How to make and care for a Nandina bonsai? A detailed guide to the latest methods

Nandina is a common woody flowering plant species in southern China, also known as Nantianzhu, Hongpazi, Tianzhuzi, Honggouzi, etc. It is an evergreen small shrub of the genus Nandina in the Berberidaceae family, with strong adaptability to the environment. It often appears in landscape applications and is also often used to make bonsai or potted plants to decorate windowsills, entrance halls, conference venues, etc. Now let us take a look at how to make and care for a Nandina bonsai!

Sourcing material for a Nandina bonsai

To make a Nandina bonsai, you can obtain seedlings through sowing, cuttings, or division, or you can dig up old stumps by the stream. After 2 to 3 years of growing the raw material, it can be planted in a fine pot for viewing. For sowing, you can sow the seeds as soon as the fruit matures, or sow in spring. Division is best done before budding in spring or in autumn. Cuttings are best done before new buds sprout or in summer when new shoots stop growing. For indoor care, ventilation and light transmission should be strengthened to prevent scale insects.

Making a Nandina bonsai

1. Single-trunk style: A single plant with multiple branches is the single-trunk style. The trunk (branch) is required to be upright or basically upright. Choose three to four branches sprouting from the root crown as the landscape branches. One of them is the upright branch, which should be tall, and the other branches are placed in an oval pot. A certain empty space should be left in front of the plant to give a sense of spaciousness. This kind of Nandina bonsai resembles a tree in the wilderness, standing towering and reaching into the clouds.

2. Stump style: Choose a plant with a withered, knobby root crown that has sprouted several new branches. Take one or two of the branches as the central main branch and the rest as secondary branches. The secondary branches may be straight or slanted in posture. This kind of bonsai has green branches and emerald leaves, like a withered tree meeting spring, vigorous and thriving.

3. Figurative style: The key to the figurative style of Nandina bonsai lies in material selection. Generally, roots and trunks resembling animals are found and, after pruning and shaping, made into figurative bonsai resembling deer, monkeys, dogs, etc.

4. Stone-companion style: Nandina is upright. If there are no small branches on the middle and lower parts (commonly called bare legs), it appears empty and not full. A mountain stone can be placed on the right side of the back to make up for this defect. This kind of Nandina bonsai leans against the stone, creating a pleasing contrast.

Shaping a Nandina bonsai

1. Tidying miscellaneous branches: Nandina bonsai requires very little care pruning; mainly miscellaneous branches are tidied. After fruiting each year, that is, in early spring, cut off the remaining fruit spikes. In combination with clearing the branches, thin out dense branches and shorten a small number of long branches. The remaining branches are usually left unpruned, and the heading-back technique is generally not used. If an old stem grows too tall, fruiting will noticeably decrease, so the stem can be cut off at ground level for partial renewal.

2. Pruning time: Nandina bonsai pruning is mainly carried out during the dormant period in combination with repotting. When pruning, no matter where the branches are shortened to, new branches can sprout from the nodes below the cut. Therefore, if the branches grow too long and affect their appearance, the branches can be shortened to an appropriate position, making the clustered branches appear uneven in height. Never cut them into a flat-topped shape of uniform height, and make the spacing between stems well-arranged.

3. Branch pruning and cutting: The branches of a Nandina bonsai should be shortened once every year. Newly planted bonsai should be pruned once according to the height of the trunks and the density of the branches and leaves. In the early spring of the second year, cut off the dry tips grown in the previous year. The length of each trunk cut should follow the arrangement requirements of the forest style and multi-trunk style. At the same time, cut off dead branches and remaining leaves. Through annual tip pruning, you can avoid the phenomenon of the main trunk increasing in height year after year while the companion trees become shorter and weaker the more they are planted.

4. Repotting and pruning: Nandina bonsai should be repotted once every 2 to 3 years. When repotting, cut off part of the old roots and thin out weak branches, dead branches, and diseased and pest-damaged branches from the base to encourage new branches to sprout, and keep the height of the clump basically consistent and the branches evenly spaced. Generally, it is appropriate to retain 3 to 5 branches per clump.

5. Adjusting arrangement: When repotting a Nandina bonsai, root pruning and soil replacement should be combined. When adjusting the arrangement and distribution of the trees, replanting can be carried out anew. Generally, choose the thicker trunk to plant in the main position, and use thinner trunks as companions planted around the main tree, so that the height distribution of the trunks is natural.

Caring for a Nandina bonsai

1. Soil: Nandina cultivation soil requires fertile, well-drained sandy loam and is suitable for slightly acidic soil. It can be prepared in a ratio of 5 parts sandy soil, 4 parts leaf mold, and 1 part manure soil.

2. Watering: Nandina should be watered by the principle of dry-wet alternation. In dry seasons, water frequently to keep the soil moist. In summer, water once a day and spray the leaf surface 2 to 3 times to keep the leaves moist and prevent the leaf tips from scorching, which would harm the appearance. During flowering, special attention should be paid to watering so that the potting soil does not dry out, and water should be sprinkled on the ground to increase air humidity to help improve the pollination rate. In winter, the plant is in a semi-dormant state, so do not let the potting soil become too wet.

3. Sunlight: Nandina is best cared for in semi-shade, cool, and humid places. Under strong light, the stems become thick and short and turn dark red, young leaves are “burned”, and mature leaves turn red. In very shady places, the stems are thin and the leaves are long, and the clump is loose, which harms its ornamental value and is also unfavorable for fruiting.

4. Temperature: The suitable growth temperature for Nandina is about 20℃, and the suitable temperature for flowering and fruiting is 24 to 25℃. The temperature requirements in winter are strict. When the ambient temperature is below 8℃, growth stops, so in winter it should be moved into a greenhouse.

5. Fertilizing: During the growing period, thin fertilizer should be applied to young Nandina seedlings about once every half a month (it is suitable to apply organic fertilizer rich in phosphorus). Adult plants should be given dry fertilizer three times a year, in May, August, and October respectively. The third application should be made when moving indoors for overwintering. Fertilizers can include fully fermented cake fertilizer and sesame paste residue, etc. The amount of fertilizer applied should generally be less for the first and second applications, and the amount can be increased for the third.