What are the care precautions for a yew (Taxus) bonsai?
1. Light
The yew is truly a shade-loving plant, suitable for growing indoors; it does not like sunlight, so shade should be provided in summer and it should not be placed in a spot with particularly abundant sunlight.
2. Soil
The yew likes soil rich in humus, fertile, and slightly acidic (PH=5-6.5); a looser, more breathable soil texture is even better for yew growth.
3. Watering
When watering the yew, it needs to be watered thoroughly in one go, so it can absorb water more fully. If the leaves are slightly curled, simply spray water on the leaves alone.
4. Temperature
The yew has strong cold resistance, and its suitable growing temperature is 20-25°C; it likes a cool, humid climate and is a shade tree species.
5. Fertilizer
The yew bonsai you buy already comes with a pre-mixed nutrient soil, so no fertilizing is needed for 3 months; after that, fertilize once every 2 to 3 months, and cake fertilizer is sufficient.
Alright, that is all about the making methods and precautions for yew bonsai. If you want to learn more about yew, please keep following us.
Yew bonsai care instructions
Yew bonsai prices and yew bonsai care
The yew has very broad development prospects in landscaping and indoor bonsai; for example, in high-grade bonsai, yew bonsai treated with dwarfing techniques have a simple and elegant shape, with compact but not crowded branches and leaves, spreading but not loose, and offer multiple ornamental values of stem, branches, leaves, and fruit. Let us take a look below at how much a yew bonsai costs per pot!
How much does a yew bonsai cost per pot?
Specification (height) Price (yuan/plant) Specification (height) Price (yuan/plant) Specification (height) Price (yuan/plant)
30 cm 8 yuan 40 cm 12 yuan 50 cm 25 yuan
60 cm 60 yuan 70 cm 80 yuan 90 cm 100 yuan
1 m 130 yuan 2 m 400 yuan 903 m 800 yuan
Note: The yew is recognized worldwide as an endangered natural rare anti-cancer plant. It is an ancient tree species left over from the Quaternary glaciation and has a history of 2.5 million years on Earth. Currently, yew bonsai on the market are mainly priced by the height of the yew, but market conditions vary from place to place, so you can compare when buying.
How to grow yew bonsai
1. Light: The yew is a shade-loving, drought-tolerant plant and should be placed indoors. In summer, proper shading is needed; it should not be placed in a room with western sun exposure, nor at an air conditioner vent or next to a heater, as that will increase leaf moisture evaporation, causing branches and leaves to dehydrate, and eventually the leaves to curl and dry up. In summer, the light duration should be as short as possible; in autumn and spring it can be longer.
2. Potting soil: For the yew, choose a slightly larger flower pot and make several more holes in the lower part of the pot to enhance drainage and breathability. The soil should be loose, rich in humus, fertile, water-retaining, fertilizer-retaining, and breathable, slightly acidic, with loam being best. Clay soil is not breathable, and sandy soil has poor fertilizer and water retention, so neither is suitable. In addition, a mixed growing medium made from peat soil, perlite, etc. and loam can also be used.
3. Water: When a little yellow-white appears on the surface of the yew's pot soil and the leaves are slightly curled, there is no need to water; simply spray the leaves. When the soil turns white, it should be watered. Water thoroughly in one go so the pot soil fully absorbs water. For outdoor placement, water once every 15-20 days; indoors, once every 20-25 days. Keep soil moisture content at about 40%, and note that watering too much or too often will cause root rot in yew.
4. Fertilizing: For each potted yew, apply 0.2 jin of organic fertilizer and 0.02 jin of compound fertilizer; farmyard manure and cake fertilizer (such as cottonseed cake, peanut cake, sesame cake) can also be added. Fertilizer should be applied along the pot wall as much as possible and must not come close to the yew roots. Generally, a newly bought yew bonsai contains nutrient soil, so no fertilizing is needed for 3 months; after that, fertilize once every 2-3 months.
5. Repotting: After about a year, the potted yew sapling gradually grows larger and its root system becomes well developed, so it then needs to be transplanted and repotted. Break the old pot, while not damaging the original soil ball, move it into a new pot, and water to settle the roots, ensuring the root system and soil are tightly combined to ensure survival. If conditions permit, the yew sapling can be transplanted into open fields, where it will grow faster.
6. Pruning: If the lower branches and trunk of the yew bonsai grow too densely, dry, yellow leaves may appear and fall off. Part of the overly dense lower branches and trunk can be pruned away. During pruning, it can be shaped freely, such as umbrella-shaped, tower-shaped, round-shaped, etc. To keep the yew's crown beautiful, the terminal buds and some lateral buds can be moderately removed.
7. Pests and diseases: Under normal conditions, the yew has very few insect pests. If the yew is found to turn yellow or have pests and diseases, it can be watered or sprayed with thiophanate-methyl and monopotassium phosphate. Yew will experience root rot, stem rot, and rotten roots during the rainy season, especially young trees; at this time, dexon can be sprayed for care. In high-temperature and dry seasons, leaf blight and red blight are likely to occur, which can be prevented and controlled by spraying Bordeaux mixture.