How Do You Prune a Ficus Bonsai? An Introduction to Several Common Pruning Methods
In ficus styling, pruning is the most important technique; through pruning, the goal of achieving a graceful ficus form can be reached. Pruning can generally be done in all four seasons. In actual care and styling, pruning is the main approach and wiring is secondary. One pruning per year is appropriate; for vigorously growing trees, two prunings are possible. After the forked branches growing from the shortened branches become thick and strong, prune again. There are several methods: pinching, bud thinning, leaf removal, heading back, and renewal pruning.
Pinching
Pinching can promote the sprouting of axillary buds, encourage more branching, expand the crown, and at the same time inhibit leggy growth of branches. The timing and frequency of pinching are closely related to the tree species. For pines, for example, it is best to pinch off about 2/3 of the bud center when the new buds swell but before the needles have opened, leaving only a small section at the base. In the future, two lateral buds will sprout here, sending new shoots in two directions. For evergreen broadleaf trees and deciduous trees that readily produce new shoots, pinching is generally done when the new shoots have sprouted and grown 2 to 3 leaves, by pinching out the leaf center. When new shoots and leaves sprout again, pinch in the same way. Repeating this operation can achieve a full crown.
Bud Thinning
Bud thinning: when a tree sprouts, many buds often sprout at the same time. To ensure a concentrated supply of water and nutrients, keep the well-positioned buds and remove unnecessary buds to form a more ideal tree shape. For species with strong sprouting ability such as Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia) and snowbush (Serissa japonica), pay even more attention to wiping off buds that are unfavorable to the styling at any time.
Leaf Removal
Leaf removal can promote the tree to sprout new leaves. For some species such as Chinese elm and Vitex negundo, leaf removal can make the originally large leaves become smaller and more delicate. For some colored-leaf tree species, such as maples and pomegranate, leaf removal can make the leaf color more vivid. However, removing leaves eliminates the photosynthesis of those leaves, which makes the tree stump lose a great opportunity to accumulate nutrients; for some weak stumps, it may cause the plant to weaken or even die. Therefore, it is best to carry out leaf removal on relatively vigorously growing stumps.
Heading Back
The method of cutting off part of a one-year-old branch is called heading back, which can rapidly increase the branching tiers of a branch. Generally speaking, it is a top-level pruning of the tree's branches that can make the tree's outer contour fuller. According to how much is cut off, heading back can be divided into light heading, medium heading, and heavy heading. Light heading generally cuts off 1/5 of the branch tip, removing the branch's apical dominance, forming more medium and short branches, making the tree shape fuller and thickening the mother branch. Medium heading generally refers to cutting off 1/2 to 3/5 of the branch tip, forming more medium and long branches and possibly promoting branch growth. Heavy heading refers to retaining 1/5 of the branch, which can promote the growth of 1 to 2 vigorous branches below the cut, and is generally used to cultivate the main trunk branch.
Renewal Pruning
Cutting off a section of a perennial branch is called renewal pruning. It is the main pruning technique of the Lingnan school's "growing branches and truncating the trunk" method, creating various twisting, varied, vigorous and sturdy forms such as "chicken-claw branches" and "deer-antler branches." Renewal pruning can not only dwarf the tree shape but also enhance the expressive power of the tree's branches. Continuously carrying out renewal pruning on branches can increase the layers of the bonsai.
Ficus Bonsai Prices and How to Prune a Ficus Bonsai
Ficus bonsai is a relatively common type of plant bonsai on the market, with good ornamental value. The ficus has strong vitality; with only simple care it can grow full of life. So how much does a ficus bonsai cost, and how do you prune a ficus bonsai? Do you know? Before buying a ficus bonsai, let's take a look together with the editor.
Ficus Bonsai Prices
Ficus bonsai is relatively inexpensive and has a good decorative effect. A ficus bonsai generally sells for around 800 yuan, which is a fairly suitable average market price. There are also some ficus bonsai with better styling and fresher colors whose prices can reach a thousand yuan and above.
How to Prune a Ficus Bonsai
The most commonly used method for ficus bonsai is to select natural wild stumps for styling. The collection time is from February to October each year, and April to July is the most suitable period. The climate during this period is relatively mild and the air is relatively humid. The pruning and styling should be well-arranged and varied, and it must ensure a good overall decorative effect. Simply pruning with garden shears is enough.
How to Place a Ficus Bonsai
1. Placed in the living room, we have two choices. One is a ficus bonsai placed on a flower stand; for this kind of bonsai, a smaller style is required. If placed on the ground, a taller ficus bonsai is required.
2. When placing a ficus bonsai on the balcony, there are many styles to choose from; you can choose some relatively wide ficus bonsai styles. Placed on the balcony this way, it also looks very stylish.
How Do You Style a Ficus Bonsai? How Do You Prune a Ficus Bonsai?
The ficus has the beauty of aerial roots, the beauty of root spread, and the beauty of tuberous roots, making it an excellent bonsai material, often made into bonsai for ornamental use. At the same time, because of the characteristics of the ficus bonsai, it has many stylings with profound artistic conception, and pruning is an important means of styling the ficus bonsai. So how do you style a ficus bonsai? How do you prune a ficus bonsai? The styling essentials and pruning methods for common ficus bonsai styles are introduced below.
Image: Ficus bonsai
I. Styling Essentials for Common Ficus Bonsai Styles
1. Cliff style -- rugged and gnarled on the precipice:Undulating and full of momentum. The so-called undulating and full of momentum means that whether viewed from the front, the side, or from below, one can see the trunk bending in different directions rather than being a straight line. The main trunk of the plant hangs downward. The village head and the tree roots grip the rim of the pot, fearless in the face of danger. The extension of the trunk should be smooth, narrowing section by section, with clear pauses and turns in the curves, giving a sense of rhythm, and the tail of the tree should be full of life. The positions of the support branches should be appropriate, with reasonable size proportions. The branch style mostly uses chicken-claw branches, and sometimes natural branches are used. The cliff style has both single-trunk and double-trunk forms. In double-trunk cliff style, there are those that are small on top and large at the bottom, and also those that are large on top and small at the bottom, but the extension and arrangement should strive to chase each other in an interesting way. The treatment of branch supports should yield and give way appropriately, with well-arranged density. It is necessary both to take into account the emotional response between the two trunks and the branches, and to consider the overall sense of beauty.
2. Water-reflection style -- admiring one's reflection and stirring emotion:Imitating the posture of a slanting, reclining tree growing between a bank and the water's edge, the root head of the tree shape always grows toward one side, and there must be a surface root connected with the trunk into one continuous whole, floating exposed above the mud -- a "drag-sand root" -- to strengthen the feeling of the tree's center of gravity. The crown can be freely conceived, and it is best to have one large cascading branch, and the technique should be relatively refined, cascading over the water and setting off the main trunk to mutual delight. The arrangement of the branch supports should have a feeling of swaying in the wind. The branch styles mostly use angled branches, chicken-claw branches, cascading branches, and natural branches.
Image: Ficus bonsai
3. Kapok style -- spirit piercing the clouds:The trunk must be tall and straight. The so-called tall and straight means there is curvature within the straightness and straightness within the curvature as the tree tail gradually narrows, and it is smooth and full of momentum. The tree head must be both large and have multiple "buttress roots," so that the trunk appears majestic and powerful. The top of the tree must be flat; a flat top shows magnificence. The kapok style has both single-trunk and double-trunk forms. In double-trunk kapok style, one must be large and one small, one tall and one low, for it to be interesting. Some double trunks are equally tall and straight, while others have one straight and one slightly slanting; the slanting one is mostly the secondary trunk, and the secondary trunk is also not very curved. The branch method is the same as for single-trunk kapok, and the requirements for the head and roots are not as strict as for single-trunk kapok, but connected growth is best. Opposite branches are a natural characteristic of the kapok tree. There should be more than two pairs of "opposite branches," but it is also not appropriate to use "opposite branches" throughout (with one layer using a single branch, which in painting theory is called "breaking the convention"), so as to avoid rigidity. "Weeping branches" are also a characteristic of the kapok tree; if there are only "weeping branches," it will be too monotonous and dull. Adding "pinwheel branches" among the "weeping branches" can make it lively and vivid. In order to strengthen the spatial effect of the undulation of the "weeping branches," it is appropriate to use "high supports" (the branch position of the first layer should be a bit higher), which helps to arrange the positions of the "arriving branches." In the branch method, attention should be paid to yielding and giving way properly, looking back and forth with affection, having measured length, and extending smoothly, so as to become a perfect scene of kapok-style tree.
4. Single-trunk upright tree style -- soaring straight up:What differs between the styling of the single-trunk upright tree and the kapok is the "opposite branches" of the branch method; secondly, the positions of the branch supports have no obvious rules, and the size proportions should be basically appropriate, but they need not be arranged completely in order, so as to avoid appearing rigid. And one or two drooping branches or weeping branches should be intentionally arranged to make the styling appear more lively and vivid. The branch styles use chicken-claw branches, parallel branches, weeping branches, and so on.
Image: Ficus bonsai
5. Double trunk -- setting each other off to mutual delight:There should be abundant emotion between the two trees; the so-called emotion is the mutually leaning form of the main trunk and the guest trunk, as well as the coordinated distance and position of the root heads. The tree tails of the two trees should look back and forth with affection, and the lengths of the branches should yield and give way appropriately, so that the work has charm. The common branch styles of the double-trunk tree include: chicken-claw branches, parallel branches, weeping branches, and so on.
II. Pruning Methods for Ficus Bonsai
1. Pinching:Pinching can promote the sprouting of axillary buds, encourage more branching, expand the crown, and at the same time inhibit leggy growth of branches. The timing and frequency of pinching are closely related to the tree species. For pines, for example, it is best to pinch off about 2/3 of the bud center when the new buds swell but before the needles have opened, leaving only a small section at the base. In the future, two lateral buds will sprout here, sending new shoots in two directions. For evergreen broadleaf trees and deciduous trees that readily produce new shoots, pinching is generally done when the new shoots have sprouted and grown 2 to 3 leaves, by pinching out the leaf center. When new shoots and leaves sprout again, pinch in the same way. Repeating this operation can achieve a full crown.
2. Bud thinning:Bud thinning: when a tree sprouts, many buds often sprout at the same time. To ensure a concentrated supply of water and nutrients, keep the well-positioned buds and remove unnecessary buds to form a more ideal tree shape. For species with strong sprouting ability such as Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia) and snowbush (Serissa japonica), pay even more attention to wiping off buds that are unfavorable to the styling at any time.
Image: Ficus bonsai
3. Leaf removal:Leaf removal can promote the tree to sprout new leaves. For some species such as Chinese elm and Vitex negundo, leaf removal can make the originally large leaves become smaller and more delicate. For some colored-leaf tree species, such as maples and pomegranate, leaf removal can make the leaf color more vivid. However, removing leaves eliminates the photosynthesis of those leaves, which makes the tree stump lose a great opportunity to accumulate nutrients; for some weak stumps, it may cause the plant to weaken or even die. Therefore, it is best to carry out leaf removal on relatively vigorously growing stumps.
4. Heading back:The method of cutting off part of a one-year-old branch is called heading back, which can rapidly increase the branching tiers of a branch. Generally speaking, it is a top-level pruning of the tree's branches that can make the tree's outer contour fuller. According to how much is cut off, heading back can be divided into light heading, medium heading, and heavy heading. Light heading generally cuts off 1/5 of the branch tip, removing the branch's apical dominance, forming more medium and short branches, making the tree shape fuller and thickening the mother branch. Medium heading generally refers to cutting off 1/2 to 3/5 of the branch tip, forming more medium and long branches and possibly promoting branch growth. Heavy heading refers to retaining 1/5 of the branch, which can promote the growth of 1 to 2 vigorous branches below the cut, and is generally used to cultivate the main trunk branch.
Image: Ficus bonsai
5. Renewal pruning:Cutting off a section of a perennial branch is called renewal pruning. It is the main pruning technique of the Lingnan school's "growing branches and truncating the trunk" method, creating various twisting, varied, vigorous and sturdy forms such as "chicken-claw branches" and "deer-antler branches." Renewal pruning can not only dwarf the tree shape but also enhance the expressive power of the tree's branches. Continuously carrying out renewal pruning on branches can increase the layers of the bonsai.
[Editor's Closing Words]Ficus bonsai can be divided into aerial-root bonsai and ginseng bonsai, with many styles and great ornamental value. The above has introduced the styling essentials and pruning methods for common ficus bonsai styles, and I hope it can be helpful to everyone!