How to make a five-needle pine bonsai? Detailed explanation of care and management techniques

Five-needle pine, also known as five-fork pine and five-beard pine, is an evergreen tree. The bark of young trees is light gray and smooth; when old it is orange-brown and peels off in scales; the needles are fine, short and dense, five needles to a bundle. It blooms from April to May, and five-needle pine can also be made into bonsai, placed indoors for a certain decorative effect. Below let us look at the potting technique for five-needle pine.

1. Obtaining material for five-needle pine bonsai 

In China, five-needle pine is introduced and cultivated; because it sets few seeds, and they are mostly poorly developed, the seed germination rate is low, so grafting is mostly used for propagation. For five-needle pine, generally 2-3 year old black pine (Japanese black pine) seedlings or old stumps are used as rootstock, and robust 1-2 year old branches of five-needle pine are selected as scion, about 8-10 cm long, with the lower needles cut off, and in early spring grafted onto the root crown of the rootstock by cut grafting or side grafting. After joining, mound soil up to the graft point, keep indoors for care, move outdoors to a shaded place in March-April, and water in dry weather. When the scion heals and sends out new buds, the branches and leaves at the tip of the rootstock can be cut off; afterward, as the scion sprouts and grows, cut off the rootstock above the scion in several stages, and it gradually becomes a five-needle pine plant. Bud grafting can also be used, selecting five-needle pine buds more than 2 cm long as scion, and in March-April grafting onto the terminal bud of black pine by cleft grafting, wrapping and shading it with the needles at the rootstock shoot tip for protection. The successfully grafted five-needle pine can be cultivated into a fairly good five-needle pine bonsai in a short time, with old stumps and new branches and graceful posture. Bud grafting has a relatively high survival rate and fast growth, but attention must be paid to removing the binding material in time.

2. Potting the five-needle pine bonsai 

① Soil: Five-needle pine is best suited to loose, fertile, slightly acidic sandy loam, mountain soil or leaf mold. For homemade compost, 20%-30% sand should be mixed in, along with 1-2 parts of decomposed cake fertilizer, so that fertilizer and soil blend together, nutrients are sufficient, and air and water permeability are good, which benefits the development of the five-needle pine root system and makes branches strong and leaves lush. For the potting soil ratio, mix 3 parts leaf mold, 5 parts garden soil, 1 part compost and 1 part sand as nutrient soil. Generally repot once every 2 to 3 years, and the repotting time should be from February to March or from September to October.

② Choosing a pot: The five-needle pine has a clear, elegant and classic posture with lush green leaves, so a purple clay ceramic pot with a classic appearance and deep color is suitable. For the cascade style, use a medium-deep round pot or square pot; for the formal upright style and slanting style, use a rectangular pot or oval pot; for the group planting style, use a relatively shallow rectangular pot; for the curved-trunk style, use a slightly deeper horse trough pot; for the exposed-root style, use a relatively shallow round pot, and its size is determined according to the tree shape.

③ Planting: For potting five-needle pine, before budding in spring from February to March is best. When potting, prune damaged roots and rotten roots, shorten thick roots, and apply wax to the cut surfaces to prevent pine resin from flowing out. Line the bottom of the pot with coarse sand or charcoal crumbs to leave space, to facilitate drainage. A shallow pot only needs a plastic sand net as lining. The planting position is determined according to the tree shape. When planting, the potting soil should be slightly dry, and when filling soil it should be loose and moderate; shake the pot and press firmly carefully. After planting, spread green moss on the potting soil, then water thoroughly, place in a semi-shaded place, and after growth recovers, move to a place with sufficient sunlight.

3. Styling the five-needle pine bonsai 

The growth and development characteristics of five-needle pine: the branches naturally form layers, with clear layers and distinct lines; growth is slow, and no adventitious buds sprout on the branches, so it does not tolerate pruning; thick branches are not easy to bend, and wiring and styling must start from a young age. Therefore, for styling five-needle pine, hanging and wiring should be the main method, combined with pruning, as the basic method.

① Wiring: Wiring is the main means of styling five-needle pine, using metal wire or palm fiber to wire and shape the main branches and trunk into the required form. Secondary branches are slightly wired to achieve the required direction and angle, and then processed year by year, so that the trunk curves and the branches and leaves form layers, like surging clouds. Wiring and styling is best started in the young stage at 3-4 years old; when wiring with metal wire, it must be removed in time after the shape is set, so as to avoid "wire bite," which affects appearance and causes damage.

② Pruning: The branches of five-needle pine are whorled, and without pruning it cannot grow into a beautiful tree shape. On the trunk, at most 2 main branches should be kept per whorl, and the 2 main branches in the same whorl should be one long and one short, not evenly equal in length; each five-needle pine should not have too many main branches, and excess branches should be pruned by simplifying the complex; taking small and medium bonsai as an example, keep only 5-7 main branches to form the framework and achieve a refined and concise degree. At the same time, adjust the growth direction of the main branches and correct the extending posture of the main branches, so that all branches are handled in a unified and coordinated way. For already shaped five-needle pines, pruning should also be done once a year, cutting off overly dense branches, weak branches, dead branches and various branchlets that disrupt the tree's momentum.

4. Care techniques for potted five-needle pine

(1) Watering too frequently, or much rain in June each year, often makes the potting soil too wet; together with poor drainage and water accumulation in the pot, this causes lack of oxygen in the soil, resulting in root rot and yellowing of the needles.

(2) In hot summer, water evaporates quickly, and if watering is insufficient, the needles will scorch. If exposed to blazing sun and the potting soil is too dry, the five-needle pine will also show scorched tips of the terminal needles, and if water shortage continues, the plant will eventually die.

(3) If five-needle pine is kept indoors for a long time, with insufficient light and air, it violates the habit of five-needle pine preferring to receive light outdoors, or if it is suddenly moved outdoors and exposed to blazing sun, the above situations will likewise appear. To avoid yellowing and withering of five-needle pine needles, corresponding preventive and remedial measures should be taken for the above causes.

The above is the potting technique for five-needle pine. The pruning period for potted five-needle pine is best at the end of the five-needle pine dormant period; do not prune during the growing season, so as to avoid resin flowing from the cuts.

Production and care of five-needle pine bonsai

How to make a five-needle pine bonsai and care techniques for five-needle pine bonsai

The needles of five-needle pine are short, and the bundles are compact and beautiful, making it very suitable for making into bonsai and growing indoors. But in order to maintain its graceful styled posture, we also need to carry out some care on the five-needle pine bonsai in daily life. Below, let us talk about the making method of five-needle pine bonsai, as well as care techniques for five-needle pine bonsai.

How to make a five-needle pine bonsai

1. Choosing a pot

Making a five-needle pine bonsai first requires choosing a good pot. The five-needle pine has a classic and elegant posture and lush green leaves in all four seasons, so a purple clay ceramic pot of simple classic form and deep color should be chosen. For large five-needle pine bonsai, chiseled stone pots such as white alum stone and marble can also be used, but care must be taken to chisel holes in the pot bottom and fill with sand, to facilitate water drainage.

2. Choosing soil

The potting soil for five-needle pine should be loose, fertile, slightly acidic sandy loam, with mountain soil or leaf mold being best, mixed with 40% sand and a small amount of bone meal; with sufficient nutrients and good water and air permeability, it benefits the growth and development of the root system.

3. Potting

Planting five-needle pine is most suitable before budding from February to March, which benefits the sprouting of new roots. Planting after autumn is also acceptable. When transplanting, it is best to keep the old soil ball, which helps survival. When potting, attention should be paid to pruning damaged roots and rotten roots, appropriately shortening thick roots that affect potting, and applying wax or paint to the cut surfaces to prevent pine resin from flowing out. The pot bottom must be lined with several broken tiles or charcoal to leave space; thousand-tube pots and deep pots especially must be lined so as to be hollow and permeable, for ventilation and water flow.

Care techniques for five-needle pine bonsai

1. Moderate light

Five-needle pine is a neutral plant and can grow in places with sufficient sunlight or relatively shaded places, but when cared for in a place with sufficient sunlight and air circulation, the needles grow green and robust; in places with insufficient light and intense heat, the needles grow thin and weak and easily turn yellow. It is best to give five-needle pine more than 5-6 hours of light each day and maintain good ventilation conditions. But at the hot midday of midsummer, to prevent the needles from being overly exposed to the sun and causing scorched leaves, measures such as shading can be taken; at other times it can be allowed to fully receive sunlight.

2. Controlling watering

Watering of five-needle pine bonsai should be moderate; a gardening proverb says "dry pine, wet cypress," indicating that five-needle pine prefers dryness. In summer, when temperatures are high and the potting soil dries easily, generally water once in the morning and once in the evening; the morning watering must be thorough, while in the evening it should depend on whether the potting soil is dry or wet. During showers, cover it promptly to keep off the rain, so as to avoid loss of nutrients in the soil.

3. Regular fertilizing

Fertilizing is the key to growing five-needle pine well and can be combined with watering. From July to August, when the weather is hot, apply 10% dilute fertilizer water once every half month. In addition, after fertilizing, shade the five-needle pine and do not let strong sunlight scorch it.

4. Do not shape it at the wrong time

For an already styled five-needle pine bonsai, in order to maintain its inherent styled posture, shaping and pruning are needed every year. But pruning of five-needle pine should be done during its winter dormant period, and must not be done in the hot midsummer season, otherwise the wounds will flow out a large amount of pine resin and affect the growth of the five-needle pine.

5. Disease control

The main diseases of five-needle pine include rust, root rot, sooty mold, etc., which can be prevented by spraying Bordeaux mixture 1-2 times in winter. Pests include scale insects, red spiders, aphids, etc., which can be controlled by manual capture and brushing or by pesticides. At the same time, attention should be paid to ventilation and light transmission, and the potting soil should not be too wet, to help prevent and control pests and diseases; when cultivating five-needle pine, if care is improper, it is easily harmed by pests and diseases such as leaf blight, pine needle cast, pine shoot borers and scale insects. If leaf blight or pine needle cast is found, promptly remove diseased leaves and spray 800 times dilution of 50% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder; if pine shoot borers or scale insects are found harming shoot tips and eating needles, spray 1000 times dilution of 80% dichlorvos emulsifiable concentrate for control.