A Detailed Guide to the Latest Methods for Making Ficus Bonsai
Ficus bonsai is famous for “forming a forest from a single tree.” During the making process, it is necessary to control its growth and development over the long term through pruning, branch training, wiring and bending, grafting and other methods to shape it into a unique artistic form. It has such morphological features as the beauty of aerial roots, the beauty of spreading roots, the beauty of tuberous roots, the beauty of branches, the beauty of bark color, the beauty of leaves, and the beauty of fibrous roots. Now let us take a look at the methods for making ficus bonsai!
Selection of Tree Stumps
The simplest and most commonly used method for selecting ficus bonsai stumps is to choose natural wild stumps. Wild stumps are collected from February to October each year, with April to July being the most suitable period. During this time, the climate is mild and the air is humid, so the stumps take root and sprout quickly and have a high survival rate. After the wild stumps are collected, they should be processed as soon as possible, and cut, trimmed, and selected according to the stump material and cultivation goal. Ficus has strong vitality and heals wounds quickly, so stump cutting can be done in one step.
Soil for Bonsai
The cultivation soil for ficus bonsai is generally required to be loose, breathable, and slightly acidic black stone powder mud, river sand, construction stone powder, coal cinders, etc., and these cultivation soils are relatively easy to obtain.
Water Requirements
For ficus bonsai cultivation, it is enough to cover the roots with cultivation soil, and for inserted trees, a depth of about 3 cun is suitable. After watering with settling water, place it in a cool, wind-sheltered place for care; for ground planting, use a cover for shade. Watering can be determined according to weather conditions, keeping the cultivation soil moist but not waterlogged. Excessive waterlogging easily causes the roots to turn black and necrotic. If ficus is waterlogged for a long time after surviving, it easily results in only roots growing and no branches or trunk growing. During the dog days, if it is not watered for two or three days, the tree will not die, but once watered, the leaves will wither and fall while still green, affecting growth. Therefore, water management should follow the principle of watering when dry and stopping when wet.
Light Requirements
Ficus bonsai should generally be placed in a ventilated and well-lit place, with a certain amount of spatial humidity. Insufficient sunlight, poor ventilation, and no certain spatial humidity can cause the plant to turn yellow and dry out, lead to the occurrence of pests and diseases, and even death.
Bonsai Pruning
Pruning is a means of shaping ficus. Through pruning, the goal of achieving a beautiful ficus form can be reached. Pruning should be done at the right time and for the right tree. Ficus can generally be pruned in all four seasons. In actual maintenance and shaping, pruning is the main method and binding is supplementary. Cutting once a year is appropriate; for vigorous ones, pruning can be done twice, and after the forked branches growing from the shortened branches become thick and strong, pruning can be done again. The specific methods of ficus pruning include pinching, bud removal, leaf removal, short cutting, reduction pruning, and thinning.
Bonsai Fertilization
Ficus is a tree species that likes abundant water and fertilizer and can tolerate both drought and moisture. After the stump enters normal care, use decomposed human and livestock manure or rotted cake fertilizer as topdressing, applying it once or twice daily as foliar feeding. When transplanting or repotting, rotted chicken manure, bean cake, and bone meal can also be mixed into the cultivation soil as base fertilizer. Sufficient fertilizer will make the branches and trunk grow quickly and thicken quickly, allow more pruning times per year, and achieve the goal of shortening the cultivation period.