Cultivation and Maintenance Management Techniques for Yunnan Sharp-Leaf Olive Bonsai
The sharp-leaf olive is characterized by being evergreen in all four seasons, and it has luxuriant branches and leaves. It is one of the bonsai tree species, and the main point is that it is easy to cultivate. Below are the maintenance and management techniques for cultivating sharp-leaf olive bonsai that the editor has compiled, hoping to be of some help to all growers.
The sharp-leaf olive has dense branches and thick leaves, glossy leaf surfaces, and a beautiful tree shape. It has the characteristics of fast growth, long life, tolerance to pruning, strong sprouting ability, strong adaptability, high heat resistance and good cold tolerance. It is one of the most distinctive and representative bonsai tree species in Yunnan.
Cultivation and Maintenance Management Techniques for Yunnan Sharp-Leaf Olive Bonsai
I. Fast-growing nature
The sharp-leaf olive can be propagated by seeds and branch cuttings. Take branches with 2-3 nodes, 5-10 cm long, and cut them from March to October, giving full light and short-time misting; the survival rate can reach more than 90%. Small seedlings of 1-2 mm, after 5 years of field planting, can reach a trunk diameter of 5-8 cm, which is very suitable for the mass production of bonsai, thereby protecting the ecological environment and promoting sustainable development.
II. Strong sprouting ability
The sharp-leaf olive has a super strong sprouting ability. In most areas of Yunnan, it can be collected and transplanted in January and October every year, and fully bare-root planting can be achieved. Old trunk propagation also has a relatively high survival rate. Its branches and root base will have clustered buds. At this time, in order to ensure the survival rate of the tree, it is best not to thin the buds. Wait until the new buds grow for about 30 days and form open branch buds, then select and retain them according to the needs of shaping and the stump.
III. Strong adaptability
The native habitat of the sharp-leaf olive is mostly karst landforms, mostly in tropical and humid valley areas, but it is also distributed in mountainous areas at an altitude of about 2800, such as around 2300 altitude on Lituo Mountain in the Mengzi area of Yunnan, where it is also distributed. The entire Nanpan River basin, Honghe River basin, Wujiang, Jinsha River and other valley areas all have distribution. Through artificial planting and landscaping application, it has now been expanded to the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, and can grow and reproduce well. In early 2016, under the condition of low temperatures of -6 to -10°C in most areas of Yunnan, there was no large-scale death. And in the subtropical and oceanic climates of Guangxi and Guangdong regions, it can also fully adapt and grow.
IV. Key points of cultivation and shaping
The sharp-leaf olive has tree properties that many evergreen tree species cannot compare with, such as wood as hard as iron. In nature, after experiencing fire, falling rocks, and felling, it forms natural shari branches and trunks that can remain undecayed for a hundred years, forming an old and vigorous tree state where dead and living parts complement each other. Using this tree property, during cultivation, deep pruning and cutting can be carried out on the lower part of the stump according to the needs of tree shaping.
When cutting the branches and trunk of a raw stump, carefully observe the tree's own growth points. As long as a cut is made in place, it can generally sprout in place. It is best to seal the cut with paraffin, and plant healing agent can also be used to seal the cut, laying the foundation for future potting and viewing.
For raw stumps, the best growing medium is a mixed culture soil of 1 part red loam and 1 part leaf mold. When planting, it is advisable to plant shallowly and cover with soil high. When the open branch buds grow to 60-80 cm long, remove the high soil covering in 1-2 times to prevent the production of high floating roots. Except for those required for shaping, high floating roots should all be cut off.
In shaping the sharp-leaf olive, in addition to drawing on the Lingnan bonsai technique of trunk cutting and branch accumulation, I have also summarized my own method of using metal wire for directional cultivation of the first-level support, and removing leaves from the second- and third-level branches while retaining growth points before shaping, which makes the cultivation time of the second- and third-level branches shorter, the branch angle better, and the stump shape formed earlier. When the open branch buds are 30-50 cm long, manually pull the small branches to set the direction. At the same time, metal wire can also be used for bending and fixing. After about 40-50 days in the vigorous growth period, the metal wire can be removed to avoid wire cutting in. After removing the metal wire, promptly support the growth point with a bamboo stick so that it stands straight upward. In this way, the branch growth speed will increase and the growth will be balanced, and there will be no branch loss.
During the growth period, branches can reach a diameter of 2-3 cm in one year of growth. For branches and trunks that need a large diameter, they can be allowed to grow for 2-3 consecutive years until they reach 70%, then cut the trunk and accumulate branches. Repeating this cycle, after continuously cultivating third-level and fourth-level branches, then finely prune, control fertilizer and control water to accelerate the aging of branches and trunks and achieve satisfactory results.
V. Applicable techniques and management in shaping
The sharp-leaf olive likes sunlight, so light and ventilation should be strengthened, and overly dense branches and leaves should be thinned and pruned in time to effectively prevent pests and diseases such as scale insects and sooty mold.
Change the soil once every 2-3 years; a well-drained slightly acidic soil is sufficient. When repotting and changing soil, the old roots and diseased and damaged roots of the original plant can be cut off, and the high floating roots can be greatly pruned and straightened by bending, laying the foundation for the next step of root training. To speed up plant growth, heavy fertilizer can be applied, but avoid heavy water. It should be watered thoroughly after drying out, and waterlogging must not occur. Otherwise, at best it will affect growth, and at worst the plant will die. To accelerate the growth of directional branches, the light in the direction of the directional branches can be increased, and the growth space can be enlarged to allow more branches and leaves to grow, achieving twice the result with half the effort.
The old-state cultivation of branches and trunks can use methods such as longitudinal cutting to the xylem or artificial twisting. In shaping, a reasonable layout should be made according to details such as the changes in points and lines and the use of blank space in Chinese painting and calligraphy. I myself have some insights into the corresponding angles of tree trunks and branches: for example, cascading branches take acute angles, and blank space takes the front point. Floating branches depend on the main trunk, bending forward and curving backward. Trunks and branches produce points and lines, and the scene emerges before the eyes. For branch momentum and space, move branches on the side opposite the large branch; support branches should preferably point upward, and avoid having large branches and moving branches on both sides. Front branches should be short and refined, with more blank space left on the sides and back. A large floating branch matches the main trunk, and points and lines must also be considered.
According to the editor's understanding, among all household landscaping flowers, bonsai is the most expensive. Although the method of growing bonsai is simple, the shaping of bonsai is difficult to manage. The above are the cultivation and maintenance management techniques for Yunnan sharp-leaf olive bonsai. Those who are interested in bonsai can save them.
Knowledge on the Maintenance and Management of Lilac Bonsai
Lilac (Syringa oblata) is an early-spring flowering deciduous shrub of the genus Syringa in the Oleaceae family. It is drought-tolerant and cold-tolerant, likes sunlight and also tolerates semi-shade, and is very commonly cultivated in North China, Northeast China and Northwest China. In recent years, it has increasingly been moved into pots for cultivation and viewing. Lilac usually blooms in early spring. If managed properly in pots, it can bloom twice, and the flowering vigor in the following year will not decline.
1. Maintenance and management
Placement location: Lilac likes light, and should usually be placed in a place with sufficient sunlight and air circulation. But in summer it should be slightly shaded; high-temperature sunburn is unfavorable to the growth of potted lilac. In winter, bury the pot outdoors in a sunny place or move it indoors in front of a windowsill.
Watering: Usually keep the pot soil moist but tending dry, and avoid excessive wetness. In high summer temperatures, water once each in the morning and evening. After autumn, water less to facilitate dormancy and overwintering.
Fertilizing: In winter, apply decomposed cake fertilizer as base fertilizer. After sprouting in spring, apply cake fertilizer water once every half month to promote flowering. In summer, appropriate fertilization should also be applied to facilitate flower bud differentiation and maintain more flowers the next year. After autumn, apply less fertilizer water; too much fertilizer is harmful to development.
Pruning: During the growth period of lilac, when branches and leaves are too dense, prune in time, which neither disturbs the tree shape nor hinders ventilation and light transmission. After autumn, when it enters dormancy, carry out appropriate shaping and pruning, cutting off leggy branches, overlapping branches and crossing branches, so that nutrients are concentrated and more flower buds are produced.
Repotting: Repot once every 2-3 years. In conjunction with repotting, prune the root system, remove some old roots and overly long roots, remove old soil, and replace with new culture soil to facilitate root development and lush leaves and abundant flowers.
Pest and disease control: Under overly wet conditions, lilac is prone to root rot; at best it stops growing, and at worst it withers and dies. Common pests of lilac include the domestic longhorn beetle, which damages branches and trunks; there are also bagworms, stinging caterpillars, aphids and others that damage tender branches and leaves. They can be killed by spraying with 40% dimethoate 1500 times dilution.
2. Ornamental value
Lilac has a graceful posture, abundant purple flowers, and a pleasant fragrance. Using the root stump of small-leaf privet as rootstock to graft lilac and make bonsai gives ancient trunks and flowering branches that bring out the best in each other, and it is most suitable for viewing.
Key Points for the Initial Shaping and Maintenance Management of Chinese Bonsai Ash
Initial Shaping and Maintenance of Chinese Bonsai Ash
I. Botanical characteristics of Chinese bonsai ash
Chinese bonsai ash belongs to the Oleaceae family, genus Fraxinus. It is native to Jingshan in western Hubei, and is a deciduous tree reaching more than 30 m tall. The bark of young and middle-aged trees is smooth and light gray-green; the bark of middle-aged and old trees has longitudinal dark gray wrinkles. The branches have strong sprouting ability and tolerate pruning. The tree body is drought-tolerant, moisture-tolerant and high-temperature-tolerant, likes fertilizer and likes sunlight, and can be cultivated in the open ground south of the Beijing area. It is suitable for neutral and weakly acidic soil, pH 5-7, and is propagated by sowing and cuttings.
II. Treatment of collected Chinese bonsai ash stumps and cutting propagation
For Chinese bonsai ash stumps purchased from far away from the producing area, local mountain villagers dig them in winter and early spring. For locally cultivated ones, digging can be done at any time except from mid-June to mid-August. Mountain villagers generally have poor protection measures during digging and transportation. Although this tree species has very strong vitality, in order to obtain a higher survival rate, attention must still be paid to its varying degrees of dehydration. First, the stump should be cut in place in one go. This tree species roots easily, and even a saw cut on a root 200 mm in diameter can still send out fibrous roots. Therefore, any roots and branches that would hinder future potting and shaping should be decisively sawed off. Second, it should absorb enough water. If conditions permit, it is best to place the roots upright in water dissolved with rooting agent (such as rooting powder, vitamin B12) for soaking treatment, with the treatment time according to the rooting agent's instruction manual. Or soak the entire stump in clean water for a day and night, then plant it in a sand bed for maintenance. The buried root depth should be more than 20 cm; old stumps with a trunk diameter greater than 20 cm and split-trunk stumps should be appropriately deeper. Spacing of arranged stumps: medium stumps should be more than 0.5 m apart, and large stumps should be more than 1 m apart. This facilitates branch extension; otherwise branches shade each other, which is unfavorable for growth and for operations during pruning and shaping. Third, after planting, water thoroughly so that the sand and tree roots are in close contact without gaps, keep the sand bed moist at ordinary times, and frequently sprinkle water on the trunk. If protected with 30%-50% shade net, the effect will be better. Under normal circumstances, they will sprout by late spring and early summer. After the Beginning of Autumn in early August, the shade net can be removed to let them enjoy full sunlight. From late April to early May, if there are still stumps that have not sprouted, scrape their bark with a small knife. If the top bark is still emerald green rather than withered yellow, they can be pulled out of the sand bed, soaked in clean water for a day and night, then planted in sand in a half-shaded and half-sunny place for maintenance, which can still promote sprouting and survival.
In order to protect the ecological environment, sowing and cutting propagation are now advocated. Sowing is suitable for large-scale breeding and can be carried out with reference to gardening technical materials. For bonsai enthusiasts, cutting propagation is simpler and easier, carried out in winter and spring. Use vigorous one-year-old branches, cut them 10 cm-15 cm long before sprouting, insert them into a sand bed, shade appropriately, and water frequently to keep the sand bed moist. They can root in more than 30 days. In mid-May, they can be transplanted to the field for cultivation. Summer cuttings and autumn cuttings are also possible, but shading must be provided and the sand bed kept moist, making management slightly more difficult.
III. Branch setting and shaping of Chinese bonsai ash stumps
The new buds sprouting in the first year should be handled according to the vigor of each stump's sprouting and branch growth.
For vigorous trees, generally after the Beginning of Autumn in early August, when most branches have grown to more than 40 cm, carry out branch setting, retain branches that conform to the shaping direction, keep 1-2 branches from clustered branches, and remove the rest. If it is found that there are no branches at a position where a branch is needed, extra branches from the lower part of the trunk can be used for approach grafting to the branch-deficient position. For shaping the lower part, rope or aluminum wire should be used to pull it into place. At this time, it is best not to use the winding method to tie and shape. Because Chinese bonsai ash branches thicken quickly, if one is not careful, wire cutting in will occur, affecting the beauty and growth of the first-level branch length. After branch setting, apply urea fertilizer once every week according to the planting area, 10 g-20 g per square meter, to promote thickening of new branches. Because Chinese bonsai ash can grow when the daily average temperature is above 15°C, as long as water, fertilizer and sunlight are sufficient, the base diameter of vigorous branches of a new stump can reach more than 20 mm from the current year to before frost. Therefore, for terminal branches, pinching the tips should be done first to control length (for fast-formed commercial stumps, the first-level branches can be pruned and set, and the second-level branches can be pruned and set at the end of the year). Branches at the bottom and other parts that need to thicken should be allowed to grow freely. During management, observe at all times, and if extra branches sprout from the base of branches on the trunk, remove them in time; otherwise wild branches will shoot up suddenly, consuming nutrients in vain and affecting the growth and thickening of the set branches. After frost causes leaf fall, they can be potted. Dig the stump material out of the sand bed, shake off the gravel on the roots, cut off overly long rootlets, prune and set the branch shape, and plant according to the size of the stump shape, filling with nutrient soil. Shallow pots should have a surround added so that fibrous roots do not protrude above the pot soil surface. Finally, water thoroughly and strengthen overwintering management. If the sand bed is not urgently needed for use, pruning can be done in winter, and potting on the eve of spring sprouting is even better.
For weak trees, although they sprout and send out branches, if the roots have not grown or have grown sparsely, they should continue to be cultivated in the sand bed, and potted only after the roots and branches grow vigorously in the second year. Avoid being eager to prune and pot, which would affect the survival rate.
IV. Shaping of Chinese bonsai ash branch pads
Chinese bonsai ash is a fast-growing tree species with vigorous growth. After one year of cultivation and pruning of the basic trunk branches, except for a few terminal transition branches, floating branches and drooping branches specially left to lengthen and thicken, most branches can be pruned and accumulated into pads in the second year. In the early stage, first- and second-level branches are mainly tied (pulled), with pruning as a supplement. In the later stage, after the branch pads are basically formed, pruning is primary and pulling is secondary. Generally, the pruning technique of first upper then lower, suppressing the strong and supporting the weak is adopted for pruning. First upper then lower: that is, prune the upper part of the tree body first, then after a period of time prune the middle branches, and after several more days prune the lower branches. For the same branch pad, prune the upward branches first, and prune again after the parallel and downward branches have grown thicker than the upper branches. Suppressing the strong and supporting the weak: strong vigorous branches in the upper part should be pruned several days first, and when the weak branches have grown to a certain thickness, prune in between. The purpose is to match the thickness of the branches with their positions.
For tree material with especially vigorous growth, in addition to paying attention to control at ordinary times, leaf removal and branch pad pruning and setting can be carried out.
After frost descent in autumn, the leaves wither after frost and the branch shape is exposed, which is very favorable for observing the direction and trend of branches (pads), front-back interpenetration, high-low staggering, and position and form. At this time, a careful pruning and tying of the branch shape can be carried out. What can be pruned into place should be completed by pruning; what cannot be pruned into place can be bent and pulled into place with aluminum wire; if some branch pads are too upward or their direction and position are not ideal, use aluminum wire or rope to pull them into place. For Chinese bonsai ash, special attention should be paid to its opposite branches and frog-leg branches; when setting branches on the trunk and on first- and second-level branches, opposite branches should be removed in a staggered manner; frog-leg branches can be grown on one side and shortened on the other, or changed into bent branches.
V. Fertilizer and water management and pest and disease control of Chinese bonsai ash bonsai
The management and maintenance work of Chinese bonsai ash bonsai can be summarized as “heavy water, heavy fertilizer, heavy sun”. Heavy water: that is, there must be sufficient moisture; slightly wet is better than dry. Heavy fertilizer: during the growing season, apply thin fertilizer frequently. To facilitate absorption by the tree body and avoid waste of fertilizer liquid, it is advisable to fertilize once every 5-7 days. Fertilization time is generally in the afternoon of a sunny day when the pot soil is on the dry side, and after application, water to rinse the leaves. On cloudy and rainy days when the pot is wet, the tree roots breathe poorly, and after fertilization the tree roots are not easy to absorb. Heavy sun: even in the hottest days of the dog days, as long as water is kept up, under high temperature and strong sunlight of 38°C-40°C, it still sprouts and grows, and there is rarely self-pruning at the branch tips, which shows its particularly strong adaptability. The simplest way to judge whether it lacks water, fertilizer or sunlight is to observe the sprouting of its new shoots: when fertilizer, water and sunlight are sufficient, the branches sent out from the treetop are thick and strong, and the tender branches and leaves are purplish red, gradually turning green; when insufficient, the branches sent out are thin and weak, and the tender leaves are light green.
5-7 days before leaf removal and pruning of fixed branches and buds, cake fertilizer water must be applied once. In the peak growth season, new buds are seen sprouting three days after heavy pruning. After the new buds sprout, apply cake fertilizer water once more, with a water-to-fertilizer ratio of 8:1. The fuller the branch pads become, the more the number of prunings can be appropriately increased.
For Chinese bonsai ash, apart from chlorosis appearing after the soil becomes alkaline and long-term irrigation with tap water, no other pathogenic bacteria have been seen invading and causing harm at present. For chlorosis, ferrous sulfate should be dissolved in water at 1:400 and used to irrigate the roots, once every week, and it will be cured after 3-5 consecutive times.
The pests attacking Chinese bonsai ash did not occur in the first few years, but in recent years two main types have been found: one is flower thrips, with larvae about 1.5 mm in size, often harming the new leaves that have already unfolded in spring, causing the leaf edges to curl outward, the new bud tips to shrink into a ball and be unable to extend, and the heart leaves to gradually wither. After discovery, promptly spray and kill with 800-1500 times dilution of decis, or 80% dichlorvos emulsifiable concentrate 1000-1500 times dilution, or 1000-2000 times dilution of Qianchongsha; or after the larval damage period has passed, remove the curled diseased leaves and the leaves being shed, promote new leaves, and they will return to normal. The other type is cottony cushion scale and red wax scale, which mostly harm trees with insufficient sunlight and weak tree vigor, on the branches, piercing and sucking tree sap. In May-June and September-November, the peak hatching periods of the larvae, spray and kill with 20% fenvalerate 2000 times dilution. It is best to manually remove the insects when the pest has just occurred.
Chinese bonsai ash is a new bonsai tree species popularized, developed and utilized in recent years, and its shaping and maintenance methods are still being explored and tested. Climate conditions differ from place to place, the direction of finalizing a work differs, and its methods and expressive characteristics will also differ. Other bonsai friends, if you have more successful experience, can exchange and discuss with each other. If there are inappropriate points in this article, I hope you will not hesitate to give advice. Let us jointly improve our technical level and constantly pursue innovation to carry forward the traditional bonsai art of the Chinese nation.