How to cultivate old Pistacia weinmannifolia stumps? A detailed guide to the planting method
When it comes to Pistacia weinmannifolia, people from Wenshan are all too familiar with it, but this familiarity is only a matter of awareness; a comprehensive and in-depth understanding and study of Pistacia weinmannifolia has not been popularized among the general public. In recent years, with the development of the social economy, the development and utilization of Pistacia weinmannifolia has greatly advanced, and its practical economic value and aesthetic value have become increasingly apparent, with its market popularity and discussion heat steadily rising.
Pistacia weinmannifolia has small, dense leaves; the new leaves and some of the old leaves in autumn and winter turn red; the leaves and tender branches have a fragrance when touched; its wood is dense, and old stumps easily form deadwood (shari), making them appear even more ancient and vigorous, so it is truly a great material for bonsai. Below is an introduction to the planting method of Pistacia weinmannifolia——how to cultivate old Pistacia weinmannifolia stumps.
1. Cultivation time
The best time to transplant raw Pistacia weinmannifolia stumps is from November to March of the following year. During this period, whether or not they are with a soil ball, the survival rate is very high.
2. Soaking the root system
Because Pistacia weinmannifolia has an underdeveloped root system, it is relatively difficult to plant. If possible, it is best to buy raw stumps with part of the soil ball. If there is no soil, before potting it is generally necessary to soak them in rooting powder for more than 3 hours.
3. Disinfection treatment
After soaking and before potting, carry out disinfection treatment. What I usually use is potassium permanganate tablets. Dissolve one tablet in a basin of water, and soak for about 10 minutes. If the soil used is old soil previously used for planting flowers and trees, the used disinfection solution can be poured in when planting.
4. Choosing a flower pot
Choose a flower pot according to the size of the stump and the distribution shape of the root disc.
5. Substrate preparation
For the material I used two parts mountain plain soil, two parts fine weathered stone granules, and one part coal ash. The ratio is not important; the most important thing is to keep the potting soil loose and not compacted. Do not mix in base fertilizer; plain soil is beneficial for rooting, and besides, the phosphorus and potassium in the coal ash also help promote roots. Put some crushed foam, broken tiles and the like at the bottom of the pot to retain soil and drain water, and place a layer of coarse material on top for drainage and aeration.
6. Potting the raw stump
This step is mainly to straighten out the fibrous roots. Fill the soil to about one-third and water once; when about half full, water again; when filled, water once more. While watering, use a bamboo skewer or thin stick to repeatedly poke and check, ensuring the root system is in close contact with the soil without leaving gaps.
7. Building a frame and bagging
Use bamboo strips, wire, thin sticks, etc. to build a frame on the pot surface, keeping the frame higher than the stump surface, with the surroundings not touching the branches. After building the frame, put on a bag, seal it, and place it indoors in a cool place. Straight-trunk and tall-trunk ones are not easy to bag; you can wrap the branches and trunk with film, regularly inject water to maintain moisture, and when you see sprouts, gently poke a small hole with a bamboo skewer to let the sprouts show. When the leaves turn green and are old enough, remove the upper film; the part near the bottom can be kept for a while longer.
8. Later management
Afterward, open the bag about every 10 days to check, and when the soil is dry, water thoroughly once. Do not remove the bag as soon as you see sprouts; wait until the new sprouts grow to more than 1 cm, then poke holes in the bag, adding a few more holes every few days, letting the new sprouts slowly adapt to the external environment. When the new leaves of the sprouts spread out, turn green, and are old and tough enough, you can completely remove the bag, but after removing the bag you still need to keep it in a cool environment for about half a month before it can be placed outdoors for growing.
Key cultivation points:
1. When digging the stump for transplanting, cut off all the main roots and thick roots along the base angle of the tree, keeping only the fibrous roots. This is convenient both for limiting the bonsai size and for transplanting and transporting large trees.
After cutting the roots, seal the cuts with white latex, 502 glue, erythromycin eye ointment, or thin mud. The branches, leaves, and thin trunks in the upper part should also all be cut off at the same time, leaving only the forked branches and thick trunk. The cut openings should likewise be smeared and sealed with white latex to prevent water evaporation.
2. Pistacia weinmannifolia dug from the mountains should be planted into the soil as soon as possible, with the time not exceeding 4 days; planting on the same day is ideal. The soil used for cultivating Pistacia weinmannifolia should be red small-granule plain soil plus 20% sawdust, requiring good aeration; raw soil is best. During the cultivation process, water while adding soil, then add soil and water again, following the method of adding soil and irrigating in sequence. The purpose is to make the soil firm and the stump stable.
After adding the soil is finished, pile another layer of soil on the surface to cover the trunk exposed above the soil surface. After the soil is piled up, all the trunk exposed outside should be wrapped entirely with moss and film, with one layer of moss and one layer of film on the outside, in order to keep the trunk at a constant temperature and maintain moisture.
3. After cultivation is finished, place the tree in a sunny spot for cultivation and switch to daily care. Water according to weather conditions; at the beginning, about once every two weeks, water thoroughly. After one month, carefully observe the sprouting situation inside the film. Generally, sprouting begins after about 2 months, and the sprout points are red.
If sprout points are found, wait until the sprout points grow to the size of a grain of rice, then you can poke open the film at the sprout points and let them grow freely. It is best to break the film on a cloudy day or in the morning. After about 4 months, there will be more and more sprout points, and at that time you can tear open the film over a large area, but do not tear the film at the lower end of the trunk and near the roots; leave it there.
When the sprouts grow to about 10 cm, you can appropriately add fertilizer. A small amount of compound fertilizer diluted in water can be used for watering; the fertilizer should be light and must not be applied heavily. You can also use sheep manure water that has been soaked for 2 months, diluted with water, for watering. Follow the principle of not watering until dry, and watering thoroughly when you do. After one year of management, the crown of Pistacia weinmannifolia will be lush, and after 2 years it can be shaped!