A Detailed Guide to Shallow Planting Methods and Techniques for Water Privet Bonsai

Water privet (Ligustrum) belongs to the genus Ligustrum, stays evergreen year-round, tolerates pruning well, and is easy to shape, making it an excellent material for bonsai. This water privet stump is a slanting-trunk stump about 60 cm tall, with two roots splitting from the base that have a very good line of movement, and overall the transition is quite good too. After analysis and consideration, I concluded that this is a very good piece of material for bonsai creation, natural and generous, full of charm. To ensure survival after shallow planting, I used a three-step method to successfully transplant this stump into a shallow pot. The specific steps are:

(1) In the first step I prepared a medium-sized clay pot to plant the water privet stump, using loose, breathable sandy loam to favor root growth. In my many years of growing stumps, water privet has had a very high survival rate. After a year of careful tending it was already full of branches and leaves.

(2) For the second step, the time was chosen around Qingming Festival in spring. I knocked the water privet stump out of the clay pot, taking care not to let the soil ball break apart, then cut away the dead roots on the outer part of the soil ball and the surface soil, placed it in a shallow pot, filled in new growing medium and pressed it firm, at the same time transplanting a small amount of green moss, then watered evenly with a spray bottle. After a period of tending, once the transplant was confirmed to have survived, a small amount of decomposed liquid fertilizer could be applied as a top dressing, artificially providing the plant with enough nutrients so that the bonsai's leaves would be emerald green and full of vitality.

(3) In the third step, prune the bonsai 2 to 3 times a year. Water privet has strong sprouting ability and readily forms foliage pads; positions that need adjustment can be shaped and fixed with thin wire. Apply a dilute liquid fertilizer once a month and maintain appropriate soil moisture, with a water content of 60% to 70% generally being suitable. After nearly 3 years of tending, a water privet bonsai had begun to take shape. As shown in the photo, one pad at the top can be removed to give it a lofty, noble character, or it can be grown on for several more years to develop into a large cloud pad. In short, through practice and exploration, it is continually improved and perfected.