Chinese Holly Christmas Tree Seedling Prices Per Plant and How to Plant for Survival and Bonsai Care Methods

Chinese holly, also known as cat's thorn, tiger thorn, eight-horn thorn, bird's roost, dog-bone thorn, cat's fragrance, and mouse tree, is an evergreen shrub or small tree and an excellent foliage and fruit ornamental species. So how much does a Chinese holly seedling cost per plant? How do you plant it so it survives easily? How do you care for and manage a bonsai?

How much does a Chinese holly seedling cost per plant?

The following are compiled prices. For reference only.

How do you plant Chinese holly so it survives easily?

Chinese holly is generally fairly easy to plant and keep alive. The solar term around Minor Snow is the best season. When transplanting, pay attention to several points:

1. Protect the soil ball around the roots of the Chinese holly seedling.

2. Do not leave the seedling outside for too long; transplant and plant at the same time to reduce damage to the seedling.

3. Dig the planting hole large and deep. If the soil quality is poor, replace it with good soil when backfilling. Water thoroughly with settling water immediately after planting.

4. Prune the tree shape, removing diseased and weak branches.

How do you care for and manage a Chinese holly bonsai?

Chinese holly has dense branches and leaves and uniquely shaped leaves. Especially after autumn, it is covered with bright red fruits, vivid and beautiful. It is a flower variety excellent for both foliage and fruit display.

1. Watering: Chinese holly is drought-tolerant. During vigorous growth, water frequently; generally keep the pot soil moist but not waterlogged. In summer, spray the leaves often to aid evaporation and cooling.

2. Fertilizing: Generally, apply dilute cake fertilizer water once every 2 weeks in spring, topdress once a month in autumn, skip fertilizing in summer, and apply base fertilizer every winter.

3. Pruning: Chinese holly has strong sprouting ability and tolerates pruning well. For finished display pieces, usually cut off unnecessary leggy branches, sprouting branches and excess buds to maintain a certain tree shape. For tree material that needs shaping, retain a certain number of branches as needed to facilitate processing and styling.

4. Repotting: Soil: It prefers fertile acidic soil and is not tolerant of saline-alkali. Chinese holly bonsai is usually repotted once every 2 to 3 years, often in February to March in spring, or after autumn when the tree enters dormancy. When repotting, some old roots can be trimmed, sufficient base fertilizer applied, 1/2 of the old soil retained, and the plant repotted.

5. Pest and disease control: Chinese holly has very few pests and diseases. Sometimes branches develop sooty mold caused by psyllids. From April to May before the plum rain season, spray Bordeaux mixture or lime sulfur once every 10 days. Alternatively, in early spring spray 50% dimethoate emulsifiable concentrate at 2000 times dilution to kill overwintering psyllids, once a week for 3 consecutive times to control psyllid damage. When scale insects are occasionally seen, spraying lead arsenate can kill them.

6. Care location: Chinese holly is shade-tolerant and should be placed in a shady, humid environment for growth. In summer, care for it under a shade shed or forest shade. In winter, it needs to be brought indoors to overwinter; south of the Yangtze River it can remain outdoors.