Detailed Guide to the Care and Management Methods and Techniques for Black Pine Bonsai

Black pine is an excellent material for making bonsai. Because the color of black pine is very distinctive, it is often combined with rocks to create pine-and-stone bonsai. The ornamental value of black pine bonsai is relatively high, so the care of black pine bonsai also requires attention to some details in order to enhance its ornamental value.

Black Pine Bonsai

1. Placement location: Black pine is suited to a sunny, humid and well-ventilated environment, but small bonsai should not be exposed to strong direct sunlight during the high temperatures of midsummer. In winter it can be placed outdoors; it is best to bury the whole pot in the ground in a sunny, wind-sheltered spot, leaving only the branches and trunk above the soil surface. If kept indoors for the winter, the indoor temperature should not be too high, and it must be moved outside before Qingming.

2. Watering: Black pine likes dry conditions, so do not water too much; it is best to water only after the soil has dried out. However, frequent misting on the leaf surface is beneficial to growth. In spring and summer, appropriate water restriction can keep new branches low and needles short.

3. Fertilizing: Black pine does not like heavy fertilizer. Each year during the vigorous spring growth period, apply diluted, fully decomposed cake fertilizer water twice, and in autumn apply one more application of fermented cake fertilizer crumbs.

4. Pruning: Pruning of black pine is mainly done by pinching buds, carried out between March and April each year when the new buds have elongated but needles have not yet sprouted. Generally, about 1B2 of the length of each terminal bud is removed; for bonsai that do not need to grow more branches, all terminal buds can be removed. In addition, branches and leaves that affect the beauty of the tree's form can be cut off during the winter dormant period.

5. Repotting: Black pine can be repotted once every 3 to 5 years, with the period from February to March being suitable, or after autumn. When repotting, remove about 1B2 of the old soil, cut off dead roots and rotten roots, shorten some long roots, and it is best to prune the branches and leaves at the same time.

6. Pest and disease control: The main diseases of black pine include leaf rust, needle cast, twisted branch disease and pine gall disease. Common pests include aphids, scale insects, red spiders and pine tip borers.

For pine needle rust and pine gall disease, spray 65% wettable ferbam or ziram at 300 times dilution for control; for needle cast, spray lime sulfur mixture at 0.5 degrees Baume. For pests such as pine tip borers and red spiders, spray 50% fenitrothion emulsifiable concentrate at 1000 to 1500 times dilution or 40% dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate at 2000 times dilution.

Key Tips for the Care and Management of Black Pine Bonsai

Flower and Bonsai Network introduction: Today the editor of Flower and Bonsai Network shares with you an article on the key tips for the care and management of black pine bonsai. Flower lovers who like it, come and take a look.

The images in the article were taken by the editor from actual black pines brought back from Japan. If you like them, you can directly contact the editor's WeChat at the end of the article!

Pine trees, evergreen through all four seasons, verdant as if about to drip, unafraid of severe cold, with a lean and hard spirit, have since ancient times been an object depicted and praised by scholars and literati. The great Tang dynasty poet Li Bai wrote in a poem: "As a plant, one should be an orchid; as a tree, one should be a pine; the orchid's subtle fragrance travels far on the wind, the pine does not change its appearance in the cold." The pine tree, sturdy and upright, does not change its appearance even in severe cold, expressing the author's meaning of unyielding perseverance. The Ming dynasty poet Yu Qian wrote the verse "In cold years, the hearts of pine and cypress, forever protect each other," used to express that husband and wife should forever maintain a constancy of spirit like the pine and cypress in cold years.

As early as the Qin dynasty two thousand years ago, people transplanted pines from the mountains and wilds into courtyards for viewing. In the Tang dynasty, planting pines in courtyards was very popular. Wang Shipeng, a top scholar of the Song dynasty and a native of Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, planted pines "in clay pots, placed in a small room," pioneering the beginning of pine bonsai in China. During the Ming and Qing periods, pine bonsai became even more prevalent. In modern times, people's love for pine bonsai is no less than that of the ancients.

Black pine, also known as white bud pine, belongs to the genus Pinus in the family Pinaceae and is an evergreen tree. The bark is grayish-black and cracks in scaly plates. Winter buds are cylindrical and silvery-white. Leaves are 2 needles per bundle, clustered on short shoots, sharp at the tip, thick and hard, dark green, with a glossy sheen. It flowers between April and May, sets fruit after flowering, and the cones are conical-ovoid, maturing from September to October of the following year, turning chestnut brown when mature.

Our country is very rich in black pine resources. Black pine has strong adaptability and can grow well whether in the south or the north. Black pine's branches and trunk spread horizontally, it is deep green in all four seasons, its chaotic roots coil and twist, and its posture is vigorous, displaying tenacious vitality. Black pine is one of the commonly used tree species for making bonsai. Black pine seedlings about three years old are often used as rootstock for grafting five-needle pine for bonsai.

Tree Form Creation

There are two sources of materials for making black pine bonsai: one is to propagate by seed to obtain black pine seedlings. Propagating by seed can yield relatively many seedlings at one time. However, processing these seedlings into bonsai with ornamental value takes 5 to 10 years. Commonly, robust 2- to 3-year-old young black pines are used; according to the characteristics of the young tree, they are wired into various styles such as curved-trunk style, slanting-trunk style, waterside style, cascade style and more. Young black pines have relatively soft branches and trunks, great plasticity and strong vitality, and can be processed into many styles of bonsai. The second is to go to wild black pine forest areas and select and dig up old stumps growing in hilly barren land, in the mountains and wilds, or at wind gaps where natural conditions are harsh; choosing old stumps with thick, short trunks and twisted branches is most suitable. After digging them up, "plant them in the ground to nurture the stock" for about two years, and after they regain vigor, process and shape them. The creation of old black pine stump bonsai requires both pruning and wiring, guiding according to the tree's tendency and shaping according to the material, so that the resulting bonsai is natural and beautiful.

The processing and creation of black pine bonsai should be carried out from January to March when the sap flow is slow; at this time there is basically no pine resin overflowing from cut wounds on the branches, so the impact on the growth of the black pine is minimal.

Planting and Pot Selection

Black pine has strong adaptability and is not strict about soil, but it grows well in loose, fertile soil rich in humus with good drainage. Planting or repotting of black pine bonsai should preferably be done before spring bud break. Because our country is vast and the temperature difference between north and south is relatively large, the specific timing should be flexibly determined according to local temperatures. When cultivating young black pines, the soil should be appropriately lean and on the poor side, to promote root growth and make the branches and trunk short, forming a "small old tree" appearance.

Black pine bonsai commonly uses purple clay pots, and glazed pots can also be used. Because black pine has strong adaptability and a relatively developed root system, aside from cascade style and waterside style using tall cylindrical pots, upright style, curved-trunk style and slanting-trunk style commonly use relatively shallow rectangular or oval pots. Shallow pots can better reveal the charm of exposed roots and claws, ancient and elegant.

Care and Management

1. Care site. Black pine likes light, so the care site should have ample sunlight and air circulation. But small bonsai made from young trees should be appropriately shaded in the hot summer. In the Beijing area, those cultivated outdoors can overwinter outdoors. Potted ones should be moved indoors at the beginning of winter; as long as the care site does not freeze, black pine can overwinter safely. If the temperature is too high, it is instead unfavorable to the black pine's growth the following year. In late autumn and early winter, the black pine can also be buried together with its pot underground in a wind-sheltered, sunny spot. The upper rim of the pot should be lower than the ground surface; first water thoroughly, and the next day fill the pit level. Mound soil around the trunk above ground level; in this way it can also overwinter outdoors.

2. Watering. When cultivating black pine bonsai, it is better for the potting soil to be on the dry side. Do not water if not dry; when watering, water thoroughly (water leaking from the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot indicates thorough watering). When watering, never let the potting soil be wet on top and dry below, so that the lower roots cannot get enough water. Especially in summer, when the ground temperature is relatively high, if water is again unavailable, it is unfavorable to plant growth. Black pine likes a humid environment, so frequently spray water on the ground and on the branches and leaves; especially in the hot summer, spray water once each in the morning and evening. 3. Fertilizing. Black pine does not like heavy fertilizer; applying one application each of decomposed, diluted organic liquid fertilizer in spring, summer and autumn each year is sufficient. Too much fertilizer easily causes branches to grow leggy, and the tree form becomes less beautiful instead.

4. Shaping. Each spring, black pine grows thick, relatively low new buds. Before the needles have unfolded, according to the needs of the styling, cut off a section of varying length from the new buds; generally cut off half of the new bud, so that the branch nodes become shorter. If you do not want the branch to extend, you can also cut off all the new buds. If you want to change the tree form and cut off larger branches, this should be done during the winter dormant period.

5. Pest and disease prevention. The main diseases of black pine include leaf rust, needle cast, pine gall disease and others. The main pests include scale insects, red spiders, pine tip borers and others. Pay attention to timely prevention and control.

Care, Management and Appreciation of Black Pine Bonsai

China Landscape Network, November 29 news:(1) Care and Management

Placement location: Black pine is suited to a sunny, humid and well-ventilated environment, but small bonsai should not be exposed to strong direct sunlight during the high temperatures of midsummer. In winter it can be placed outdoors; it is best to bury the whole pot in the ground in a sunny, wind-sheltered spot, leaving only the branches and trunk above the soil surface. If kept indoors for the winter, the indoor temperature should not be too high, and it must be moved outside before Qingming.

Watering: Black pine likes dry conditions, so do not water too much; it is best to water only after the soil has dried out. However, frequent misting on the leaf surface is beneficial to growth. In spring and summer, appropriate water restriction can keep new branches low and needles short.

Fertilizing: Black pine does not like heavy fertilizer. Each year during the vigorous spring growth period, apply diluted, fully decomposed cake fertilizer water twice, and in autumn apply one more application of fermented cake fertilizer crumbs.

Pruning: Pruning of black pine is mainly done by pinching buds, carried out between March and April each year when the new buds have elongated but needles have not yet sprouted. Generally, about 1B2 of the length of each terminal bud is removed; for bonsai that do not need to grow more branches, all terminal buds can be removed. In addition, branches and leaves that affect the beauty of the tree's form can be cut off during the winter dormant period.

Repotting: Black pine can be repotted once every 3 to 5 years, with the period from February to March being suitable, or after autumn. When repotting, remove about 1B2 of the old soil, cut off dead roots and rotten roots, shorten some long roots, and it is best to prune the branches and leaves at the same time.

Pest and disease control: The main diseases of black pine include leaf rust, needle cast, twisted branch disease and pine gall disease. Common pests include aphids, scale insects, red spiders and pine tip borers.

For pine needle rust and pine gall disease, spray 65% wettable ferbam or ziram at 300 times dilution for control; for needle cast, spray lime sulfur mixture at 0.5 degrees Baume. For pests such as pine tip borers and red spiders, spray 50% fenitrothion emulsifiable concentrate at 1000 to 1500 times dilution or 40% dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate at 2000 times dilution.

(2) Appreciation

Black pine's branches and trunk spread horizontally, the crown is like an umbrella canopy, the needles are deep green in all four seasons, and the winter buds are silvery-white, so it can be displayed and appreciated year-round. Black pine is a sun-loving tree and requires ample light; during the growth period, especially during the bud-breaking and leafing stage, it should not be placed indoors for viewing for long periods. Black pine bonsai cultivated for many years present a strange posture like a coiled dragon and soaring phoenix, with an old trunk vigorous and gnarled roots coiling, expressing tenacious vitality. "In the forest, a hundred-zhang pine, over long years its green scales crowd together" - this is a verse by the Song dynasty writer Su Dongpo praising the posture of the pine tree.