How to Make a Pine Bonsai? Latest Full Process Explained

There are nearly more than eighty species of pine in the world. The tree posture is majestic and vigorous, the tree body is tall and long-lived, and it has important ornamental value. Although the vast majority are tall trees, there are also a very few that are shrub-like, such as the Japanese stone pine and the ground pine. People often make small pine trees into bonsai for people to admire. Now let us take a look at the process of making a pine bonsai!

Pine Bonsai Making Process

1. Material selection: For making pine bonsai, Buddhist pine (Podocarpus macrophyllus) is generally the main choice. The material for Buddhist pine bonsai is usually obtained mainly by artificial propagation, and it can be propagated by sowing or cuttings. Wild Buddhist pines from the mountains and fields can also be selected. Those growing in stone crevices that are short in plant size, ancient and elegant in branches and trunk, and beautiful in posture can be collected and dug up, first cultivated in the open field for 1 to 2 years, then transplanted into pots and processed for shaping.

2. Pot selection: Pine bonsai has an ancient and elegant posture, and purple clay pottery pots or glazed pottery pots are commonly used. The pot shape is determined by the tree shape. For the cascade style, use a tall and deep cylindrical pot; for the slanting trunk style and the lying trunk style, use a medium-deep rectangular pot or oval pot; for the exposed-root style and the rock-clinging style, use a relatively shallow pot.

3. Soil: Pine bonsai should use fertile, moist, loose in texture, well-drained, slightly acidic sandy loam. Place a layer of coarse sandy soil at the bottom of the pot to facilitate drainage.

4. Planting: For transplanting pine bonsai into pots, it is best to do so before sprouting in spring. Large seedlings should be kept with some original soil, and dead roots and overly long roots should be cut off so that the fibrous roots spread out in the pot soil. Firm the soil so that it closely contacts the root system, which is beneficial for growth and survival.

5. Shaping: The shaping of pine bonsai must not be done carelessly. For shaping after potting, wiring and binding are the main method, appropriately combined with pruning. Wiring and binding should be carried out during the dormant period, using palm fiber to tie, making sure the palm fiber is not exposed. The main trunk is bent, the branches are twisted, and the posture is natural. Small branches and leaves are pruned into layered sheets or hemispherical shapes, with staggered and orderly layers.

Pine Bonsai Care and Management

1. Environment: Pine is cold-resistant and drought-resistant, and can be placed year-round in courtyards on terraced slopes, balconies, and flat roofs, in places with sufficient light and air circulation. However, small bonsai should not be exposed to strong sunlight in midsummer. In winter, it can overwinter in the open ground, and it is best to bury the whole pot in a sunny and wind-sheltered place. If overwintering indoors, the room temperature should not be too high, and it can be moved outdoors at Qingming Festival.

2. Watering: Pine prefers dryness and dislikes water accumulation. Watering must not be excessive. Water only when the soil is dry, and water thoroughly when watering. Properly controlling water during the growing period can make the branches and trunk thick and short and the needles short and small, increasing ornamental value. During high temperatures in summer, water can often be sprayed on the leaf surface, which is beneficial for growth.

3. Fertilizing: Pine is tolerant of barren soil. Even when the soil lacks fertilizer, it can still grow normally, and this promotes a short trunk, dense branches, and short leaves. However, properly applying 1 to 2 times of thin, fully decomposed cake fertilizer water during the growing period is beneficial for robust growth and increases resistance to pests and diseases.

4. Pruning: To maintain the beautiful and elegant tree shape of pine bonsai, appropriate pruning must be carried out. During the growing period, pruning is mainly bud pinching. From March to April each year, when new buds have elongated but have not yet produced needles, about 1/2 of each terminal bud can be pinched off. For bonsai that do not need to increase branches, all terminal buds can be pinched off. For branches that affect the beauty of the tree shape, pruning can be done during the dormant period.

5. Repotting: Pine bonsai is generally repotted once every 3 to 5 years, preferably in February to March. When repotting, keep the original pot soil intact and remove it from the pot, remove 1/2 of the old soil, cut off overly long roots as well as dead and rotten roots, and at the same time prune some unnecessary branches and leaves to maintain the balance between the upper and lower parts of the pot soil. If the original pot capacity is insufficient, replace it with a slightly larger new pot. The planting method is the same as for potting.

6. Pests and diseases: Common diseases of pine include leaf rust, defoliation disease, twist branch disease, and pine gall disease. For pine needle rust and pine gall disease, spray 65% wettable ferbam or ziram 300 times solution. For defoliation disease, spray 0.5 degree Baume lime-sulfur mixture. Common pests include aphids, scale insects, red spiders, and pine tip borers. For red spiders and pine tip borers, spray with 50% fenitrothion EC 1000 to 1500 times solution, or 40% dimethoate EC 2000 times solution.

Common Types of Pine Bonsai

1. Forest style: Forest-style bonsai is a miniature version of a forest. Forest-style bonsai is a bonsai formed by combining multiple trees and is rich in layering.

2. Slanting trunk style: In slanting trunk style bonsai, the trunk leans to one side, and some trunks are slightly curved. The branches extend outside the pot, and the overall shape appears relatively steep yet stable. Slanting trunk style bonsai can reflect the complete artistic effect of the tree's momentum and the balance of dynamic and static changes.

3. Lying trunk style: The stump of lying trunk style bonsai can be divided into three types: flat-lying bonsai, supine-lying bonsai, and semi-lying bonsai. In flat-lying bonsai, the entire stump lies horizontally there, and the tip of the treetop must not exceed the height of the trunk itself. In supine-lying bonsai, one-fifth of the upper part of the stump is slanted or upright, and four-fifths of the lower part lies flat or slightly upward-slanting there. In semi-lying bonsai, the lower half of the stem of the stump lies horizontally or slants upward there.

4. Cascade style: Cascade style bonsai is divided into two types: large cascade style bonsai and bonsai with the trunk extending beyond the bottom of the pot. Semi-cascade style bonsai is also called small-ground style bonsai. The trunk of the bonsai extends outside the pot and hangs downward but must not exceed the bottom of the pot.

5. Exposed-root style: Exposed-root style bonsai is when the root area is exposed outside the soil, and the roots are like a coiled dragon, or like eagle claws hanging high. Exposed-root style bonsai reveals an elegant feeling.

6. Split-trunk style: The main trunk of split-trunk style bonsai must undergo decades or even hundreds of years of external natural forces. After it becomes deadwood-like, the bark is peeled off, leaving only part of the tree's xylem and epidermal layer attached to it. In some parts, the life of the bark and branches has not been interrupted, and the branches can still grow new branches and leaves, giving it an ancient artistic conception.

7. Epiphytic style: The main trunk of the stump of epiphytic style bonsai appears in a deadwood state, also leaving only part of the xylem and cortex to support it.