce aerial layering faster than old ones. In deciduous trees, roots often form after 3-4 months.
Coniferous trees take root very slowly. In pines, the process of root formation can take 4-5 years. For beginners, it is much more reasonable to get aerial layering from young and low-value plant material in order to test the reaction of plants to this method of vegetative propagation.
The ancient art of growing bonsai trees in pots has spread throughout the world, turning from an amusement of the Japanese aristocracy into a mass hobby. Over the centuries, the Japanese have learned to form miniature copies of naturally growing trees. In Japan, this art has reached tremendous development and today it represents a whole science with numerous schools and shaping techniques that make it possible to obtain plants of various configurations: straight, asymmetrical, oblique, “wind-bent”, “weeping”, cascading and others. These forms are inspired by the very nature of Japan, where, in a special climate, plants acquire harmonious, perfect silhouettes.
V Lately Russian gardeners are increasingly using oriental style in design, and the creation of bonsai in the open field is undoubtedly a fashionable and promising direction. The formation of a garden bonsai differs little from the traditional one, however, the methods of working with woody plants familiar to everyone are used: pruning, pinching and grafting.
The sizes of the garden bonsai, unlike the canonical Japanese, are arbitrary. starting material can serve the old fruit tree, an unsightly twisted shrub in the corner of the garden, an unusual specimen found in nature and, of course, a young plant. Take a closer look at the plants in your garden, maybe one of them is already ready to make a bonsai out of it?
It happens that within just a few years of targeted pruning from a nondescript tree with bare trunks and rods sticking out in all directions, you can create attractive unusual trees in oriental style.
Many in the gardens probably grow old apple or cherry trees, which have not been pleasing with crops for a long time and look sloppy. Try to remove all the small branches on the bottom of the crown so that the main trunk is clearly visible, and in the spring cut the top of the crown parallel to the ground. Repeating these steps annually, you will form thick caps of foliage at the top of the crown on a graceful curving trunk. Soon you will see how the silhouette of the tree changes, and you will enjoy this very easy garden work.
With coniferous plants, the result can be more spectacular, but the formation process is longer. For example, the dense and dense crown of mountain pine, which has pleased you for many years, begins to become sparse and loose. Great excuse to get started!
Formation coniferous plants takes time, but gives impressive results. Author's photo
Look inside the crown and highlight several branches that form a beautiful silhouette. Cut the remaining branches without regret, and at the beginning of summer, when the buds start to grow, pinch them, leaving 1-2 cm. By the next season, many new buds will be laid in the upper part of the crown, and they will give rise to a new beautiful crown in the form of a cloud.
The same can be done with Scotch pine. The only thing is that along with pinching the shoots and thinning the crown, the branches of the Scotch pine will have to be fixed in a horizontal position. Usually they use thick wire, tie loads or pull ropes. This is necessary to maintain the tiered shape of the crown, otherwise - without fixing - the branches begin to "bulge", the space between the tiers closes.
I note that of all conifers, Scots pine and mountain pine are the most suitable material for garden bonsai in middle lane. Do not be afraid to cut out extra branches, because pines are very plastic trees, it was thanks to their abilities that they were able to adapt to the harsh conditions of nature - the withering winds of the highlands and the harsh frosts of the north.
Pines with great pleasure take the desired shape, the main thing is to help them. At the same time, the gardener himself will comprehend harmony and develop taste, bringing the form to perfection. In addition, working with the form is a hobby for many years, and the result is an exclusive and unusual plant that pleases the hosts and surprises the guests.
In addition to pines, other conifers are also suitable for creating garden bonsai. European larch is very resistant and tolerant of pruning, varieties of Chinese and medium juniper, pea cypress are well formed. You can try to work with varieties of common spruce.
Remember that pines do not know how to lay buds on lignified shoots of last year, so you can only pinch young shoots at the beginning of summer, and junipers, larches, spruces and cypresses can be cut at any time even with scissors.
Of the deciduous for our climate, hawthorns, maples, oak, as well as fruit trees - apple trees, cherries are suitable. Despite the small assortment, these trees are stable in our climate and tolerate shaping well.
Recently, ready-made bonsai grown in a nursery and suitable for planting in open ground. These are usually multi-stemmed versions of Scots pine or mountain pine, on which dense green caps of needles are formed. Such plants, as a rule, are very expensive and do not always look harmonious, so they can be considered as a material for creating a more perfect, from the point of view of the owner, tree. In any case, after planting, you will have to take care of them, continuing the work started in the nursery - annually pinch the shoots and cut out extra branches, otherwise your bonsai will turn into ordinary tree.
If you know the grafting technique, then the process of creating a bonsai can be somewhat accelerated: several cuttings of a dwarf variety can be grafted onto a tall stock (for example, pines), thus creating a multi-tiered plant at once. The advantage of this method is that in the future it will not be necessary to pinch the shoots, since the grafted variety is dwarf.
When creating a bonsai, do not forget that this is not only a formed tree, but also its harmonious combination with the surrounding space. Bonsai is a self-sufficient work of art, closely related to the rest of the composition, as it imitates a piece of nature in miniature.
Agree that your masterpiece will look a little ridiculous if nettles or beds of strawberries grow around. Therefore, to give an oriental flavor and support the overall style in the garden, cut everything in a row! Favorite shrubs - spireas, barberries, dogwoods and even perennial curtains will be an excellent addition to shaped trees, if you give them smooth, streamlined outlines with regular shearing.
In addition, plants that are similar in appearance to plants of the Japanese flora will add zest. For example, instead of mosses, you can grow saxifrage, stonecrop, azorella, some types of bryozoan, and astilbe will look good in the shade. Strive to make the composition harmonious, and the garden itself will tell you what changes are needed.
Konstantin Korzhavin
The ancient art of growing bonsai flower pots, which originated in China, then developed in Japan, from where it began its march through the rest of the world. Ornamental trees were presented as expensive gifts, became collectibles and increasingly gained popularity among flower growers. Despite the fact that indoor trees are capricious in care and difficult to grow, thousands of amateurs in the world study the art of bonsai.
Features and types
You can grow bonsai from trees of any kind, but conifers look especially beautiful. The best views spruce, thuja, pine and juniper are recognized to create coniferous bonsai. There are more than 10 main styles of tree formation, each of which has its own meaning. But no matter how beautiful coniferous bonsai is, it is difficult to grow and care for it, so it is not recommended for a beginner to create such a work of art.
To create bonsai from spruce, these species are used.
- Spruce ordinary. A cone-shaped tree, often used as a Christmas decoration at home.
- Blue spruce (gray or Colorado). Known for its bluish-green or blue needles, spruce is narrowly conical when young and cylindrical when mature.
- Spruce Glauka Konika. The miniature spruce is famous for its beautiful conical shape of the crown and dense small needles.
- Canadian spruce. Beautiful blue-green above and blue-white below, the spruce is the progenitor of the Glauka Konik spruce.
Creating a spruce bonsai
You can grow a dwarf tree from a seedling of an ordinary spruce, taken in the wild or bought in specialized nurseries. But finding the right kind of the right age is very difficult, so bonsai masters create their compositions from trees grown from seeds. Before planting, the seeds undergo a special treatment that disinfects and accelerates the germination process. To do this, you need to place the seeds of spruce for 24 hours in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Soak the next day in clean water.
In a peat-sand mixture with the addition of coniferous humus, plant seeds to a depth of 15 mm, moisten well and cover with a film. The distance between sown seeds should be at least 4 cm. The optimum temperature for germination does not exceed 20°C. After a couple of weeks, the first shoots may appear. When all seeds have germinated, select and leave the strongest seedlings at least 75 mm apart.
When caring for seedlings, you must:
- withstand temperatures in the range of 13-15°C;
- watering should be replaced by spraying seedlings with water 2 times a day;
- keep away from direct sunlight.
Tender shoots of spruce are not resistant to diseases, especially root rot, so it is important to treat the plant with fungicides. When the plant reaches a height of 0.1 m, they begin to form a crown. The form of an adult plant is planned in advance and corresponds to the desire of the author of the idea. To form a tree, pinching points of growth, pruning and pulling branches with copper or aluminum wire are used, setting the direction of growth.
A year later, the seedlings are transplanted for the first time. It is best to transplant in early spring, before active sap flow begins. Young seedlings are carefully removed from the soil, trying not to damage the roots, the spoiled ones are removed and transplanted into separate pots. It is desirable to add soil from under coniferous trees to the soil for transplantation. Water seedlings once a week summer time. Mineral dressing is applied once a year in the spring.
When the seedlings reach the age of three, they are transplanted into a special bowl - bonsai. Such a flowerpot is selected taking into account appearance an adult plant and colors, as it is an important component of the future composition. The bowl should be shallow, with holes for draining excess water, covered with shards, and easy to care for. The soil for planting is chosen in accordance with the type of plant, and moss is often laid out around the planted sprout, imitating grass and maintaining the necessary soil moisture.
Mature plants are transplanted every 2 years.
Care
When the bonsai takes root in the selected pot, it is necessary to continue the formation of the crown. This will have to be done throughout the life of the dwarf tree, since the growth process of the plant never stops. In addition to pruning extra branches, young soft twigs are pulled back, pinching the apical bud and peeling the bark to age the tree.
In order for the bonsai to retain its decorative effect and please with a neat look, once a year in the spring they do a thorough pruning of the tree, removing excess and dried branches. Places of cut of thick branches must be treated with garden pitch to prevent the disease. The rest of the time, you need to remove only those branches that violate the structure of the composition.
When removing branches, it is important to remember the rule: if you remove too many branches and needles, the tree may die.
Water an adult plant as needed, checking the dryness of the soil inside the pot. Since the capacity for tree life is small and there is relatively little soil in it, for good growth and development of bonsai, it is necessary to regularly feed with special fertilizers, which may differ in composition for different species.
Proper lighting is of great importance for maintaining the decorative effect of the composition. Spruces prefer diffused sunlight during most of the daytime year-round. With improper lighting, noble blue spruce bonsai can lose their unusual color and lose their uniqueness.
Dwarf conifers, like their full-fledged counterparts, in winter period go into "hibernation", reducing vital activity. Such specimens prefer to winter in the cold, since they are hot in the apartment and lack humidity in the air. The owners of dwarf firs put pots with a tree on the balcony or arrange in the garden. If this is not done, the bonsai may die.
For information on how to plant pine bonsai, see the video below.
Bonsai is the ancient Japanese art of growing mini-trees that mimic the trees that grow in the wild. Coniferous bonsai is perhaps the most beautiful, but at the same time it requires a lot of attention and patience. Trees such as pine, spruce, thuja and juniper are best suited for its creation.
The modern art of growing bonsai has many directions and styles. But they all stick general rule, which concerns the formation of the crown:
- a coniferous tree should have branches with small and lush needles;
- the choice should be in favor of a tree with a cone-shaped crown or the crown should be divided into tiers.
Consider the question of how to grow a spruce bonsai or an elite blue spruce bonsai. This is not easy to do, not every beginner will be able to cope, especially if you start by planting seeds. They are placed for a day in a bright solution of potassium permanganate, and then for another day in water. The soaked seed is placed in a container with prepared sand to a depth of 1-2 cm and left for two months in a cold place (for example, on a balcony or in a garage).
With the beginning of spring, the container is transferred to the home, placed closer to the light source (windowsill) and watered. Three weeks later, small seedlings appear, and when they reach more than 10 centimeters, you can begin to form bonsai from Norway spruce. For 2-3 years, the Christmas tree grows when watered in the summer (once a week). In early spring they bring mineral fertilizers. After this period, the seedling can finally be transplanted into a special pot - bonsai.
Pinching the top is needed in order to stop growth. Pruning and shearing will help give the plant the desired shape. Pruning can be done as needed, and fantasy will tell the shape of the crown. Treat the cut points with garden pitch. The best place for a young plant - a balcony, veranda, loggia. There is a lot of natural light here, and the sun's rays often peek in.
Video "Bonsai from the very beginning"
From this video you will learn how to take care of bonsai and grow the plant properly.
Cedar
Growing a cedar with your own hands is not so difficult, you just need to have the desire and certain knowledge. Now we will take a step-by-step look at how to grow a bonsai cedar from seeds:
- The main thing is to find a healthy cone (without visible damage and signs of mold) and get a few nuts out of it.
- Pick up a small box, making holes in the bottom for ventilation, put dried grass inside, and nuts on top. The box should be left on the open balcony until spring. Thus, stratification will take place - an imitation of winter conditions in nature.
- In the spring, we transfer the nuts to the house, drop them 1–2 cm into the sandy soil in a small container and leave them on the windowsill.
- In a month, small seedlings will appear - water them and protect them from direct sunlight. You can plant them only after 3 years in a special container - bonsai.
The formation of cedar bonsai occurs according to the following scheme:
- 1-2 months the plant rests and gets used to a new place;
- using soft wire, wrap around the trunk and create the desired frame, giving the branches the desired directions, while remembering to fertilize the cedar once a month. So 2 months pass;
- at the next transplant, without disturbing the coma of earth in the root system of the tree, you need to slightly cut the roots, renew the earth in the bonsain and return the cedar to its place, mulching the soil near the roots with peat;
- after 3-4 years, it is required to pinch the upper kidney, preventing growth. This procedure will stimulate the growth of side shoots;
- after a few years, a crown is formed - this is where the scope of your imagination will be needed.
Japanese cedar bonsai can take on a whimsical shape in a cascading style or choose a strict classic version for it.
thuja
The shrub belongs to the genus of conifers. But instead of the needles characteristic of coniferous trees, it has scales. The thuja has seeds in the form of cones, with which the plant propagates. For planting use seeds, cuttings and seedlings. The conditions for planting and care do not differ from those previously described for growing conifers. Thuja is suitable for staying at home and is an excellent material for growing thuja bonsai.
Other conifers
Another representative of conifers is juniper. He is unpretentious, quickly adapts to the room climate and is in no way inferior in beauty to his fellows. The only difference is that the juniper tolerates wintering better at room temperature and does not require expulsion to the balcony.
Roxburgh pine is unlikely to be suitable for use in the home, as in nature it reaches a height of more than 2 m and has long needles. At the same time, Scots pine is a suitable basis for bonsai. Gardeners create unique and bizarre forms from it.
Features of growing and caring for conifers
We offer some tips for self-planting and caring for conifers.
To grow bonsai from conifers, you must first ask yourself the following questions:
- what kind of soil the tree prefers;
- does the room have enough light to grow this species;
- what kind of watering this type of tree or shrub needs.
Once you answer them, get down to business.
The condition of the needles "speaks" about the health of your ward. If you notice spots, shedding of needles, or if their color has changed, this indicates a disease or the appearance of harmful insects.
It should be noted that conifers have two stages of growth during the year: the first is manifested in the growth of branches (in late spring), the second is characterized by their thickening at the end of summer.
Trimming and shaping
The art of bonsai makes the following requirements for the growing process:
- The trunk should be small, even and powerful. The root system allows the roots to reach the surface.
- There should be few main bearing branches, their characteristic location is the horizon line.
- The form should normally correspond to any of the 15 classifications.
