Daily Care Management and Pest and Disease Control Methods for Tamarisk Bonsai

Tamarisk Bonsai Care and Management Knowledge Introduction

Fertilizing: Tamarisk loves fertilizer. Except in winter and the plum rain season, apply thoroughly decomposed cake fertilizer water two to three times a month, or use oil meal alone.

Pruning: Tamarisk is extremely tolerant of pruning. During the growing season, when new buds unfold, the unnecessary parts and excess buds must be removed. During July and August, the branches and leaves grow densely, so overly dense branches and leaves can be thinned out to improve ventilation and light penetration. Generally, more should be removed from the top of the branches and less from the lower part. In addition, after leaf fall in autumn and before budding in spring, a shaping prune can be carried out.

Repotting: Repot once a year, preferably from late February to early April. When repotting, trim and tidy the roots, replace one part old soil to two parts new soil, and mound up fertile new soil to promote growth.

Pest and disease control: The main pest of tamarisk is aphids, which can be killed by spraying with a 2,000-fold dilution of 40 percent dimethoate.

Placement: Tamarisk should be placed in a spot with good ventilation, light, and moist air. It can withstand cold in winter and can generally overwinter outdoors; simply bury the pot in a sunny, wind-sheltered spot. In summer, it should be placed in a shaded area to avoid scorching sun exposure.

Watering: Tamarisk likes moisture, so keep the pot soil adequately moist at ordinary times, but do not let water accumulate. During high summer temperatures, water in the morning and evening, and never let the pot soil dry out, otherwise the branch tips will wither. After leaf fall in winter, the pot soil must also be kept moist.

Tamarisk Bonsai Care | Tamarisk Bonsai Management

Fertilizing: Tamarisk loves fertilizer. Except in winter and the plum rain season, apply thoroughly decomposed cake fertilizer water two to three times a month, or use oil meal alone.

Making and Caring for Tamarisk Bonsai

Floral Bonsai Network Introduction: Today the Floral Bonsai Network editor brings you an article on making and caring for tamarisk bonsai. Flower lovers who like it, come and take a look.

Tamarisk, also known as Sanchun willow, red willow, and sand willow, is a shrub or small tree of the genus Tamarix in the family Tamaricaceae. It is one of the main representative tree species of Zhongzhou bonsai. It can grow well under almost any conditions, has extremely strong sprouting ability, roots as soon as it is stuck in, and takes shape quickly. Its leaf shape is novel, its flowers are beautiful, and its flowering period is long, earning it the laudatory name of "flowers that never fall."

Styling of Tamarisk Bonsai

1. Weeping-branch style. First, choose a suitable trunk, such as a slanting trunk or crooked trunk. Next, cultivate primary, secondary, and tertiary main branches. To imitate nature, the main branches should be grown slanting upward, and as few horizontal branches as possible should be grown, because weeping willows in nature rarely have large horizontal branches. After the main branch framework is grown, when new buds grow to 3 cm, keep the strong buds needed for styling and remove all useless buds. When the retained buds grow to 15 cm, that is, after lateral buds appear, cut 10 cm off the main bud branch, keeping only 4 to 5 lateral buds. When the retained lateral buds grow to 20 to 25 cm, remove overly weak and overly short branches, and cut off overly thick, overly long, and overly dense branches, that is, remove the "five overly" branches, and keep enough suitable branches needed for styling. Then use metal wire to pull down branches that do not droop into place, or use a heavy object to weigh them down for 6 to 10 days, and they will be in place and set in shape.

2. Imitation pine and cypress style. Tamarisk not only has bark resembling pine and cypress branches, but its leaves also resemble their leaves. To imitate the pine and cypress style, first choose one with an upright trunk, vigorous and imposing. Then focus on cultivating horizontally extending branches or slanting floating branches; leave the main branches near the trunk appropriately long without foliage to show age, making the framework resemble that of pine and cypress. Finally comes the making of foliage pads, with each pad staggered in height, pads within pads and clusters within clusters, striving to resemble pine and cypress foliage.

3. Natural style. In the natural style, keep fine branches rather short, 10 to 15 cm is enough. No external force is needed; let them grow naturally, with the branches and leaves drooping slightly, approximating a parabola.

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Management and Care

1. Pot soil. Tamarisk is by habit tolerant of saline-alkali soil and likes moisture, so the pot soil should preferably be neutral or slightly saline-alkaline, breathable, loose, sandy soil, with repotting, root trimming, and replacement with new soil once a year. The new soil should be mainly leaf mold and honeycomb coal cinders, with a suitable addition of fertilizer and lime residue.

2. Fertilizing. Tamarisk has a well-developed root system and likes nitrogen fertilizer. At ordinary times, apply a light alum fertilizer water once every half month, following the method of frequent but light applications. When growth is vigorous, apply frequently and appropriately more; when growth is poor, apply slowly and less. Before leaf fall in late autumn, apply monopotassium phosphate once to promote branch aging and nutrient storage, and prevent branch dieback in winter.

3. Watering. Although tamarisk is drought-tolerant, it likes moisture. The pot soil should rather be wet than dry, and the pot soil should be kept constantly moist.

4. Pruning. Although tamarisk is tolerant of pruning, improper pruning timing can easily cause branch dieback and dead branches. Pruning should be carried out in spring and summer. Pruning in autumn means newly grown branches do not age and store enough nutrients, which will cause branches to die back after overwintering. Do not prune in winter; wait until after budding in spring to prune, cutting off dead branches, surplus branches, and thin weak branches to maintain tree vigor. In addition, after each flowering, the faded flowers should be cut off promptly.

5. Light. Tamarisk is a strongly heliophilous tree species and is not shade-tolerant. It should be placed in a well-ventilated spot with ample sunlight, but during the dog days when sunlight is too strong, it can be slightly shaded.

6、Pest and Disease Control. The main disease of tamarisk is powdery mildew; pay attention to ventilation and spray thiophanate-methyl or chlorothalonil once every half month for prevention. The main pests of tamarisk are red spider mites, scale insects, and whiteflies, which can be controlled with pesticides such as deltamethrin, methamidophos, and propargite.