How to shape a black pine bonsai? Master these little tips

Black pine is an evergreen tree and a sun-loving species. Because black pine has strong resistance to pests and diseases, a long lifespan and slow growth, it is very suitable for cultivation as a bonsai. If you are also interested in black pine bonsai, then take a look at the shaping methods for black pine bonsai introduced by the editor.

Black pine bonsai

For plants growing in the nursery that have never been pruned, in order to reduce the weakness of pine family plants easily exuding resin and affecting growth, pruning work should be carried out in winter when sap flow is at its lowest limit, retaining 2 to 3 main branches that develop evenly in all directions, keeping the angles between the main and side branches similar, cutting off overly dense main branches, and for branches with excessively strong growth, shortening or cutting off vigorous whorled branches, keeping the trunk and branches distinct, with their thickness within 1/3 of the trunk thickness at the point of attachment.

When a tree with a straight trunk is desired as a shade tree, shaping and pruning work must be carried out, and pruning should be done in winter.

Every November the leaves at the base of black pine branches naturally turn yellow and are replaced; if necessary they can be removed by hand. If the needles of the whole plant are relatively dense and do not let air through, some needles can also be removed to increase ventilation and light penetration. Pinching of black pine is carried out in March and April each year when the new buds have elongated but have not yet produced needles. Generally, 1/3 to 1/2 of the length of each terminal bud is removed; pinching can increase crown density.

Because black pine buds are whorled, multiple small branches will grow at the tip of the same branch. Pinching can be combined with bud thinning, that is, when pinching, retain three or four buds in different directions and remove the rest by hand. Bud thinning can promote the growth of the main shoot.

When transplanting and lifting from the nursery, they should be dug up with a soil ball, overly dense whorled branches should be thinned out, and leaves should be appropriately removed to reduce evaporation.

Little tips you must know for growing flowers in May!

Love life, love flowers, love growing flowers. So what aspects of knowledge do flower lovers need to understand about growing flowers in May...

Little tips you must know for growing flowers in May!

The climate characteristics of May are that temperatures continue to rise, and rainfall gradually increases from south to north in our country. After each rainfall, the temperature rises noticeably. There is often continuous spring rain. After the spring rain ends at Xiaoman, the weather turns muggy, marking that summer will soon begin. Therefore, May, at the turn of spring and summer, is a key period for planting and growing flowers, and it plays an important role in laying the foundation for the summer and autumn growth of potted flowers. Growing flowers in May, from south to north, mainly includes the following items:

I. Flower propagation

1. Sowing. The main types of flowers and flowering trees that can be sown immediately after collection in May are: Primula obconica, Fatsia japonica, Mahonia bealei, loquat, etc. When sowing and raising seedlings in May, pay attention to the following three points: first, keep the sowing seedbed moist, neither waterlogged nor too dry and dehydrated; second, the sowing seedbed should be covered with grass to retain moisture, to prevent sudden changes between dry and wet in the seedbed that cause seeds to "sprout back"; third, after seedlings emerge, remove the covering grass in several stages and promptly build a shade frame to avoid scorching the young seedlings.

For osmanthus, ripe blue-black fruits can be picked at the end of May, mixed with sand and rubbed to remove the pulp, rinsed clean, and then stored in moist clean fine sand, where they can be kept until February of the following year. Only when the seeds crack and expose the tip of the radicle can they be sown in the ground. During storage, prevent rodents from stealing them and keep the sand moist.

For loquat sowing, the covering soil should not be too deep, generally no more than 2 to 3 cm is suitable.
2. Cuttings. Flower species suitable for cutting propagation in May include: scarlet sage (pink, purple, white), globe amaranth (white), marigold, French marigold, Dragon's mouth flower, Impatiens walleriana, coleus, begonia types, sulfur cosmos, Chinese rose, rhododendron, dahlia, fuchsia, coral flower, poinsettia, geranium, bougainvillea, hibiscus, coral tree, nasturtium, Jasminum nitidum, jasmine, Chloranthus, Acalypha wilkesiana, deutzia, hydrangea, kerria, pomegranate, rose of Sharon, butterfly bush, trumpet creeper, gardenia, epiphyllum, Rhaphidophora, Epiphyllum, jade plant, gem plant, Magnolia sieboldii, Magnolia denudata, Chaenomeles speciosa, Cyperus alternifolius, Lantana camara, Excoecaria cochinchinensis, shrimp plant, Pachystachys lutea, Clerodendrum thomsoniae, Aglaonema modestum, Cordyline fruticosa, pothos, Schefflera octophylla, oleander types, pyracantha, mahonia, and Buddha belly bamboo with aerial roots, etc.

3. Grafting. In May, use potted 1- to 2-year-old Magnolia denudata seedlings or cuttings to propagate Michelia alba and Michelia figo by approach grafting; use 1- to 2-year-old Acer palmatum seedlings for bud grafting to propagate red maple, feather maple, weeping maple, etc.; use vigorous 2- to 3-year-old Rhododendron mucronatum cuttings to propagate Western azalea by cleft grafting; use wild rose as rootstock and bud graft to propagate fine varieties of Chinese rose; use Artemisia annua as rootstock and graft to propagate fine varieties of chrysanthemum; use 2-year-old seeded wintersweet seedlings as rootstock; graft fine varieties of wintersweet by softwood grafting, or use potted rootstocks for approach grafting. In addition, cactus and triangular stem can be used as rootstocks to propagate Christmas cactus by grafting.

4. Division. Flower species that can be propagated by division in May include: hosta, purple hosta, iris, Aspidistra, autumn zephyr lily, silver-striped lilyturf, Haworthia, Aglaonema modestum, orchid grass, jasmine, Chloranthus, Rudbeckia, purple loosestrife, begonia, sword fern, etc.

5. Layering. Flowering trees that can be propagated by air layering in May include: Michelia alba, rubber tree, Aglaia odorata, Western azalea, camellia, croton, Michelia figo, red maple, etc.; those that can be propagated by ground layering include: plum blossom, wintersweet, Chinese rose, gardenia, Podocarpus macrophyllus, osmanthus, trumpet creeper, etc.

Little tips you must know for growing flowers in May!

II. Potting and transplanting

1. Potting. For potted flowers used for street decoration during the National Day period, most types must be potted and planted in May. After 3 to 4 months of careful maintenance, they can bloom on time by late September and early October, thereby creating a joyful, warm and colorful holiday atmosphere. The main types are: scarlet sage (pink, white, purple), globe amaranth (white), cockscomb, hundred-day red, sulfur cosmos, China aster, Kochia scoparia, marigold, Dragon's mouth flower, asparagus fern, Impatiens walleriana, coleus, begonia, etc.

III. Flower management

1. Watering. As temperatures continue to rise, the water demand of potted ornamental plants will gradually increase. In addition to combining root watering with foliar spraying, attention must also be paid to the quality of water used for irrigation and spraying. It is best not to use tap water directly, especially not tap water treated with bleaching powder. For this purpose, tap water can first be poured into a water tank or small vat, and an appropriate amount of acidifying substance can be added to increase the acidity of the water, such as ferrous sulfate, with the concentration kept between 0.1% and 0.2%. Potted flowers suitable for acidic water mainly include: camellia, sasanqua, plum blossom, rhododendron, red azalea, gardenia, daphne, clivia, chrysanthemum, begonia types, Camellia chekiangoleosa, etc.; foliage types include: sago palm, Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum, Monstera deliciosa, Rhapis excelsa, rubber tree, ferns, Podocarpus macrophyllus, croton, red (green) gem, Philodendron 'Green Giant', Philodendron 'Imperial Green', Syngonium podophyllum, Calathea, bromeliad types, Dracaena fragrans, Pachira aquatica, Schefflera octophylla, etc.; fruit-viewing types include: bitter orange, pyracantha, kumquat, Buddha's hand, lemon, Nandina domestica, winter coral, etc.
2. Pruning and bud removal

(1) Pruning. When shortening Michelia alba not long after it is moved out, special attention must be paid because its branch pith is loose, and the cut surface easily loses water, dries up and extends downward. For this reason, consider making the cut 8 to 10 cm above the bud eye to be retained, and never too close to the bud eye. For potted Chinese rose, after-flowering pruning should moderately lower the plant by 10 to 20 cm, so that bud eyes located in the middle of the branch can produce flower buds.

(2) Bud removal. When removing buds from potted wintersweet plants, also pay attention to the position of bud removal. Generally it should be 3-5 cm above the selected leaf bud to be retained; otherwise the wound will dry up and shrink, affecting the selected leaf bud downward. For Chinese rose potted in the current year, promptly remove the terminal bud to promote the formation of a good plant shape.

3. Shading

After entering May, potted plants that prefer semi-shade or shade should be moved under a shade shed or tree shade. Types include: Monstera deliciosa, Rhapis excelsa, Calathea, Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum, Philodendron 'Green Giant', red (green) gem, Philodendron 'Imperial Green', pink cordyline, Livistona chinensis, Syngonium podophyllum, orchid, rhododendron, Strelitzia reginae, camellia, sasanqua, etc.; for light-loving flowering trees, full light must be given, such as wintersweet, sago palm, Chinese rose, pyracantha, jasmine, Michelia alba, etc.; bonsai plants, such as Chinese elm, Sageretia thea, trident maple, water willow, oak, Serissa japonica, black pine, Pinus densiflora, etc., require full light; while Podocarpus macrophyllus, Damnacanthus indicus, Syzygium buxifolium, Sabina chinensis, five-needle pine, etc. can be appropriately shaded.
4. Fertilizing. For camellia, rhododendron, sasanqua, plum blossom, Aglaia odorata, jasmine, Michelia alba, gardenia, wintersweet, Chinese rose, daphne, clivia, orchid, begonia, etc.; after flowers fade, remove the remaining flowers and stalks respectively, and apply a compound fertilizer mainly of nitrogen supplemented with phosphorus, once every half month, to restore their vegetative growth while laying a foundation for them to produce flower buds again; for mainly foliage types, such as rubber tree, Monstera deliciosa, Philodendron 'Green Giant', red (green) gem, Philodendron 'Imperial Green', Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum, Aspidistra, ferns, etc., apply a thin, fully decomposed cake fertilizer solution once every half month; for foliage plants with colored spots and patterns, such as Sansevieria trifasciata 'Laurentii', Neoregelia, Dracaena fragrans 'Massangeana', croton, Caladium bicolor, Syngonium podophyllum 'White Butterfly', pink cordyline, etc., a 0.2% monopotassium phosphate solution can be applied as a foliar feed, which can make their leaf color appear even more beautiful and vivid.

5. Pest and disease control. For Chinese rose, rose, and rugosa rose, etc., pay attention to controlling powdery mildew and leaf spot, and promptly spray pesticide to kill any leaf-eating pests that appear; for citrus swallowtail butterfly larvae, a leaf-eating pest that commonly appears on bitter orange, kumquat, golden bean, Buddha's hand, lemon, rue, etc., spray pesticide early to kill them.

Little tips you must know for growing flowers in May!

IV. Bonsai shaping

Ornamental bonsai plant types that can still be shaped in May include: plum blossom, small-leaf gardenia, Gardenia jasminoides, Podocarpus macrophyllus, Serissa japonica, Sabina chinensis, water willow, Galium odoratum, ginkgo, etc. It is worth noting that when shaping, you must be careful and cautious, and try not to injure the bark and structure of the branches; otherwise it will affect the normal growth of the plant.

1. Pinching. For field-grown herbaceous flowers, such as China aster, impatiens, Phlox drummondii, wallflower, dahlia, coleus, etc., pinch the tops in mid-to-late May to promote branching. For woody flowering plants, such as plum blossom, wintersweet, gardenia, etc., pinching can also promote the plant to sprout side branches.

2. Pruning. For field-grown flowering trees in courtyards, such as redbud, crape myrtle, pyracantha, snowball, pomegranate, etc., continue pruning away dead branches, diseased and pest-infested branches, weak branches, etc., and adjust the plant shape.

Little tips you must know for growing flowers in May!

Basic knowledge of growing flowers, growing grass, and potted plants

Basic knowledge of growing flowers, growing grass, and potted plants

Good teaching material: Basic knowledge of growing flowers, growing grass, and potted plants

Basic knowledge of potted plants

Watering section
1. Term explanation - water withholding. Water withholding means that during the growth process of flowers, not watering or watering less to limit their vegetative growth, so that nutrients are accumulated, which is beneficial to flower bud differentiation and the formation of flower buds. For example, when cultivating bougainvillea, plum blossom (flowering peach, chrysanthemum, jasmine, winter coral, Buddha's hand, citrus types, etc.), when new shoots grow to about 20 cm, begin "water withholding", that is, do not water for 2-3 days. Because of water shortage, the tip leaves begin to wilt, and only then water a small amount to make the leaves recover. After repeating 2-3 times, growth at the branch tips is inhibited, causing nutrients to concentrate and promoting flower bud differentiation.

2. Term explanation - return water. Return water means that after fertilizing on the previous evening, clear water must be watered again the next morning. It can promote root absorption of fertilizer nutrients and prevent fertilizer damage. Because the fertilizer applied the previous night, after a night of penetration, has too high a nutrient concentration, which not only makes it difficult for roots to absorb but can also burn the seedlings. After watering "return water", the fertilizer concentration in the soil is diluted, which helps root absorption. (More suitable for the following flowers: Western (Dutch) azalea, clivia, camellia, Michelia alba, jasmine, Chloranthus, Michelia figo, etc.)

3. Term explanation - waist water. "Waist water" is also called "half water", meaning the potting soil is "wet on top and dry below", that is, the upper half is moist and the lower half is dry. Because the soil drains poorly, water accumulates in the potting soil, and the water poured in cannot leak out through the drainage hole.

4. Term explanation - hard water and soft water. Water is divided into hard water and soft water according to salt content. Soft water refers to water with hardness lower than 8 degrees; hard water refers to water with hardness higher than 8 degrees and relatively high salt content. Watering should preferably use soft water that contains no salt.

5. Term explanation - see dry, see wet. For some moisture-loving flowers such as rhododendron, camellia, Michelia figo, gardenia, Aglaia odorata, etc., water according to the principle of "see dry, see wet", watering when the surface of the growing medium turns white, and watering only until moist. The potting soil must not be too dry or too wet for a long time; keeping it "moist" is enough.
6. Term explanation - dry thoroughly, water thoroughly. For potted flowers such as orchids, wintersweet, and geranium that like dryness and fear waterlogging, water according to the principle of "dry thoroughly, water thoroughly". Only when the growing medium is dry can you water. "Water thoroughly" means do not give "waist water"; the entire potting soil from top to bottom must be thoroughly moistened. If not watered thoroughly, the root system will not be able to absorb water, which will affect its growth.
7. Term explanation - rather dry than wet. For five-needle pine, black pine and xerophytes, water according to the principle of "rather dry than wet". Water only when thoroughly dry, and never allow waterlogging.
8. Term explanation - soil moisture. Usually expressed as the percentage of soil water content. The water needed for flower growth is mainly absorbed from the soil, so soil moisture should generally be 60-70% of field capacity.
9. Term explanation - field capacity. Field soil has a maximum water-holding capacity. This indicator is collectively called field capacity, and its value is about 25%, which is the limit value of soil water-holding capacity.
10. Term explanation - air humidity. The level of air humidity is often expressed as the percentage of relative air humidity. In a day, relative air humidity is lowest at the highest afternoon temperature and highest in the early morning. Generally, the air humidity required by flowers is about 65-70%, while plants in arid and desert climates need far less. Greenhouse flowers, tropical foliage plants and tropical orchids with aerial roots, as well as moisture-loving plants such as ferns, need air humidity of about 70-80%.
11. Term explanation - atmospheric drought. Atmospheric drought: due to atmospheric drought, a large amount of water in the flower plant body transpires. At this time, soil water shortage will cause plant water imbalance and temporary wilting, but the plant will not die.
12. Term explanation - soil drought. Soil drought: atmospheric drought often causes soil drought. When the soil loses water for a long time and is not replenished in time, it cannot supply the water needed by flowers, leading to withering and death.
13. Term explanation - waterlogging damage. Because the soil drains poorly and accumulates too much water, air cannot enter the soil, and over time this causes the plant to suffocate and die.
Growing medium & media section
1. Term explanation - bulk density. The mass per unit volume of medium. It reflects how loose or compact the medium is. A large bulk density indicates the medium is too compact, with poor water permeability and air permeability; too small a bulk density indicates it is too loose, and the plant is not easy to stand firmly.
2. Term explanation - total porosity. The sum of water-holding pores and air-permeable pores in the medium, expressed as a percentage of the medium volume.
3. Term explanation - pH value. pH value: an indicator of acidity and alkalinity. pH 7 indicates neutral. When the pH value exceeds 6.5, the ability of most plants to absorb trace elements such as iron and boron will decline, and over time deficiency symptoms will occur.
4. Term explanation - EC value. An indicator of the salt concentration of a solution, usually expressed in millisiemens (mS). Hydroponic nutrient solution must be a pollution-free nutrient solution with low electrical conductivity, ensuring that plants receive comprehensive and reasonable nutrition while maximizing dissolved oxygen. Because at the same pressure and temperature, the dissolved oxygen level in the nutrient solution decreases as salt content increases.
5. Term explanation - alkalinity. One understanding is the ability of water to neutralize acidic substances (H+), that is, buffering capacity. It is determined by the total amount of dissolved HCO3-, CO32- and OH-. Another understanding is like lime in water: the higher the alkalinity, the faster the pH value rises.
6. Term explanation - texture. Soil particles of different coarseness occupy different proportions in the soil, forming different soil textures.
7. Term explanation - water-holding capacity. The moisture content that soil can retain after drainage removes gravitational water.
8. Term explanation - pores. Refers to the large pores left after gravitational water drains away, usually also called aeration pores.
9. Term explanation - carbon-to-nitrogen ratio. Refers to the relative ratio of carbon to nitrogen in an organic medium. When the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio is high, most nitrogen will be absorbed by soil microorganisms.
10. Term explanation - CEC. It indicates the ability of soil to absorb and retain nutrient ions, not be leached away by water, and release nutrients to supply plant growth.
11. Term explanation - sandy soil, sandy loam, loam, clay
Sandy soil: a soil mainly composed of sand particles. Sandy soil is airy and permeable, suitable for germination and seedling emergence, but has poor fertilizer retention, is prone to drought, and itself has few nutrients. Apply mainly organic fertilizer; chemical fertilizer should not be applied too much.
Sandy loam: a soil containing much sand and little fine soil. Generally when wet it can form a ball, but the ball surface is uneven, and dry soil clods are easily crushed. This kind of soil is loose, airy and permeable, suitable for cultivation, but has poor fertilizer and water retention. Fertilization should be mainly organic fertilizer, and the principle for chemical fertilizer is frequent application and small amounts.
Loam: a soil with good soil properties and suitable sand and clay content. Its characteristics are loose but not scattered, sticky but not inconvenient, both airy and permeable, and also water- and fertilizer-retentive, with high fertility, suitable for planting all kinds of plants.
Clay: soil in which clay content is absolutely dominant and sand content is very low. It has relatively high water and fertilizer retention capacity and contains more nutrients needed by plants, but has poor air and water permeability, large clods, and is not easy to cultivate.
12. Term explanation - river sand, sea sand
River sand: sand dug from freshwater lakes or shallow mountain gullies. It generally does not carry salinity or alkalinity and can be mixed into soil for growing flowers, or used as a cutting medium.
Sea sand: dug from beaches. Because it is washed by seawater, it is slightly saline and alkaline. It can be rinsed with clear water and then mixed into soil for growing flowers.
13. Term explanation - acidic soil, alkaline soil
Soil acidity and alkalinity is a term for measuring how much acid and alkali the soil contains. Soil with pH less than 7 is acidic soil, and soil with pH greater than 7 is alkaline soil.
pH 3-4: strongly acidic; pH 5: acidic; pH 6: weakly acidic; pH 7: neutral; pH 8: weakly alkaline; pH 9: alkaline; pH 10-11: strongly alkaline.
14. Term explanation - humus. It is a type of soil organic matter, fully rotted animal and plant residues decomposed by microorganisms. It has moderate cohesiveness, can make clay loose and sandy soil cohesive. Humus itself contains various nutrients and has strong absorbency. It can improve soil fertilizer and water retention, and can also buffer changes in soil acidity and alkalinity, which is beneficial to microbial activity and plant growth.
15. Term explanation - leaf mold. Refers to organic matter formed by piling up and decomposing fallen leaves. Leaf mold is soft and has the characteristics of good aeration, good drainage and light weight, and is an excellent type of potting medium. Generally it is not used directly; mixed with other soils it can improve soil quality, making the soil loose and beneficial to plant growth.
16. Term explanation - garden soil. Soil used in rural areas for growing vegetables (including the surface soil for growing trees in courtyards and green spaces). This kind of soil has good aggregate structure, is relatively fertile, and drains well, suitable for cultivating many kinds of flowers.
17. Term explanation - peat soil. Also called turf and peat. It is the plant body of mosses and aquatic plants buried underground and not completely rotted and decomposed. It shows an acidic reaction, is rich in organic matter, and can improve the physical properties of soil. Peat soil itself does not have much nutrients available for plant absorption and use, but it contains large amounts of fiber and humic acid, and has strong ability to absorb fertilizer and retain water.
18. Term explanation - rotten grass soil. Soil formed by piling and rotting weeds, straw stalks and other materials mixed with manure, etc. It contains long-lasting nutrients and is used to cultivate perennial plants.
19. Term explanation - woody soil. Also called "tree manure". It is the product of rotted dead branches and wood shavings. Its properties and structure are similar to leaf mold, acidic, light, but lacking nutrients, suitable for planting Christmas cactus, Dendrobium, etc.
20. Term explanation - mountain soil. Formed by years of accumulated and rotted leaf litter from broad-leaved forests. It is airy and permeable, and has good fertilizer and water retention. Suitable for growing orchids and clivia.
21. Term explanation - orchid soil. Also called black mountain soil; black in color, with light quality being best. Suitable for growing rhododendron, camellia, bamboo, etc.
22. Term explanation - sugarcane bagasse. Mostly used in tropical regions. It has a high carbon-to-nitrogen ratio and must have nitrogen added to meet the needs of rapid microbial decomposition. It has very high water-holding capacity, decomposes quickly in containers, and easily becomes compact, causing poor aeration and drainage, so it is rarely used.
23. Term explanation - bark. Pine bark and hardwood bark have good physical properties and can largely replace peat as a potting medium.
24. Term explanation - wood shavings. Wood shavings have properties similar to bark, but decompose and settle more easily, and are too dense and not easy to dry.
25. Term explanation - wood shavings. Wood shavings are similar in composition to sawdust, only with larger individual pieces, and can provide higher aeration.
26. Term explanation - rice hulls. They have good drainage and aeration, do not affect the original pH value or soluble salts of the mixed medium, and resist decomposition, so they have relatively high use value. However, before use they must be steamed to kill pathogenic bacteria.
27. Term explanation - carbonized rice hulls. It is a soilless medium made from rice hulls after carbonization. The pH is slightly alkaline, but after several waterings it can appear neutral. Its ability to absorb nutrients is relatively poor, but when mixed with an equal amount of peat as a seedling potting medium, satisfactory results can be achieved.
28. Term explanation - perlite, vermiculite, expanded clay pellets
Temperature section
1. Term explanation - vernalization. Refers to the phenomenon in which first- and second-year seed crops need to undergo a period of low temperature during the seedling stage before they can flower and set seed. This developmental period is called the vernalization stage.
2. Term explanation - air temperature. Refers to the temperature value measured inside a Stevenson screen with the bulb of the thermometer 1.5 m above the ground.
3. Term explanation - three cardinal temperatures. The temperatures required by flowers throughout their life activities are called biological temperatures, which can be expressed by three temperature indicators. The biological minimum temperature is the lower limit temperature at which growth and development begin; the biological optimum temperature is the temperature most suitable for maintaining life and at which growth and development are fastest; the biological maximum temperature is the upper limit temperature that can be tolerated for maintaining life.
4. Term explanation - effective accumulated temperature. Each flower has its lower limit temperature for growth. Only when the temperature is above the lower limit temperature can it grow and develop. This excess temperature value that has an effective effect on flower growth and development is called effective accumulated temperature. It is the sum of effective temperatures during the entire growth period of the flower.
5. Term explanation - frost. During the growing period, when the air temperature drops to or below 0 degrees, ice forms in the intercellular spaces of the plant. If the temperature rises quickly, the cells cannot take up the evaporated water in time, causing dehydration or death of the plant.
6. Term explanation - cold damage. When the air temperature is above 0 degrees but lower than the minimum temperature that the flower can tolerate at its current growth stage, it causes obstacles to its physiological activities, reduces the vitality of cell protoplasm, weakens root absorption capacity, and causes phenomena such as wilting of young branches and leaves.
Light section
1. Term explanation - solar spectrum. The three parts of sunlight that have the greatest impact on flowers are visible light, ultraviolet light and infrared light.
2. Term explanation - visible light. It is the energy source for photosynthesis in flowers. Sunlight is split by a prism into seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, forming a light band. Chlorophyll absorbs red-orange light and blue-violet light the most, while green light is almost entirely reflected, so leaves appear green.
3. Term explanation - ultraviolet light. It is invisible light beyond violet light and cannot pass through ordinary glass. The part with longer wavelength can promote seed germination, fruit ripening, and is beneficial to flower coloring. The part with shorter wavelength can inhibit excessive growth of flowers and also kill pathogens, thereby increasing the seed germination rate.
4. Term explanation - infrared light. It is invisible light beyond red light. It is a kind of heat ray, and its presence can be sensed. It is absorbed by the ground and converted into heat energy, which can raise ground temperature and air temperature and provide the heat needed by flowers.
5. Term explanation - long-day flowers. Flowers that require more than 12 hours of sunlight per day to form flower buds. Flowers that bloom in spring and summer mostly belong to long-day flowers, such as iris, impatiens, etc.
6. Term explanation - short-day flowers. Flowers that can form flower buds only when daily sunlight is less than 12 hours. Under the long-day environment of summer they can only grow and cannot carry out flower bud differentiation. After autumn begins, when sunlight decreases to 10-11 hours, they begin flower bud differentiation. Such as poinsettia, chrysanthemum, hydrangea, etc.
7. Term explanation - day-neutral flowers. Flowers whose flower bud formation has no strict requirement for day length. They have no obvious response to the length of light time; as long as the temperature is suitable, they can bloom all year round. Such as Chinese rose, calla lily, zinnia, etc.
8. Term explanation - light intensity. Refers to the energy of visible light received per unit area. Abbreviated as illuminance, the unit is lux (Lax).
9. Term explanation - direct light. Refers to light that the sun projects directly onto the ground in parallel rays.
10. Term explanation - scattered light. Light that, after passing through air molecules, dust and water droplets and other substances, diffuses from the sky to the ground.
11. Term explanation - sun-loving flowers. Generally, only under relatively strong light can they grow robustly. Otherwise, branches become thin and soft, leaves pale, and they do not bloom. Such as Chinese rose, poinsettia, hibiscus, etc.
12. Term explanation - shade-loving flowers. Generally, only under weak light with more than 50% shade can they grow and develop normally. Such as begonia, ferns, Monstera deliciosa, etc.
13. Term explanation - neutral flowers. They can grow and develop regardless of light intensity. Such as cycad, asparagus fern, etc.
Tips for growing green plants - for Ata
For many years, the plants in my home died one after another, and within two or three months they would unfortunately pass away (here I observe two seconds of silence for those sacrificed green plants). Until the past two years, I switched to bottled water culture, and only then did my home have some greenery. My green plants are basically of two kinds, one is lucky bamboo, and the other is pothos.
Lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana) starts turning yellow after you've kept it for a while; you pull off each yellow leaf as it appears, and in the end it turns into a bare "bamboo pole." Luckily lucky bamboo isn't expensive, one yuan per stalk, so after a while you buy a bunch, throw out the bad ones (a bit cruel, like burying someone before they're dead). Later a friend told me to put an iron nail in the water, and after that the lucky bamboo grew pretty well. The lucky bamboo in the picture is what survived out of forty or fifty stalks; they've adapted to the harsh environment in my home and hung on tenaciously (Figure 1):
Every time I buy a pot of pothos it's extremely lush, but after I plant it in my pretty flowerpot, the leaves get fewer and fewer the longer it grows, until finally it's all sparse and scraggly, and I pull the whole thing out, trim the roots a bit, put it in a glass bottle, and swap in a new pot. I kept it that way for over a year, and last month I bought another pot of pothos. I looked closely this time: such a big lush pot of pothos was crammed into a small pot, and yet it grew so well. I found that the bottom of the pot didn't have just one hole like before, but lots of holes (Figure 2):

There's another pot with even more holes (Figure 3). I remembered a pot of pothos I bought before, whose roots had pushed out through the holes in the bottom of the pot. This shows that pothos roots need to breathe, and that's how they grow well.

I also noticed that the pot of pothos I bought didn't seem to contain soil but some kind of sawdust, and the pothos was hanging up. I guess it was the air circulation, so the root system was especially well developed, almost a chi long, coiled together (Figure 4). As for the pothos I grow, those thin roots are like cat whiskers, just two or three of them, and the leaves above are even more not worth mentioning.

Later I drilled lots of holes in my flowerpot too (Figure 5):

The newly bought pothos (Figure 6):

After planting the pothos in it, when you put it in the tray you need to prop it up, that's the only way to keep the air circulating (Figure 7):

This pot of pothos is growing well. I have another pot of pothos that used to be not bad either, but when I was watering I forgot to turn off the water heater and gave it a sauna, and it ended up like the one in the picture. So I bought another pot and swapped it in; it's been over twenty days now and it seems okay, I don't know how long it will last (Figure 8):

The pothos cuttings I put in a bottle always rot at the roots, I don't know why. When I see the bottled pothos for sale with long roots, I really want to know how they grow them. If I figure out the reason, I'll tell everyone (Figure 9):

If Ata sees this post, why not give it a try; having some plants at home can bring vitality and wealth. Also, let me tell Ata (and other netizens) that I can't reply to your posts anytime (I didn't reply to them all before either). I bought too little internet time, and now I can't use someone else's phone, and I don't have time to change it. I heard from my son that it's over at Wukesong, and last month I went over fifty over. A few days ago every time I got online it hurt my heart, and the more anxious I got the more typos I made. Every time I go online I take a rough look and then get off; I guess it'll be the same this month (if I do change it, it probably won't be until next month).

What is "green decoration"?
1. Green, environmentally friendly design:
Recommending "green design" for the home to ease people's tension and help adjust their anxious state of mind is a very beneficial measure.
Indoor "green design" methods:
1. Make interior design like the outdoors. Through design, the designer makes the interior feel like the outdoors, bringing nature indoors.
2. Through architectural design or renovation, make the interior and exterior transparent, or open up part of the wall surface, integrating interior and exterior and creating an open, flowing space, so residents can get more sunlight, fresh air and scenery.
3. In urban homes, and even in the interior spaces of dining and commercial services, pursue a pastoral flavor, and through design create the comfortable atmosphere of a farmhouse countryside.
4. Use natural plastic arts in interior design, that is, living plastic arts: indoor green potted plants, bonsai, water features, flower arrangements, etc.
5. Use painting techniques to create green landscapes indoors.
6. Indoor gardening methods.
7. In interior design, emphasize the application of natural colors and natural materials, so users can perceive natural materials and return to the primitive and natural.
8. In creating the indoor environment, adopt methods that simulate the sound effects and scent effects of nature.
9. The environment falls within the scope of ecology. Dwelling forms such as "loess cave dwellings" and nest dwellings built by weaving will once again become a research and design direction for architecture and interior design.
10. The indoor floor height of an ordinary home is generally 2.5-3 m. In order to keep residents from feeling oppressed indoors, in terms of design you can make a hollow-carved decorative ceiling frame, with a drop of about 30CM, letting the hollow frame be about 15CM from the ceiling, and install hidden blue light strips or light tubes in the hollow frame, shining onto the ceiling surface and giving off a sky-blue glow, making people feel as if they are in a dreamland, with a sense of openness and freshness.
11. Another aspect of environmentally friendly design is the matching and combination of colors. Proper color selection and matching can serve both health and decoration.

2. Use green building materials:
Home decoration materials harm human health in at least six ways.
1. "New home syndrome," where residents have a series of symptoms such as eye, nose and throat irritation, fatigue, headache, skin irritation and difficulty breathing.
2. It produces typical neurobehavioral functional damage, including memory impairment.
3. It irritates the human trigeminal nerve receptors.
4. It causes inflammatory reactions in the respiratory tract.
5. It lowers the human body's disease resistance (immune function).
6. It has relatively obvious mutagenicity, proving it may induce human tumors.
Generally speaking, most inorganic materials in decorative materials are safe and harmless, such as keels and fittings, ordinary profiles, floor tiles, glass and other traditional decorative materials, while some chemical synthetic compounds in organic materials are harmful to the human body to a certain degree. Most of them are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, such as benzene, phenol, anthracene, aldehydes and their derivatives, with a strong irritating odor, and can cause various physiological and psychological lesions in people.
1. Selection of wall decoration materials: for home wall decoration, try not to use wooden panels over a large area. You can smooth the original wall and then apply water-based paint, or choose a new generation of pollution-free PVC environmentally friendly wallpaper, or even use natural fabrics such as cotton, linen and silk as the base material for natural wallpaper.
2. Selection of flooring materials: there is a fairly wide choice of flooring materials, such as floor tiles, natural stone, wood flooring, carpets, etc. Floor tiles are generally pollution-free, but if natural stone is used over a large area in the home, you should choose slabs tested to contain no radioactive elements. Before choosing composite flooring or synthetic fiber carpets, you should carefully read the corresponding product instructions. If you use solid wood flooring, you should buy a flooring adhesive with a lower organic emission rate.
3. Selection of ceiling materials: the floor height of a home is generally not high, so you can skip a suspended ceiling and smooth the original ceiling before applying water-based paint or environmentally friendly wallpaper. If part or all of it is to have a suspended ceiling, it is recommended to use light steel keel paper-faced gypsum board, calcium silicate board, Eterpan and other materials instead of wood keel plywood.
4. Selection of soft decoration materials: for soft decoration materials such as curtains, bedspreads, pillowcases and sofa fabric, it is best to choose fabrics with a higher cotton and linen content, and note that the dye should have no peculiar smell, be highly stable and not fade easily.
5. Selection of wood product coating materials: the most commonly used coating materials for wood products are various types of paint, which are well known as a source of indoor pollution. However, some domestic companies have developed environmentally friendly paints, such as Yajue, Aide brand decoration paint, Pigeon brand metal paint, etc., none of which use benzene-containing thinners, have less irritating odor and evaporate quickly, and have been welcomed by users.

Consumers are reminded to note the following points:
1. Do not readily trust non-professional advertising. For advertising by manufacturers or merchants, learn more about the relevant materials and details, consult relevant books, shop around, and analyze and compare rationally.
2. Do not be superstitious about famous brands. High brand awareness does not necessarily mean superior quality, and even less does it mean it contains no harmful ingredients.
3. Choose decorative material products from legitimate enterprises. Especially enterprises that have passed ISO9000 series quality system certification or China Fangyuan mark product quality certification.
4. Learn about other people's experience using a certain decorative material product.
5. Strictly measure whether the radioactivity values of granite and marble exceed the standard.
6. Use health-care antibacterial building materials: use sterilizing glass, and use antibacterial tiles on walls.
7. High-quality green environmentally friendly coatings:
8. Use natural resin paint (lacquer), water-based wood clear paint and enamel paint to coat the surfaces of building doors and windows.
9. Whether the wood meets environmental standards, and whether the large core board has a pungent odor; use professional equipment to determine whether its isocyanate compounds, chlorine, anti-corrosion insecticides and free formaldehyde exceed the standard.
3. Green, environmentally friendly construction:
While using green environmentally friendly building materials, during the construction process you must also always keep the indoor air flowing, promptly release harmful gases, and at the same time properly sort and handle construction waste, ensuring that the construction process will not affect the health of construction workers and the environment.

4. Use green, environmentally friendly furniture:

Where does formaldehyde in home decoration come from?
Living in an environment with formaldehyde levels exceeding the standard can cause symptoms of formaldehyde poisoning, generally manifested as dizziness, a pungent spicy smell, tearing and palpitations. Long-term exposure to formaldehyde also increases the possibility of causing cancer.
In home decoration materials, such as composite flooring, the back panels and face panels of some furniture and cabinets, etc., density board is used. Because urea-formaldehyde glue is used in density board, the formaldehyde content is relatively high. At present the state has set strict standards for the formaldehyde content in density board, so when purchasing you should pay attention to the brand, place of origin and test report of the material. After decoration, the room must also be fully ventilated and air exchanged, and you cannot move in immediately.
Other man-made boards such as large core board, three-ply board, five-ply board, etc., use vinyl acetate as the main adhesive, so their formaldehyde content is relatively low.
Formaldehyde emission is an indicator measuring how much formaldehyde gas a product releases. At present, the adhesive used in decorative panels is still mainly urea-formaldehyde resin, and the residual formaldehyde in the panels that did not take part in the reaction will gradually be released into the surrounding environment. The release of formaldehyde and ammonia and radioactive pollution are three relatively important pollution sources in home decoration, especially ammonia and radioactivity; without instruments, people simply cannot detect their presence. Therefore you can use expert testing to determine whether the living environment has these pollutants.
Notes on green decoration:
Pay attention to "built-in" pollution in wall coatings:
When choosing coatings, besides color and gloss, the most important thing is to choose environmentally friendly coatings. Generally speaking, the quality and environmental friendliness of joint-venture and imported brands are relatively guaranteed, such as Nippon Paint, Dulux, Levis, Yadu, Sennelier, China Paint Giraffe, Mowell, etc. Among domestic paints, fine products such as Hongshi and Dengta also have good results.
When buying coatings, you must go to the designated brand specialty store. In addition, genuine brand agents all have a series of certification documents.
You should also pay attention to the use of auxiliary materials during construction, especially glue and primer. Even if you choose environmentally friendly coatings, you cannot be careless when treating the base; using a well-known brand primer not only ensures the overall effect, but is also absolutely necessary from an environmental point of view.
In addition, pay attention to the use of glue. 107 glue contains harmful substances, and relevant state regulations have explicitly banned the use of 107 glue in home decoration. For these auxiliary materials that are easily overlooked, you must pay special attention.
Beware of the "free" killer in flooring:
The standard for truly safe wood flooring should be threefold: it is beneficial and harmless to the human body, no quality accidents occur during use, and it does not damage buildings or the environment during installation.
At present there are many types of wood flooring. As far as the product itself is concerned, solid wood flooring contains no harmful substances, while inferior composite flooring may contain harmful substances.
Harmful substances include two aspects:
First, flooring containing adhesive has an excessively high free formaldehyde emission; if free formaldehyde exceeds 40mg100g it is harmful to the human body and is not allowed to be sold on the market. You had best choose green environmentally friendly flooring with a formaldehyde content of around 10mg100g. Such as: Oudian ship deck, Bergo, Shengxiang and other brands. In addition, Baly and Taibu flooring were among the first to pass international green environmental certification, so you can use them with confidence;
Second, various organic solvents are used in the painting process, such as toluene, nitro, etc., all of which emit gases harmful to the human body. It is recommended that when buying flooring you try as much as possible to buy flooring with a good surface finish that has been painted, and not buy bare boards.
So when you buy flooring, you had best refer to the standard specifications for wood flooring and, according to your own needs and preferences, choose flooring that meets national safety standards.
In short, safely choosing materials in home decoration is the key to environmentally friendly home decoration. You must pay special attention, starting from the selection of materials, to protect your family and let them live healthily in an environment that takes every aspect into account.