Detailed Explanation of Pyracantha Bonsai Cultivation Techniques and Management Methods
Pyracantha bonsai cultivation techniques. Pyracantha potted plants can be used for indoor fruit viewing in winter and for making bonsai. For ground planting, choose a plot with high, dry terrain and good drainage. Plant before spring bud break or in late autumn; in the south, planting can be done during the plum rain season. Pyracantha has a taproot system with few fibrous roots, so to ensure a high survival rate, it is generally planted with a soil ball. When planting, to reduce excessive nutrient consumption by the above-ground parts, some branches should be pruned in combination with shaping. After planting, water thoroughly once, then keep the soil moist until new buds emerge. To keep the leaves from dropping, provide appropriate shading or misting.
For potted plants, try to select small seedlings with a ground diameter of about 1 cm. For large seedlings or tree stumps, the thick roots should be cut one growing season in advance before potting to encourage fine root development. The potting soil should consist of 1 part garden soil, 1 part leaf mold, 1 part vermiculite or furnace slag, plus an appropriate amount of decomposed cake fertilizer residue. The planting depth should be the same as or slightly lower than the original burial depth (appropriately raising the roots helps with shaping). Repot once every 2-3 years, and prune some thick roots at each repotting. After potting, water thoroughly, then provide appropriate shading or misting depending on the weather. When the leaves return to their normal posture and the buds begin to swell and sprout, gradually move the plant to a spot with ample sunlight.
Pyracantha likes warmth but has a certain degree of cold tolerance. In areas where the temperature stays below 0°C for a long time in winter, potted plants should be moved indoors. To ensure they do not drop their leaves, the minimum temperature should be around 5°C. The method of bagging to retain heat and moisture can also be used for cold protection: wrap the pot with dry rice straw, and place a plastic bag over the outside of the pot or the entire potted plant. The bag should be appropriately large, choose a colorless transparent bag, tie the opening well, and place it in a wind-sheltered, sunny spot. When the temperature is high at noon, open the bag opening for ventilation.
Pyracantha is a light-loving tree species. Except for short-term shading at the initial planting stage, it should be maintained under full-light conditions throughout the growing season. For potted pyracantha placed on cement or ceramic tile paving, appropriate shading is needed in the hot summer season to prevent leaf scorching. In winter, plants placed indoors for fruit viewing should be put in a spot with sunlight.
After pyracantha has survived planting, apply dilute fertilizer water once every 15-20 days to promote rapid shoot growth and shaping. After 3 years of planting, apply base fertilizer once each winter or spring. Pyracantha is relatively tolerant of poor soil and drought, with strong adaptability; ground-planted plants can be managed with general measures.
Pyracantha has very strong sprouting ability, which provides favorable conditions for shaping it in courtyards. In spring, mainly thin out diseased and pest-damaged branches, crossing branches and overlapping branches to provide space for new branch growth. In summer, mainly remove sprouting branches or pinch the tips to strengthen branch development. In autumn, appropriately prune long branches so that the fruit on short branches receives sufficient light, which helps fruit coloring and delays the fruit-drop period.
Pyracantha fruits are small and easily obscured by vigorously growing branches, so thinning is usually required. After the fruit drops in winter, carry out tree-shape adjustment pruning, remove large branches in inappropriate positions, and use measures such as auxiliary branch pulling and twisting to adjust branch positions. Because potted pyracantha has short, dense branches, tolerates pruning well, and has latent buds on large branches that sprout easily, it is a good material for making bonsai. It is suitable for pruning and shaping into forest style, cloud-layer style, natural open-center tree shapes and landscape bonsai. The above is an introduction to pyracantha bonsai cultivation techniques.
Cultivation and Care of Pyracantha Bonsai
In the cold winter months, when a hundred flowers wither and all things are dormant, only the pyracantha bonsai is full of vitality, with green leaves and red fruits covering the branches.I. The Form and Character of Pyracantha
Pyracantha is widely distributed in China and mostly grows in hilly areas. It belongs to the Rosaceae family and is an evergreen shrub. It blooms from March to April, and at full bloom the clusters look like flakes of snow. The fruit of pyracantha is spherical; the mature fruit is about 5 mm—6 mm in diameter with strong gloss, making it an excellent material for fruit-viewing bonsai.
II. Stump Cutting and Planting of Pyracantha Bonsai
Pyracantha has strong adaptability and a high survival rate. It can be potted directly in fertile soil with strong water retention, high fertilizer absorption, good drainage and moderate acidity and alkalinity. For newly collected tree stumps, no matter how beautiful their natural form is, they must go through a growing-out stage. If too many branches and leaves are retained on the stump and it is planted into a decorative pot right away, with binding and exposed roots and claws, always trying to achieve the final shape in one step, the result is that haste makes waste. Because the decorative pot is shallow and full of soil, although it is often misted and the surface is moist, the soil in the pot is actually dry, so the stump will gradually lose water and die in the pot. Therefore, for newly potted pyracantha stumps, deeper clay pots and purple clay pots should be chosen, because clay pots and purple clay pots have good air permeability and are good for drainage, which helps the stumps survive.
After planting, make a preliminary design for the stump according to its vigor, prune and remove leaves again, and retain a small amount of leaves for photosynthesis to reduce nutrient consumption. Use white latex used by carpenters to coat wounds exposed above the potting soil twice to reduce water evaporation, avoid wound cracking and incomplete sprouting. Place the planted stump in a place with long sunlight hours and good ventilation, water thoroughly to settle the roots, and carry out routine management.
III. Routine Management of Pyracantha Bonsai
1. Watering: For newly potted pyracantha stumps, water once at 8 a.m. and once at 6 p.m. every day. Each watering should wet all branches and trunks. After new shoots grow 5 cm-6 cm, water once a day, and be careful not to keep the potting soil too wet, so as not to affect normal growth of new roots. After new shoots grow 8 cm-10 cm, the new roots have basically formed; then water only when the pot surface soil is dry, and water thoroughly until water flows out of the bottom of the pot.
2. Fertilizing: Because the space in the pot is limited, with little soil and insufficient nutrients, it is impossible to make potted pyracantha grow vigorously without fertilizer, but the timing and amount of fertilization must be well controlled. To give full play to fertilizer efficacy and meet the growth needs of pyracantha stumps, generally do not fertilize new stumps from March to April. From May to June, apply a 0.2% urea solution once every 10 days to the potting soil and foliage. From July to September, apply rapeseed cake water once every 10 days. From October to December, apply 10% diluted chicken manure once every 15 days. Stop fertilizing from January to February of the following year.
With the above fertilization method, new branches in the same year can thicken by 1 cm—1.5 cm. Pyracantha bonsai that have already been shaped will also bloom and bear fruit every year, with abundant, large and glossy fruit, fully demonstrating their ornamental effect.
3. Disease and pest control: Due to environmental factors, pyracantha is prone to powdery mildew, which damages leaves, tender branches, flowers and fruits. This is caused by insufficient light, poor ventilation and long shading time. It can be controlled by spraying Bordeaux mixture, lime sulfur mixture or carbendazim. There are mainly two types of pests that harm pyracantha growth: one is sap-sucking scale insects, which can cause tree stumps to decline in vigor or even die entirely. Scale insects have a waxy layer on their body surface, making it difficult for chemicals to enter the insect body. Control method: observe frequently; if scale insects are found, immediately remove them with wire, a wooden stick or a small knife. For chemicals, 0.1% machine oil emulsion can be sprayed on the tree body, and carbofuran can be buried at 1‰ of the potting soil to kill the insects through systemic absorption. The second is aphids, which generally occur easily in spring and autumn. Aphid damage to tree stumps causes new shoots and tender leaves to twist and deform, and the excrement dropped by aphids on leaves and fruits forms small black spots, affecting the ornamental effect of pyracantha bonsai. Use 40% omethoate 1000-fold solution, or 80% dichlorvos 800-1000-fold solution, sprayed twice continuously, to kill all aphids.
(Reporter: Anonymous)
Pyracantha Cultivation and Pruning and Methods for Making Pyracantha Bonsai
Pyracantha, also known as firestick fruit, is a plant of the genus Pyracantha in the Rosaceae family. It is an evergreen shrub or small tree, with oblong leaves and spherical fruit that turns deep red when mature. Horticultural cultivation includes yellow and orange-yellow fruited varieties
. It is native to China and likes a warm, slightly dry climate and sufficient light, and is slightly shade-tolerant. The optimum growth temperature is 15-25 degrees.
1. Placement
When the fruit is red, the whole tree turns red like fire, with luxuriant branches and leaves, making it good material for making bonsai. The bonsai should be placed alone on a flower stand.
2. Four-Season Cultivation
(1) In spring, it is suitable to place it on east-, south- and west-facing balconies. Pyracantha is a flower-viewing and fruit-viewing bonsai, and is generally repotted every 1-2 years. Pyracantha has extremely strong adaptability to soil and does not demand much from soil. The potting soil should preferably be fertile, loose loam. New soil should be mixed with a little decomposed cow dung and bone meal to meet the nutrients needed for pyracantha flowering and fruiting. When repotting, the soil must be compacted. Pyracantha grows robustly and has strong adaptability. In spring, ensure sufficient light and keep the soil moist. During the flowering period, prevent the soil from drying out and fertilize appropriately.
(2) In summer, it is suitable to place it on east-, south-, west- and north-facing balconies. Pyracantha likes sufficient light and can tolerate high temperatures in summer. However, pyracantha leaves tend to turn yellow under high temperature and strong light, so in summer when high temperature is accompanied by strong light, the bonsai should be moved to a semi-shaded place for cultivation. Cultivating it in a semi-shaded place can also reduce water evaporation from pyracantha and reduce the frequency of watering. In late summer, the bonsai should be moved to a place with sufficient light for cultivation. In summer, attention should be paid to water management to prevent drought.
(3) In autumn, it is suitable to place it on east-, south-, west- and north-facing balconies. September to November is the season when the fruit is red, and also the best ornamental season. It can be placed on east-, south- and west-facing balconies with light, or on a bright north-facing balcony. Keep the potting soil moist.
(4) In winter, it is suitable to place it on east-, south- and west-facing balconies. Pyracantha goes dormant in winter and is extremely tolerant of low temperatures, but pyracantha bonsai should overwinter indoors at around 0°C. Water alternately between dry and moist periods, and ensure a certain amount of light. With proper winter management, the fruit-viewing period can be extended to the following spring.
3. Pruning
Pyracantha has strong sprouting ability and tolerates pruning. Pyracantha mostly blooms on short branches, so longer branches, also called vegetative branches, can be retained and cut back to 1-2 nodes to make them become fruiting branches, thus achieving abundant flowers and dense branches. When shaping, remove vigorous water sprouts, parallel branches, crossing branches, diseased and pest-damaged branches, and sprouting branches. When branches grow too densely, some branches can be appropriately thinned out.
4. Making Pyracantha Bonsai
(1) Characteristics of pyracantha bonsai: Pyracantha has luxuriant branches and leaves. After autumn, strings of red fruits hang all over the branches and do not drop for a long time, like coral fruits, dazzling and eye-catching. Moreover, the branches and trunks tolerate pruning and binding and are easy to shape.
(2) Material selection: Pyracantha is generally propagated and grown by oneself. It can be propagated by cuttings or sowing, and pyracantha cutting seedlings grow rapidly. Thick and strong pyracantha can also be purchased on the market for shaping. It is best to buy potted seedlings, because pyracantha has a taproot, and it is not easy to survive transplanting, especially bare-root seedling transplanting. When buying potted seedlings, it is best if they come with a soil ball. One can also buy thick rough stock with a basic shape for processing.
(3) Common shapes of pyracantha bonsai: Pyracantha has luxuriant branches and leaves, evergreen leaves, and red fruits hanging on the branches in autumn, festive and red, remaining through winter without withering. Its branches and trunks tolerate pruning and binding, so it can be made into many forms of bonsai, such as forest style, curved-trunk style, straight-trunk style and slanting-trunk style.
(4) Shaping methods of pyracantha bonsai: Pyracantha branches are relatively hard and brittle and break easily. Because of its strong sprouting ability, shaping mostly adopts the Lingnan school“s branch-storing and trunk-cutting method,” achieving branch bending through pruning. The bonsai produced this way has branches with angled bends and dense branches, appearing firm and resolute. Wire can also be used for binding to make branches form layers, and its natural form can also be used to make forest-style bonsai.