These four bonsai pruning methods give you a higher survival rate

Pruning is especially important for bonsai. Poor pruning can cause many problems: it affects the appearance and may also bring pest and disease problems later on. If pruned properly, it will raise the bonsai to a whole new level. Four miraculous methods! With these bonsai pruning methods, the survival rate is higher!

Method one: keep the branches and set the pads. From the name, you can tell that only the trunk is kept. During pruning you will find branches and buds sprouting everywhere, and you will not know where to start or how to judge which branch should be cut and which should not. At this point, simply do not cut them, and keep them all. What you cut are just the extra buds on the messy branches. According to the character of the stump material, its growth condition, and the shape you want, set a pad, then finish pruning the other surplus parts, and you can move on to the shaping stage.

Method two: coordinated pruning. In China we emphasize "harmony" in everything we do. Coordinated pruning is exactly this kind of integration. How should we cut? To what position should we cut? When should we cut? How do we distinguish primary from secondary cuts? How should we balance the ratio between branches and trunk? At this point you should have a clear plan in mind and carry it through from beginning to end. Know every part thoroughly, and prune appropriately and properly.

Method three: precise, detailed pruning. If you want one bonsai to stand out more than others, then its pruning must have been carefully considered. Its pruning should not follow a fixed pattern, which would look rigid and mechanical. We need to make certain innovations on the original basis and have a forward-looking awareness. Only a bonsai pruned this way will make people feel it is very novel and very unique.

Method four: integrated pruning. This requires us to start from an overall perspective. We need to have a grasp of the bonsai as a whole. In this case, if individual branches or leaves need pruning, they should serve the whole and be based on the whole. If you prune this bonsai from an overall perspective, then the bonsai gives people a feeling of being mature and full of charm.

The above are the four techniques of bonsai pruning. Even so, you should not be too dogmatic in pruning. We can have our own set of methods and be innovative. If you can prune a bonsai with your own style, that is also great, but remember not to prune excessively for the sake of innovation. Excessive innovation will instead affect its beauty, and in worse cases affect the growth of the bonsai.

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