Bonsai seedling and plant care and pest and disease control, easily mastered in three minutes
Because bonsai plants are limited by the nutrient area of the growing container and by the special requirements of artistic shaping, their care demands particular rigor, thoroughness and attention to detail. A moment of negligence can destroy the entire shaping process in an instant. The basic requirements for bonsai plant care are briefly described as follows:
Repotting and soil replacement
After a bonsai plant is grown in a pot, because the pot soil available for root growth is limited, after 2 to 3 years of growth the pot soil often becomes poor and deficient in fertilizer, with a compacted structure and accumulated salts and alkalis, causing poor tree vigor, and the fibrous roots tend to grow toward the pot wall, which is unfavorable for the absorption of fertilizer and water. Therefore, the underground growth environment must be improved by replacing the soil. In addition, as the bonsai plant grows, not only should the pot be replaced with one of a suitable size from the perspective of growth needs, but from the landscape perspective the requirement that the pot and the scene match appropriately should also be considered.
The interval between repotting often depends on the vigor of the bonsai plant and the fertility and structure of the pot soil, and also varies with the tree species. Generally, for flowering and fruiting bonsai, because flowering and fruiting each year consume more nutrients, repotting and soil replacement are needed every 2 to 3 years; for pines, cypresses and most old-stump bonsai, because they consume fewer nutrients, repotting can be done every 3 to 5 years; for some vigorously growing deciduous species, repotting is suitable every 2 to 3 years.
The timing of repotting and soil replacement differs somewhat depending on the tree species. Generally, for pines, cypresses and strongly cold-hardy deciduous tree species, in the Yangtze River basin it can be done in early autumn; after recovering through autumn and winter, this benefits growth the following spring and getting through the summer the next year, but it can also be done in early spring.
Watering
Water is an important condition on which bonsai plants depend for survival, growth and development. Only with water can plants absorb from the soil the nutrients dissolved in water and carry out photosynthesis normally. Therefore, watering is a very important part of bonsai plant care and management.
Water according to the plant's nature, and treat each differently. Plants must be treated differently according to their habits regarding water requirements, so as to water according to the plant's nature. For example, aquatic plants should stay in water and must not be deprived of it, especially during the growth period; "dry pine, wet cypress" is a highly typical farming proverb in forestry summarizing the water-requirement habits of pines and cypresses. Therefore, when watering, one must first understand the water-requirement habits of different plants, and then water reasonably. As for watering time and water quality, in winter it is best done in the morning, and in summer in the early morning or evening. As for the water source, natural rainwater is best, and unpolluted river or pond water is also good; well water and tap water should be stored in a water tank or pool and left to aerate for 1 to 2 days before use.
Water at the right time, alternating dry and wet. This is the principle for watering most dryland plants grown in pots or as bonsai. Watering at the right time can satisfy the water requirements of the roots of potted plants; once severely short of water, a plant will die from dehydration, and even moderate water shortage can affect the growth of bonsai plants. When watering, there is the basic requirement to "water thoroughly when you water." For some miniature or small bonsai, in summer watering is often supplemented by placing the whole pot into water to soak, and taking it out once it is thoroughly soaked. Besides needing water, plant roots also need air. Except for aquatic plants, the vast majority of plants, if soaked in water for a long time, will suffocate and rot at the roots and die. "Alternating dry" means giving the soil environment in which the plant roots grow a chance to let air in. Therefore, one must grasp well the dialectical relationship between "dry" and "wet" in watering, and achieve alternating dry and wet.
Fertilizing
Because the pot soil of bonsai plants is limited and contains fewer nutrients, fertilizer must be applied to supplement it so that the plants can grow and develop normally and keep their branches and leaves robust and vigorous and their flowers abundant and fruit plentiful. However, if applied improperly or in excess, it can easily lead to excessive growth or fertilizer burn.
Selection of fertilizer. Fertilizer for bonsai plants is often mainly decomposed organic fertilizer, commonly including cake fertilizer, bean dregs, bone meal, fish and shrimp scraps, etc., especially dried sesame oil residue powder, whose fertilizer effect is particularly good. But sometimes it easily attracts small insects such as ants, flies and moths, or produces an off odor. To solve this problem, in the home one must use fully decomposed organic fertilizer: granular fertilizer must be fully fermented until it is neither hot nor odorous and is brown-black before use, and liquid fertilizer must be fermented until it has no sour smell and no foul odor and is sauce-brown before use. A moderate amount of chemical fertilizers such as Dafeiwang, monopotassium phosphate, ferrous sulfate and urea may also be added to organic fertilizer, with the concentration ratio slightly lower than the ratio in the instructions for use. In summer it is better to make it even more dilute, to avoid fertilizer burn.
Application methods. Generally, granular fertilizer is suitable as a base fertilizer when potting, and can also be buried in small holes made around the roots; liquid fertilizer is mostly applied by watering, usually in the evening on a clear day. Before fertilizing, it is suitable to withhold water somewhat, so that the soil is in a relatively dry state, which gives the best fertilizing effect. When applying, prevent it from soiling the leaf surface. For flowering and fruiting bonsai, during the flower bud formation period, appropriately more phosphorus and potassium fertilizer should be applied. In short, fertilizing must be flexibly controlled according to time, soil, fertilizer and tree, achieving the right tree, the right time and the right amount, so as to obtain the expected results. Remedies for fertilizer burn: if fertilizer burn occurs, water promptly to leach and dilute it, and in summer measures such as adding a shade net should be used for remedy.
Ridge-shaped pruning
A bonsai is a living work of art. If any excellent bonsai work is not promptly pruned, pinched and further reshaped and trimmed, it will in a short time grow into a messy, unattractive state. The shaping of a bonsai must continue with unremitting year-round shaping and trimming after it has taken shape, so that the bonsai becomes more and more pleasing the larger it grows, more and more valuable the older it gets, and more and more culturally valuable the more ancient it is. Pruning and shaping: pruning is the routine care work of a formed bonsai, the purpose being to control the shape of the crown and maintain a beautiful landscape. The pruning method varies with different tree species. For comprehensive shaping pruning, generally foliage-appreciated and pine and cypress species are often pruned in April to May, evergreen broadleaf species can be pruned in June to July, and deciduous species can be pruned in all four seasons; the same applies to species that flower on perennial branches, while flowering and fruiting bonsai species that flower and fruit on one-year-old branches should be pruned in early spring or autumn. At other times, auxiliary local pruning can also be done. Water sprouts or adventitious buds that sprout during the growth period are cut off at any time, and vigorously growing bonsai trees are often pruned several times a year.
The purpose of leaf removal is, first, to regulate the plant's growth vigor. For some overly vigorously growing plants, the method of leaf removal is often used to inhibit excessive growth, making the branches and leaves smaller and shorter and the plant shape more compact. It is generally mostly used for young and middle-aged trees of fast-growing species; for example, through leaf removal, black pine can achieve the purpose of shortening its needles, and through leaf removal, elm can make its leaves smaller. This kind of leaf removal is mostly done after branch growth has stopped and the leaves have matured, so that new leaves can quickly grow out after removal. Second, it promotes the sprouting of new leaves and improves ornamental quality.
Summer management
The scorching sunlight, extremely high temperatures and dry air of summer are extremely unfavorable to the growth of bonsai plants. In order to enable bonsai plants to get through summer safely, the following work should be emphasized in their care:
Use a shade net to regulate sunlight. Strongly sun-loving plants such as crape myrtle may be left without shading; for general bonsai tree species, especially small and medium-sized bonsai, a 5 cm to 7 cm shade net should be set up for shading, covered from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and opened from 4 p.m. to 10 a.m. the next morning.
Water regulation. Water in the morning and evening; around midday only sprinkle water or mist, do not water, mainly to increase air humidity. Miniature bonsai can have their pots buried in a sand bed, and when watering, water together with the sand bed, to prevent the pot soil from losing water. Summer has many rainstorms; in cultivation sites without rain-shelter facilities, after rain the accumulated water in the pots should be drained promptly, and for large and medium-sized bonsai such as trough-style ones, even more attention should be paid to drainage work.
In addition, the pot body should be secured to prevent it from being blown over by typhoons.
Pest and disease control
Although bonsai plants are usually carefully cared for and are limited in number, so that pest and disease damage is less than for potted or field-grown flowers and trees, if the growing environment has weak light and poor ventilation, and the plants' vigor is weak, various pest and disease damage can still occur, and one must never be careless.
Common diseases. The common diseases of bonsai plants mainly include: powdery mildew (more serious on crape myrtle and goji), sclerotinia disease (more serious on ivy), and root rot (more likely to occur in tree stumps collected from the wild, such as elm and Japanese bush cherry, under poor drainage conditions). In addition, sunscald, rust, black spot, ring rot and so on also occur from time to time. The control method is mainly to remove diseased material and reduce sources of infection; for chemical control, refer to the relevant content on flowers, flowering shrubs, flowering trees, etc.
Common pests. Although bonsai plants have fewer pests, their harmfulness must never be underestimated.
The main pests harming bonsai plants are leaf-eating pests. One type is pests with chewing mouthparts (such as slug moths, bagworms, pine tussock moths, box tree leaf rollers, omnivorous caterpillars, etc.); the other type is pests with piercing-sucking mouthparts (such as various scale insects, aphids, lace bugs, etc.). Control methods: first, emphasize the protection of natural enemies, using insects to control insects; second, manual capture and killing; third, chemical control, which can refer to the relevant content on flowers, flowering shrubs, flowering trees, etc.
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