What are the advantages of soilless cultivation for bonsai
Bonsai, especially trunk bonsai, are living sculptural works of art. Only through years of care and management can they achieve deep green leaves, branches full of flowers and fruit, elegant posture and charm, and full vitality, and only then can their ideal ornamental and decorative effect be realized and maintained. If care and management cannot keep up, or are done poorly, even the best trunk bonsai will wither and die due to mistakes in care and management, and their artistic life will come to an end. Therefore, care and management are a long-term and complicated task in the process of creating and maintaining trunk bonsai.
Traditional bonsai plants are usually planted in potting soil, and potting soil is the material foundation for the growth of trunk bonsai plants.
Soilless cultivation of bonsai is a new technique in bonsai cultivation and management, and a revolution in the history of bonsai.
Advantages of soilless cultivation for bonsai
Soilless cultivation of bonsai is a new cultivation technique that uses certain inorganic materials as a substrate and irrigates with nutrient solution instead of using soil. Soilless cultivation of bonsai has the following advantages.
(1) Fast growth, short cycle, high quality, and bonsai plants grow robustly with well-developed root systems. Soilless cultivation has a clear growth-promoting effect on bonsai plants such as Chinese juniper (Juniperus chinensis), deodar cedar (Cedrus deodara), yew (Taxus), Sabina chinensis 'Pyramidalis', redbud (Cercis chinensis), Sageretia thea, small-leaf ficus (Ficus microcarpa), rhododendron (Rhododendron), Serissa japonica, firethorn (Pyracantha), and small-leaf boxwood (Buxus sinica var. parvifolia), and can also enhance the cold resistance, heat tolerance, and resistance of bonsai plants to diseases and insect pests, improving the ornamental effect of bonsai.
(2) Non-toxic, odorless, sterile, clean and hygienic. Soilless cultivation of bonsai does not use soil or organic fertilizer. It does not pollute the surrounding environment, making it more suitable for indoor decoration in hotels, restaurants, offices, and homes, helping to popularize bonsai and allowing bonsai to enter thousands of households. Soilless cultivation of bonsai can completely eradicate harmful bacteria and insect eggs, allowing plants to be cultivated under sterile or low-bacteria conditions. Both the soilless cultivation substrate and nutrient solution are sterile and free of hidden dangers from diseases and pests.
(3) It creates favorable conditions for earning foreign exchange through bonsai exports. Bonsai is a flagship product in China's flower production and exports and holds an absolute advantage in the international market. However, at present some countries such as the United States, Japan, the Netherlands, and Australia do not allow entry with soil, which limits China's bonsai exports. Soilless cultivation of bonsai completely solves these problems and provides a technical guarantee for smoothly passing customs quarantine inspections. In addition, the weight of soilless bonsai is greatly reduced, making them easy to transport and providing favorable conditions for bulk bonsai exports.
(4) It can give full play to the shallow and distinctive style of bonsai. Bonsai plants do not rely on soil for growth but use nutrient solution, so the substrate can be reduced to a minimum, and the pot can be shallower, thereby further highlighting the ornamental effect of the scenery. Because of the microporosity of the substrate, the pot can be made with more exquisite materials, making the bonsai more beautiful and elegant.
(5) Reduce labor intensity and save labor. Soilless cultivation of bonsai simplifies procedures such as repotting and changing soil and weeding during cultivation, and transport is convenient, greatly saving labor.
(6) It opens up new prospects for factory-scale production of bonsai and the application of computers.