How to create a beautiful bonsai shape with camellia? Detailed explanation of precautions

Camellia is one of the famous flower varieties in our country, and it is currently distributed widely across our country. Its main value lies in its ornamental appeal, with the focal point of appreciation being its flowers. Camellia is now widely used by people in potted plant production, but if you want to create a beautiful camellia bonsai, there are also many techniques and points to note.

How to create a beautiful bonsai shape with camellia

1. When making a camellia bonsai, the best time to pot it is in spring and autumn. At this time, the leaf buds of the camellia have just begun to sprout, and transplanting it into a pot will not have too great an effect on it. The shapes of camellia bonsai are generally the cliff-hanging style and the rolling-branch style. Cliff-hanging style bonsai generally use bucket-shaped pots, while rolling-branch style generally uses relatively well-proportioned square pots or round pots.

2. When wiring and shaping a camellia, it should first be planted at an angle when potted. First bend the main trunk. When bending it, the side branches and leaves of the camellia should be retained. After the main trunk has taken shape, then bend the side branches. When bending the side branches, according to the growth of the branches and your own design, use upright bending, slanting bending, or irregular methods to create the shape.

3. When wiring and shaping, brown silk can be used for fixing. Note that the branches of camellia have a high degree of lignification, so branches that are to be bent need to be kneaded first and then bent, to avoid breaking later. Then wire and shape the small branches and turn the leaves, so that the camellia leaves can be turned outward, and individual poor leaves can be removed.

What choices are there for making a camellia bonsai

1. Lingnan-school bonsai. Camellia is not very suitable for the “grow branches and truncate trunk” shaping technique, and the effect of viewing the camellia trunk is poor. If an old tea tree stump cannot be found, it is rarely able to form the effect of a thick, vigorous, tall and peculiar trunk with natural, lively, elegant and lush branches and leaves. In addition, the branches of camellia are sparse and cannot form a shape with dense leaves and abundant branches, so it is not suitable for making Lingnan-school bonsai.

2. Yang-school bonsai. Yang-school bonsai has distinct layers, is flat and elegant, rigorous and spectacular. It uses the “one cun, three bends” method, tied into “cloud”-shaped forms of different sizes and heights. Because camellia has poor branch density, few leaves, and poor branch plasticity, it is very difficult to achieve the Yang-school effect of bending with dense leaves, so it is not suitable for making Yang-school bonsai.

3. Chuan-school bonsai. Chuan-school bonsai is ancient and unsophisticated yet elegant, regular yet vigorous, with exposed suspended roots and claw-like roots, intertwined roots, ancient and peculiar. There are many old camellia stumps, and the branches can also meet the requirements of Chuan-school bonsai, so it is relatively suitable for making Chuan-school bonsai.

Precautions for making camellia bonsai

Camellia likes slightly acidic soil. When choosing soil, be careful not to choose soil such as yellow mud with poor drainage. It can be humus soil or red sandy loam from hilly areas. When choosing a plant, choose a relatively short and sturdy plant with many branches and even leaves, and require good growth and no pests or diseases.

How to care for a camellia bonsai

1. Light. Camellia needs suitable light, but is also afraid of exposure to high temperatures and scorching sun. Therefore, in spring and autumn it can be moved to a place with more light to receive all-day sunlight, and in summer when the sunlight is strong, move it to a place with light and away from the sun for care.

2. Temperature. Camellia likes a warm environment, and the most suitable temperature for growth is 18~25 degrees Celsius. The relative humidity is 60%~65%.

3. Watering. In spring and autumn, water once a day. In summer, especially when it is very hot, water once each morning and evening. If the ground is dry, you can also spray water onto the ground of the flower pot or around it to maintain a certain air humidity. However, note that you should not water too much and cause water accumulation, so as to avoid root rot and suffocation.

4. Fertilizing. Camellia is a flower that likes fertilizer. Because it has many leaves and a long flowering period, its fertilizer requirement is still quite large. During fertilizing, apply sufficient liquid fertilizer. According to the size of the pot, apply 3~80 grams of decomposed cake powder or dried chicken and duck manure per pot. Except during the hottest and coldest times in summer and winter, apply fertilizer 1~2 times a month at other times.

When making a potted camellia, choose a suitable time, and then choose the style you like to make it. After making it, strengthen care, especially in aspects such as fertilizer and water, light, and temperature. Only in this way can you ensure that the potted camellia you make grows beautifully.