Care Methods and Precautions for Miniature Bonsai

1. Placement. Because miniature bonsai have very little soil and the plants are small and delicate, they cannot withstand wind and sun, so they should be placed in a spot with plenty of sunlight, sheltered from wind and shaded. Place the bonsai in a sand bed covered with 3-4cm of wet sand, burying the pot shallowly in the wet sand, with a flat tile slightly larger than the bottom of the pot placed under the pot to prevent the plant's roots from growing into the sand. Alternatively, use a shallow tray, place a flat brick in it, let it protrude slightly above the water surface, and set the miniature bonsai on top of it; this will maintain a certain humidity for the bonsai.

2. Watering. The surface of a miniature bonsai pot has no water trough, so when watering, place the pot in a water-holding container for a few minutes until it is soaked through. In spring and autumn, water once in the morning and once in the evening. In summer, when temperatures are higher, water several times a day, and also frequently spray water with a fine-nozzle watering can to prevent the leaves from being scorched or dropping. If the bonsai is placed with its pot buried in a sand bed at the bottom or set in a water tray, the frequency of watering can be reduced.

3. Fertilizing. Generally, apply a little diluted decomposed cake fertilizer before budding. Soak a miniature bonsai whose pot soil is slightly dry in dilute fertilizer solution for a few minutes, then take it out and rinse the outside of the pot clean with water. During the plum rain season, when pinching buds and pruning, pay attention to replenishing nutrients in time to maintain the growth of the plant's branches and leaves. For different bonsai, the choice of fertilizer and the number of applications should differ. For needle-leaved evergreen bonsai, generally only one application of winter fertilizer is needed, to avoid causing excessive growth of the needles; for flowering bonsai, fertilizer needs to be replenished after flowering to encourage the next batch of flower buds to form; for fruit-bearing bonsai, in addition to applying winter fertilizer, apply 1-2 light fertilizer applications before flowering to increase the fruit-setting rate; for miscellaneous tree bonsai, no fertilizer may be needed, and if weakening occurs, simply replenish a small amount of fertilizer in time.

4. Repotting and pruning. (1) Repotting. Generally carried out in late autumn or early spring, and bonsai in a greenhouse can also be repotted in winter. Repotting should be combined with changing the soil, and the new soil is mostly loose humus soil or sandy loam. Herbaceous and flowering bonsai are repotted once every 1-2 years; needle-leaved types once every 3-4 years; miscellaneous tree types depending on the strength or weakness of the tree. When changing the soil, wait until the pot soil is slightly dry so the pot can be removed easily. When moving a small pot into a large pot, new soil needs to be added; if using the original pot or switching to a smaller pot, the overly dense root system must be properly pruned, cutting off old roots and rotten roots, and the length and width of the retained root system should be just right for the new pot. (2) Pruning. When the plant sprouts new buds and sends out new branches that affect the shape, the excess buds should be rubbed off and the excess branches cut away. To control the growth of the bonsai, promptly pinch the growing tips, remove leaves and cut leaves.

5. Pest and disease control. Pests and diseases are relatively rare in miniature bonsai; once insect pests are found, manual capture is enough, and there is no need to use chemicals.