How to Make an Aloe Bonsai? Latest Technical Method Tutorial
The aloe has a graceful posture and an enticing emerald green color, giving it considerable ornamental value. Developing it as a bonsai offers good prospects and considerable returns. The aloe bonsai is a new branch of Chinese bonsai, and its artistic classification should belong to the flower-and-plant bonsai type. Like other bonsai, the aloe bonsai is not merely a miniature of nature; it is also a re-creation of natural scenery on a realist basis using romantic techniques.
Can aloe be made into a bonsai? Promotional materials issued by some flower bases say: the aloe has a graceful posture and an enticing emerald green color, giving it considerable ornamental value. If developed as a bonsai, the prospects are good and the returns considerable. That being so, it is still necessary and beneficial to explore making bonsai with aloe.
The making of an aloe bonsai has much in common with the making of other bonsai, except that, on the basis of inheriting the characteristics and skills of traditional bonsai making, one point must still be adhered to, namely highlighting the unique feature of the aloe bonsai within flower-and-plant bonsai. Accessories: when making an aloe bonsai, plastic, ceramic, and clay figures of people and animals, etc., are sometimes made according to the needs of the conceived theme and composition.
Making an aloe bonsai can be divided into two steps: design and operation. The design of an aloe bonsai mainly involves determining the theme and conceiving the composition. Conception is the specific artistic image the author forms of the work during the creative process. Conception focuses on handling the spirit of the work (that is, its charm, namely its expression and dynamics, and its poetic appeal), while composition focuses on handling the form of the work (that is, its type and body). Whether the work succeeds or not, conception is the key.
The specific operation of making an aloe bonsai is much the same as the process of making other bonsai. A few points are explained below:
Material selection: for making an aloe bonsai, small varieties among succulent plants and dwarf aloe are used as materials. There are many usable aloe varieties, reportedly more than 500, from which aloe varieties that conform to the conceived composition and highlight the theme should be selected. The aloe bonsai uses aloe as its main material, and after certain modification and processing, with appropriate arrangement of rocks and accessories such as figures and animals, it reproduces in a pot the beautiful images of flowers and plants in nature and a profound artistic conception. The accessories of an aloe bonsai can also use stones, other plants, and so on.
Pot selection: the pots used for potted aloe bonsai are similar to those for tree bonsai. Sometimes, according to need, wooden pots (which must undergo anti-corrosion treatment) are made or wooden outer pots are carved.
Potting: this should be done in spring and summer; winter is not suitable, as the temperature is too low and unfavorable for the emergence of new roots. Before potting, a piece of broken tile can first be placed at the bottom of the pot, pressed over the drainage hole at the bottom, so that drainage is maintained while the potting soil does not leak out. When potting, first place the aloe seedling upright in the center of the pot, let the root system spread out as much as possible, and after filling soil to cover the roots, gently lift the seedling upward a little and press it slightly firm, so that the roots come into close contact with the potting soil above, below, left, and right, then add potting soil until it remains 2 to 3 cm from the pot rim, taking care to keep the seedling as upright as possible. Finally, slowly water thoroughly into the pot.
Watering: aloe is called a plant that cannot die of drought, so not watering or watering little generally has little effect, but if water accumulates in the soil, it will cause root rot and death by drowning. In spring, generally water once every 5 to 7 days; the principle of watering is not to water until dry, and to water thoroughly when watering; in summer, water once every 2 to 3 days, and also take care to reduce exposure to the scorching sun to lessen water loss; the watering method for aloe in autumn is basically similar to that in spring, and at the same time the potting soil should be alternately dry and moist. Before aloe turns green and takes root, it should not be watered much; the time of watering is generally best in the early morning and evening, and the water temperature is best close to the potting soil temperature. Remember for potted aloe, it is better dry than wet. In winter, water once every 15 to 20 days, appropriately increase misting of the leaf surface, water as little as possible, and keep the potting soil dry.
Fertilizing: if you want the plants to grow well, fertilizer is indispensable. Aloe can use fertilizers of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and some trace elements, and in order to ensure that aloe is a green, natural plant, fermented organic fertilizers can be used as much as possible, such as cake fertilizer, chicken manure (a small amount), compost, and so on.
Processing: modifying the aloe in an aloe bonsai is simpler and easier than processing trees. In general, it is enough to remove unnecessary leaves, and some leaves may be appropriately bent.
Shaping: shaping is the author's creation based on the natural laws of plant physiology and the specific form of aloe, combined with the author's aesthetic views, so as to achieve the goal of formal resemblance. The aloe bonsai is a shaped artwork combining natural beauty and artistic beauty. Bonsai creation not only requires a certain artistic cultivation, but also requires shaping through artistic processing means such as material selection and pruning, even wiring, and the carving and chiseling of accessories, so a certain foundation of scientific knowledge and horticultural skill is necessary.
The aloe bonsai is a new branch of Chinese bonsai, and its artistic classification should belong to the flower-and-plant bonsai type. Like other bonsai, the aloe bonsai is not merely a miniature of nature; it is also a re-creation of natural scenery on a realist basis using romantic techniques, shrinking the dragon to an inch and then presenting it before people.