Production and Care Methods for Chinese Fringe-flower (Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum) Bonsai
Chinese fringe flower (Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum) is often used to make bonsai, and can be made into different forms of bonsai such as single-trunk style, double-trunk style, deadwood style, curved-trunk style and forest style. The crown can be shaped into an elegant natural form, or into round pads of varying sizes arranged in a well-balanced, staggered manner. Processing methods include wiring, bending and pruning. Let's take a look at the production and care of Chinese fringe-flower bonsai below!
Propagation Methods for Chinese Fringe Flower
1. Grafting: Grafting mainly uses 2 methods, cut grafting and bud grafting, and can be carried out from February to October. Cut grafting is best done before spring sprouting, while bud grafting is suitable in September to October. Using medium and small plants of white Chinese fringe flower (Loropetalum chinense) as rootstock for multi-head grafting, with strengthened water and fertilizer and pruning management, they can leave the nursery within 1 year.
2. Cuttings: Cuttings can be taken from March to September. Use loose loess as the cutting medium, ensure the medium is airy and permeable with high air humidity, keep it warm but avoid direct sunlight, and also pay attention to ventilation of the cutting environment. Under warm and humid conditions, the cuttings form red callus in 20 to 25 days, and after 1 month grow 3 to 9 new roots 0.1 cm thick and 1 to 6 cm long.
3. Sowing: Sowing in spring and summer gives a high seed germination rate. They germinate about 25 days after sowing, and in 1 year can grow to 6 to 20 cm tall and produce 3 to 6 branches. The new roots of seedlings are red and fleshy, and careful management is required in the early stage until the root system becomes woody and turns brown, only then can extensive management begin. Because of its long seedling stage, slow growth, and the appearance of white Chinese fringe flower seedlings (atavism), sexual propagation is generally not used for nursery stock production, but for breeding research on Chinese fringe flower.
Production of Chinese Fringe-flower Bonsai
1. Specimen planting: Choose a tall and full plant and plant it alone in an important position or at a focal point of sight, such as near an entrance, in a courtyard or on a lawn, forming a scene on its own, and pay attention to creating a strong contrast with the surrounding landscape to achieve the effect of “a single red among ten thousand greens”, so it can serve as the central viewpoint of the landscape or guide the line of sight.
2. Group planting: Plant Chinese fringe flower balls and other plants in clusters as accents in garden green spaces, which both enriches the landscape colors and enlivens the garden atmosphere. If planted in clusters with green tree species, it can add further beauty. Planting mainly Chinese fringe flower balls in groups and patches to form a scenic forest, its unique leaf color and posture are beautiful throughout the four seasons, and its landscaping effect is far better than that of a purely green scenic forest.
3. Mass planting: Use 1-year-old small Chinese fringe flower seedlings densely planted in green spaces to form color blocks. They can be combined with golden privet, spring-flowering azalea, summer-flowering azalea, golden-leaf elm, golden-edged boxwood and others, not only forming color contrast through the difference in leaf color, but also staggering their flowering periods. For this type of use, the Tougu Hong series is suitable.
4. Ball shape: Prune Chinese fringe flower into balls and arrange them in green belts. They are mainly divided into two types, rough balls and fine balls. Rough balls are mainly formed after 1 to 3 years of pruning and shaping, and are mainly used in large green spaces with relatively extensive management. Fine balls require at least 3 years of pruning and shaping, and are mainly used in exquisite gardens such as villa courtyards. For this type of use, the Tougu Hong series is suitable.
5. Color hedge: Densely plant Chinese fringe flower into color hedges to serve as enclosure and space separation. The specification of the nursery stock should be selected according to the specific use of the color hedge. For example, in green spaces, a 70 to 80 cm color hedge can be used to separate spaces, while color hedges higher than 2 m are mostly used on the outer periphery of green spaces to serve as a green wall.
6. Color sculpture: Directionally cultivate or shape Chinese fringe flower into green sculptures such as animals and geometric shapes, and place them in green spaces as garden features. For this type of use, the Tougu Hong series is suitable.
7. Stump landscape: Taking advantage of the fast growth, large leaves and sparse branches of the Shuangmian Hong type of Chinese fringe flower, directionally cultivate it into large stump landscapes for greening of high-end gardens, and it can also be used as the focal point of a flower bed for landscaping.
8. Street tree: Through pruning control, cultivate Chinese fringe flower into a small colorful-leaf tree, or cultivate it by grafting onto white Chinese fringe flower. It is mostly used as a street tree in residential communities. For this type of use, the Tougu Hong series is suitable.
Care of Chinese Fringe-flower Bonsai
1. Soil: Chinese fringe flower prefers slightly acidic soil. If the soil is too alkaline, the Chinese fringe-flower bonsai will grow poorly and even die. For growing Chinese fringe flower in pots, river sand, coal ash and yellow loam at 3:2:5 is relatively ideal, and river sand and yellow loam at 3:7 or sandy yellow loam can also be used, with a layer of well-drained coarse sand or expanded clay pellets placed at the bottom for drainage.
2. Pruning: Pruning and shaping are especially important for growing a good Chinese fringe-flower bonsai. In order to ensure the ornamental form of the Chinese fringe-flower bonsai, during its growth period it is necessary to cut off dominant branches, leggy branches, clustered branches, weak inner branches, and pest- and disease-damaged branches, and pruning the growth points and removing leaves of Chinese fringe flower can regulate the flowering period or red-leaf period. Heavy pruning should preferably be done around the full-bloom period or in early autumn, and the effect is better when combined with repotting. After flowering, the spent flowers and developing fruit of Chinese fringe flower should be cut off as early as possible to avoid consuming nutrients.
3. Repotting: Repotting is beneficial to the growth of Chinese fringe flower. When repotting, pay attention to pruning old roots, leggy roots, overlapping roots and coiled roots, thinning overly dense fibrous roots, removing rotten and dead roots, clearing away old soil, and replacing it with new soil. The interval between repottings depends first on the growth of the stump landscape and second on the size of the pot. Generally, large pots are repotted every 3 to 4 years, medium pots every 2 to 3 years, and small pots every 1 to 2 years. Under special circumstances, it can be done at any time.
4. Fertilizing: Fertilizing Chinese fringe flower follows the principle of light fertilizer applied frequently. During the growth period, diluted fully decomposed cake fertilizer water can be applied twice a month, with 1% urea added occasionally. Spraying an 800 to 1000 times solution of monopotassium phosphate before the flowering period can promote flower bud differentiation and enhance flower color. Do not fertilize during the flowering period or dormant period. A 0.5% ferrous sulfate solution should also be sprayed once each season to maintain soil acidity. Fertilizing should be done on cloudy days or in the evening on sunny days.
5. Watering: Watering of Chinese fringe-flower bonsai should be flexibly controlled according to the season, climate, pot size and plant growth condition. In principle, each watering must soak through, keeping the soil moist but not waterlogged. In the high-temperature period of midsummer, in addition to watering thoroughly in the morning and evening and spraying the leaves, shade should be provided appropriately where conditions allow, to avoid the pot being exposed to strong sun and burning the roots near the pot wall or burning the leaves and causing local withering at the leaf edges, while high temperatures can also turn the leaves green and affect the ornamental value.
6. Pests and diseases: Chinese fringe flower has strong resistance to pests and diseases, but poor management can lead to pests and diseases such as black spot, sooty mold and scale insects. Therefore, when growing Chinese fringe flower, attention should be paid to monitoring its pests and diseases, and early detection and early treatment should be achieved.