A Detailed Guide to the Latest Methods for Making Wintersweet Bonsai

Wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox) bursts into bloom in the depths of winter when all other flowers have withered, braving the cold and defying the frost, embodying the Chinese nation's character of never yielding in the face of brutality, and offering people spiritual inspiration and enjoyment of beauty. This noble quality of wintersweet has also made it a favorite of many flower-growing enthusiasts. Wintersweet bonsai has extremely high artistic and ornamental value. This article provides a detailed introduction to the process of making wintersweet bonsai.

Sourcing Materials and Cultivation

A relatively common and quick-acting method is to use old root stumps of wild wintersweet from mountainous areas, plant them in the ground for cultivation, and develop them into ancient wintersweet stumps. The method is: select old tree stumps that have sprouted from many years of cutting, dig them out, taking care to protect the root system and prune the branches. Choose a location with moderate light, loose soil, and good drainage for “raising the embryo,” and after it survives, move it into a pot for cultivation. If it is an old stump of Dogfly Wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox var. grandiflorus), a Suixin Wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox ‘Concolor’) can be selected for grafting, and after it survives, it can be shaped and styled as needed.

Potting Process

1. Pot selection: Wintersweet is best suited to purple clay pottery pots, though glazed pottery pots can also be used. Generally, seedling wintersweet is mostly grown in round pots, square pots, hexagonal pots, etc. Old wintersweet stumps can use medium-deep horse-trough pots or crabapple pots, while cascade styles mostly use tall cylindrical pots. Dark purple or ochre-red colors are better, as they set off the waxy yellow flowers and enhance the ornamental effect.

2. Soil: Wintersweet is not strict about soil requirements, but well-drained sandy loam is best. For potting, decomposed garden soil or leaf mold mixed with 20-30% rice husk ash is commonly used as the growing medium.

3. Planting: Transplanting wintersweet is mostly done in early spring, preferably around early March when the flower stems and new buds are sprouting. Generally, it should be planted at a slant to facilitate shaping. A shaping and pruning can be done before planting. When potting, sufficient base fertilizer can be applied at the bottom of the pot.

Shaping and Styling

The shaping and styling of wintersweet is mainly done through pruning and bud pinching, with wiring as a supplement. Xi Yaojia Village in Yanling County, Henan, has long been known as “Yanling wintersweet tops the world.” Its traditional styling arts include “screen-fan wintersweet,” “knot wintersweet,” and “hanging-branch wintersweet,” with screen-fan wintersweet being the most popular. Its styling process: timing should be during March to April, using the “rolling knife method” and “dragon knife method” to make the main branch twist and spiral upward. When the buds are just beginning to sprout, make a diagonal cut at the place to be bent, with the blade entering at an angle, to a depth reaching 2B3 of the branch diameter. Carefully bend it so that the upper section of the split xylem is supported on the lower section, use a stake to support the newly bent trunk, and bind it well with rope. Then make all the branch tips point downward. The cut must be coated with mud within 1 month and kept from falling off, reapplying as needed. After the basic framework is formed, attention should be paid to pruning and timely pinching to maintain the screen-fan shape.

Although wintersweet and plum blossom do not belong to the same family, their flowering periods are similar, and their flowers and fragrance are also similar. Wintersweet is delicate in color and rich in fragrance, no less than red plum, so the plum styling principles can be borrowed: “Plum is beautiful in its curves; straight, it has no grace. Beautiful in its slant; upright, it has no scenery. Beautiful in its sparseness; dense, it has no form,” and “Plum is valued for being sparse rather than profuse, old rather than young, lean rather than fat, and closed rather than open,” etc. Therefore, the trunk should be slanting and horizontal, the branches and leaves should be sparse and spreading, and the old stump should appear vigorous. In addition to the traditional styles of Yanling, Henan, such as “screen-fan style,” “knot style,” and “hanging-branch style,” there are also “downwind style,” “weeping-branch style,” and “roaming dragon style,” etc. In current styling, most tree forms are mainly slanting-trunk style and natural style.

Well, the above is the entire process of making wintersweet bonsai. Friends who are interested can try making a pot of wintersweet bonsai.