How to Make a Grape Bonsai and Care Tips
Cultivating grape potted stump material
You can use seedlings or choose old stumps. When using seedlings, they need to be shaped: when the seedling has 3 or 4 leaves, pinch off the growing tip, then use the secondary shoots sprouting from the leaf buds to grow two or three fruiting branches, and on each branch select and keep 3-5 buds, then plant them in the ground and let them quickly grow into vines before potting them. When using the old stump method, you should determine the training form according to how the stump divides and its plant posture, and carry out certain selection and shortening of the branches, then dig out the old stump and transplant it into a flower pot.
Making grape bonsai
The most suitable time for potting is winter, when the grape is in dormancy. Remove some of the old soil from the old stump, properly shape and prune its branches and root system, choose the best viewing orientation, and then pot it.
Cultivating grape bonsai
Short-node branch cultivation
It needs frequent pruning, and bending by tying to moderate the tree's vigor. In the process of shaping the form, the nutritional shoots need to be pinched back repeatedly.
Tying and shaping
To make a grape bonsai, the branches are generally tied into a horizontal or drooping posture, making them present an S shape or a wandering dragon curve. When tying, wire can be used: insert one end into the soil, and wrap the other end around the trunk at a 45-degree angle, taking care to keep it close and tight. According to your own preference, you can make the grape into different forms such as slanting trunk, waterside, and cascade.
Grape bonsai care
In summer, water in time to keep the soil moist, and also sprinkle water on the leaves frequently. In the earlier stage of grape growth, you can appropriately apply additional nitrogen fertilizer. In autumn, after the grape bonsai sheds its leaves, repot it in time, remove about 1/3 of the old soil, prune the roots, remove dead roots, and apply base fertilizer when changing the soil. Pruning of the branches can be done after the leaves fall and before the buds sprout the following spring.