Homeliness, Gardening
Bonsai: how to grow from seeds. Cultivation of bonsai from pine, oak, maple
Bonsai is a small tree with a barrel and a quaintly shaped crown. Its history extends back to ancient times, to China, but it was in Japan that bonsai turned from just unusual plants into real art. Today, the trees themselves, and the technique of their cultivation, are designated by the word "bonsai". How to grow such a miracle at home? How long will it take for an ordinary houseplant or tree seedling to become a self-sufficient element of decor? How to grow bonsai from pine or dwarf hardwood? About everything that can interest you in this Japanese art, let's talk in the article further.
Why among hundreds of plant varieties do many choose bonsai?
Indoor flowers can decorate any interior, add brightness and freshness to it. In addition, living plants purify the air and saturate it with oxygen. Those who love flowers, but do not have a large enough area to accommodate large bushy specimens, usually choose bonsai. How to grow it yourself, most often interested in true lovers of indoor cultures, because it takes a lot of time and effort. Although this breed and dwarfish, but it's still a tree, and therefore, it is formed over several years, not months, like ordinary flowers in the garden on the windowsill. The question of how to grow bonsai from seeds, set very few, because this occupation is even more painstaking and requires a lot of patience. At the same time, caring for a dwarf sapling, making a curvy crown, decorating the ground - all this gives an extraordinary scope for your imagination, therefore, by originality and fascination, far surpasses the cultivation of ordinary houseplants. So, are you ready? Then we begin to get acquainted with the art of bonsai in all its details!
How to choose a plant to create a bonsai?
How to grow a bonsai tree if you do not know anything about it at all? Of course, you should start with the selection of planting material. Most often this process takes place in a nursery or a greenhouse. Among deciduous and coniferous tree species growing in our region, maple and pine are the absolute favorites. Make bonsai from them quickly will not work, but in the end you get the real "dwarf" in the best Japanese traditions. You can try to grow a miniature tree from other breeds, among which:
- Lilacs of different varieties;
- spirea;
- Irga;
- cherry;
- spruce;
- Apple tree;
- juniper;
- larch;
- Viburnum;
- Cotoneaster;
- hawthorn;
- Birch;
- barberry.
In fact, create bonsai really from virtually any plant. The main thing is that it feels comfortable in the local climate and well tolerates frequent pruning.
It is much easier to grow bonsai from indoor flower crops. Experts recommend giving preference to well-branching varieties with small leaves. Surely you have already introduced in the role of bonsai ficus Benjamin, coffee tree, lemon or fig. Hibiscus, evergreen boxwood or laurel will look no worse.
And in conclusion of this part of the conversation about bonsai is another tip: choose a plant that you like. Work on it will take a long time, and the result is unlikely to be brilliant if the tree will irritate you with its appearance, smell or flowering.
How to choose a pot and soil for bonsai?
So, you have chosen and purchased a seedling from which you want to create a bonsai. How to grow it strong and healthy? It all begins with the choice of pot and planting.
The ideal pot for a dwarf Japanese tree is a ceramic pot, not too deep, of a large diameter, similar to a bowl. Places in it should be enough to ensure that the roots of bonsai were securely covered.
In this case, it is undesirable to use the primer for ordinary indoor flowers, because it detains a lot of moisture, and the root system of the seedling can rot. In nature, bonsai grows in harsh conditions, on stony slopes, clinging to practically bare rock. Of course, this does not mean that the tree should be grown on stones at home, but the soil quality should be as close to natural as possible. In the case of bonsai, the main function of the pot and soil is the balancing of the above-ground part of the seedling.
How to plant a bonsai?
There must be drainage holes in the tank. It is also recommended to lay the mesh on the bottom to prevent soil washing out. Before planting, bonsai roots are cut so that the plant can fit into the pot. Pour a little soil over the mesh, then place the tree and tie the largest of its underground parts with wire, fixing it to the tank through the drain holes. Finish filling the pot with soil and pour bonsai.
Note that trees that grow in temperate climates are planted only in the spring. If you plan to turn a bonsai native from the tropics, it can be done at any time of the year.
How to properly care for bonsai?
How to grow bonsai at home? To do this, it is necessary to maintain a certain light and temperature regime in the room, create a sufficient level of humidity and organize regular watering. It should be noted that bonsai is a culture that can not be kept indoors. It is necessary, if possible, from time to time to send for a walk: on the balcony, veranda or even in the garden.
The humidity around the bonsai is maintained at the proper level by installing a small vessel with water next to the pot. You can arrange daily direct spraying of bonsai from the spray gun. Do this in the morning, so that until the evening the foliage has dried up.
The temperature regime is selected individually, based on the specific requirements of the tree species. Thus, people from the subtropics (garnet, olive, myrtle, etc.) feel comfortable at a temperature of 7-15 ° C. Tropical bonsai needs more heat - from 16 to 25 ° C.
Water the tree often, but in small portions. The soil in the pot must be constantly wet, but not too wet. Water is preliminarily defended. The ideal option is the melt water. Make sure that when watering the entire thickness of soil in the pot is moistened. In the summer, "bite" bonsai should be more often, as they grow at this time more intensively.
How to prepare seed material for a tree in miniature?
If you are interested in how to grow bonsai from seeds, prepare yourself immediately for the time that will take a lot, sometimes even more than 5 years. Planting material can be bought in the nursery, ordered through the Internet or even collected independently in the nearest park.
Tropical trees are grown from the seeds of boxwood, myrtle, wisteria, ficus, broadleaf - beech, hornbeam, maple, elm, birch, coniferous - cedar, pine, fir, cypress.
Planting material of such breeds as hawthorn, juniper, quince, requires keeping at rest for 6-12 months. The seeds are placed in a container with moist sand and left in a cool place. The future of pine, spruce, oak and fir, on the contrary, it is better to sow immediately after harvesting.
So, how to grow bonsai from an oak or other breed with seeds? Immediately before planting, they are germinated in water, moss or vermiculite. Crack their hard shell to increase their germination. It is also recommended that the seeds be treated with a fungicide and that the soil is sterilized to minimize the possibility of sprouting disease.
Where and how to plant sprouted seeds of bonsai?
While planting material swells, prepare pots. Suitable peat cups or the most usual plastic, filled with peat-sand mixture (1: 1). The soil is compacted, seeds are laid on it, and large sand is poured on top. Cover the containers with film or glass to create a greenhouse effect. Do not forget to monitor the humidity in the resulting mini-teplichkah.
When the first shoots come out of the sand, regular airing is organized, and after the appearance of the leaves, the seedlings can be fully opened. When the plant reaches a height of 10 cm, the plastic cup is replaced with a full pot. From this time, you can gradually begin the formation of the future bonsai.
How to grow bonsai from cuttings?
For those who want to learn how to grow bonsai and save time, we will tell you about the technique of forming dwarf trees from cuttings. Comparing it with the seed method, we note that the process will accelerate for about a year. Cuttings are cut from healthy lignified shoots and are rooted in fertile soil or in moist sand. If you chose softwood, do it better in April or early September. To prepare cuttings for deciduous bonsai recommend June.
Important: it is not possible to grow a tree from a cut branch of cedar or pine. On the contrary, if you are interested in how to grow a bonsai from a maple tree by the method of propagation, you should know that the shoots of this breed, like elm, barberry, hornbeam, and shrubs used in hedges, are very well established. Coniferous species take root long, sometimes throughout the year. The first time after rooting for cuttings you need to carefully look after: tempering, regularly watering. Adding fertilizer is not necessary, since a sufficient amount of nutrients is in fresh soil.
How to form a crown of bonsai?
There are several styles of bonsai. How to grow such a tree on its own so that it looks like a real "Japanese"? To begin with, the bonsai crown must have a conical shape. Very original trees look, the branches of which form pronounced horizontal tiers with the most thickened foliage in each of them. Note that this is not only beautiful, but also very useful for the health of bonsai.
The first pruning is carried out immediately after planting the young plant. Do not feel sorry for the branches: you need to leave only those that fit into the silhouette of the future bonsai you invented. By tying the shoots to the roots, wrapping wire or pulling loads, you can specify the desired direction of growth of the tree. At the same time, you will redistribute the energy between stronger and weaker branches.
The most careful pruning is carried out after wintering. During the season, the crown of the bonsai is adjusted with more gentle haircuts. The technique depends not only on your personal wishes for the shape of the tree, but also on the breed of the plant.
Artificial aging of bonsai
How to grow a bonsai tree at home so that after 1-2 years it would look as if it had been for several decades? There is a special aging technique. Sometimes with the help of a knife or nippers from the trunk of bonsai are removed sections of the bark. Having patience and certain theoretical knowledge, one can even split a tree or make a hollow in it. If you plan to leave the branch alive, you can not completely leave it without bark. Keep at least a thin strip, which will deliver power from the trunk to the top of the shoot. Dead branches can be aged more aggressively, using a special wood cutter for this. Naked trunk is sometimes even tinted or, conversely, bleached.
Juniper, pine and spruce are best suited to such treatment, because their wood contains special substances that prevent the development of fungus and decay.
Several terms for true fans of bonsai: plants with the removed bark are called "sharimiki", and with the split trunk - "sabamiki".
Air Lines
Airlifting is necessary to adjust the shape of the bonsai, for example, if its stem is too long.
To obtain the layers, a circular cut is made on the stem of the deciduous plant at the desired level and a strip of bark is removed. How to grow bonsai from pine using this technique? With coniferous rocks work a little differently: the shoot is tied with a wire so that a wound appears on it, and then it is moistened with a rooting stimulator. The resulting damage in both cases is wound with wet sphagnum and protected with a casing of mosquito net filled with fertile soil. It is better to conduct this procedure in the spring.
Open the hood in the autumn (in coniferous bonsai - in a year). Young roots should appear on the cutting site. After that, you just have to wait until the roots are strong. All this time they must remain under the casing.
Once you see that the roots are already ready to deliver the bonsai nutrients from the soil, remove the hood, trim the plant just below the layers and plant in a new container.
Of course, this story about Japanese dwarf trees and the art of their cultivation is far from complete. If you decide to create your own original bonsai, you will need to learn more about a lot. However, whatever kind of tree and style you choose, remember: in this business the main thing is patience, attention, care and ... your imagination!
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