How to Make a Smoke Tree Bonsai? Detailed Explanation of the Latest Key Points
The smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria) is also known as sumac wood and red leaf. Its leaves are ovate with slender petioles; in early summer it bears small yellow-green flowers in paniculate inflorescences, and the stalks of the sterile flowers are pink and feathery, lasting a long time without falling. Viewed at the edge of a stand of smoke trees, they look like wisps of cooking smoke curling above the forest, which is why in English the smoke tree is called the smoke tree, and this may be the origin of the name. The leaves of the smoke tree are emerald green in spring and summer and all turn red in late autumn, gorgeous and lovely. Traveling in the mountains and wilds where smoke trees grow thickly in late autumn, admiring the red leaves all over the mountains is refreshing and delightful.
1. Planting and pot selection:
The smoke tree is usually planted before bud break in spring. If it is a newly dug stump, it should be planted in plain sandy soil in a clay pot to grow out; if repotting, half of the old soil in the pot should be removed and replaced with new soil. The smoke tree is not demanding about soil; a mix based mainly on leaf mold with an appropriate amount of sandy soil blended in evenly is ready for use. The leaves of the smoke tree are emerald green in spring and summer and turn red in late autumn, so the color of the pot is best a purple clay pot that harmonizes with the red and green colors. The shape of the pot depends on the tree form: for the upright trunk style, round or square pots are commonly used; for the slanting trunk style and the curved trunk style, rectangular or oval pots of medium depth are suitable.
2. Shaping the tree:
On the sunny slopes and semi-shaded slopes of the mountains and wilds of northern China, smoke trees often grow densely in stands. To use them for bonsai, you can dig up old stumps in the mountains and wilds in February to March in spring before the smoke tree buds. After years of cutting and livestock gnawing, the smoke tree stumps are short and small, with gnarled and twisted branches and trunks and an aged appearance, and they take shape easily; therefore, digging up old stumps is a shortcut for making smoke tree bonsai. The smoke tree has relatively long petioles and relatively large leaves; after wiring and pruning, it is often made into a natural-style bonsai.