How to Shape a Buddhist Pine (Podocarpus macrophyllus)? Latest Techniques and Methods Tutorial

Buddhist pine (Podocarpus macrophyllus), also known as Luohansong, Tushan, and Money Pine, is shaped with the guiding principle of styling according to the tree and working according to the material, using superb artistic expression techniques to draw out the highest artistic realm from an ordinary tree form and maximize its ornamental value. The commonly used shaping techniques include cutting, tying, pressing, bundling, and hanging. Let us take a look at Buddhist pine shaping techniques together below!

Buddhist Pine Shaping Techniques

1. Cutting: You can make use of the Buddhist pine's tolerance for pruning and its small leaf shape to create various forms, such as spherical, conical, and multi-layered spherical shapes, simply by pruning according to a pre-designed pattern. For example, if the pruning is designed as a three-layered sphere with a total height of 2 m, then the lower layer is about 50 cm tall, the middle layer about 40 cm tall, and the top layer 30 cm tall. It is necessary to cut off all branches on the trunk in the 45 cm between the first and second layers and the 35 cm between the second and third layers, and then prune the three spheres.

2. Tying: For the tying method of shaping, you can choose sturdy bamboo sticks and strong hemp rope, tie the bamboo sticks and branches tightly and securely with hemp rope, then fix one end of the bamboo stick to the main trunk, so that by adjusting the direction of the bamboo stick, the branches grow in a specific direction according to the shaper's wishes, achieving the purpose of shaping. It should be noted that the tying method of shaping is suitable for younger Buddhist pines, while older Buddhist pines, because their branches are thick and sturdy, are difficult to shape and produce poor results.

3. Pressing: The pressing method of shaping mainly uses the method of bending and tilting the main trunk, so that the tree body presents on an inclined plane an artistic beauty completely different from that of an upright plane. Because the Buddhist pine's branches resemble a person's arms, and the clustered hemispherical leaves growing at the tops of the branches resemble a person's palms, combined with the bent tree body, it looks just like a greeter bending at the waist and arms to welcome guests, very vivid and lifelike.

Buddhist Pine Pruning Methods

1. Thinning: Buddhist pine thinning means cutting branches off from the base. Through thinning, the tree stump can have good ventilation and light transmission, concentrated nutrient supply, and vigorous growth. Thinning young trees early can help their normal development and growth. When shaping, thinning can allow the retained shaping branches to receive sufficient nutrients and accelerate the formation of the shape. For a formed stump bonsai, thinning can play a role in balancing nutrients, keeping it old but not declining. When thinning, cut off diseased and pest-infested branches and burn them immediately to prevent the spread of diseases and pests, and promptly cut off branches that detract from the appearance.

2. Shortening: Buddhist pine shortening means cutting back long branches to stimulate the axillary buds below the cut to sprout and form relatively strong side branches, thereby promoting branching and facilitating shaping. During shaping, after thinning out excess branches, the retained shaping branches should be shortened to encourage the shaping branches to sprout 2 to 3 times a year. Each time a bud sprouts, carry out one shortening, and the branching order of the shaping branches will rapidly increase, and each branch order can be kept very short without elongating the branches.

3. Renewal pruning: Buddhist pine renewal pruning means carrying out retractive pruning on perennial branches. It is a powerful measure for reducing a large tree, and also an important means of promoting the sprouting of new branches and restoring tree vigor. For stump landscape plants with a relatively good posture but a large canopy and long main branches, shortening and thinning of one-year-old branches alone cannot meet the requirements of stump landscape shaping. Renewal pruning can make a large tree smaller, which is beneficial for stump landscape shaping. For some tree species with strong sprouting ability, the amount of renewal pruning can be greater, that is, cutting all branches and leaves clean and retaining only the skeleton of the stump, to stimulate new branches to sprout below the cut.

Buddhist Pine Cultivation Methods

1. Soil: Buddhist pine cultivation requires a slightly acidic growing medium rich in humus, loose and fertile, and well-drained. In alkaline soil, the leaves turn yellow and growth is slow. It has a long lifespan, reaching several hundred years, or even over a thousand years.

2. Watering: Buddhist pine is not a plant of the pine family and is not drought-tolerant. On the contrary, Buddhist pine is tolerant of shade and moisture, and during the growing season care should be taken to water frequently, but it should not be waterlogged. In the Shunde area, on sunny summer days, care should be taken to water frequently, generally once in the morning and once in the evening, and in addition the leaves should be sprayed with water frequently to keep the leaf color fresh green and the growth good. Summer rainfall is usually relatively abundant as well, and Buddhist pine is not tolerant of flooding, so care should be taken to prevent prolonged water accumulation.

3. Sunlight: Buddhist pine is a neutrally to shade-leaning tree species. It can accept relatively strong light and can also grow in a relatively shady environment. Although summer temperatures are relatively high and sunlight is strong, because large Buddhist pine trees benefit from high temperatures and strong light for maintaining their tree posture and leaf shape, it is not necessary to shade large Buddhist pine trees in summer. However, because Buddhist pine seedlings have tender tissues, they should not be exposed to strong light for long periods, and it is recommended to place them under tree shade for care.

4. Temperature: Buddhist pine is suitable for pot cultivation in northern regions. When the outdoor temperature is stable at around 10°C, move it outdoors and place it in a wind-sheltered, sunny spot for care, and after summer begins move it to a semi-shady spot. In winter, when the temperature does not drop to 5°C, it should be moved indoors. After moving indoors, control watering, and it can overwinter safely as long as conditions are non-freezing.

5. Fertilizing: Buddhist pine likes fertilizer and should be given light fertilizer frequently. The fertilizer should be mainly nitrogen fertilizer, and an appropriate amount of black alum can be added and composted into alum fertilizer water. During the growing season, fertilize once every 1 to 2 months, and fertilizing can be carried out together with watering (water-to-fertilizer ratio of 9:1).

6. Pests: Buddhist pine is mainly harmed by leaf spot disease and anthracnose, which can be sprayed with a 500-fold dilution of 50% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder. Pests include scale insects, red spider mites, and large bagworms, which can be killed by spraying with a 1500-fold dilution of 40% omethoate emulsifiable concentrate.