How to Attach Golden Bullet (Diospyros cathayensis) to Rock - Method for Making a Golden Bullet Rock-Clinging Bonsai

  The root system of the Golden Bullet tree is extremely well developed, and its trailing ability is also very prominent. In the wild, Golden Bullet generally grows on very steep cliff faces, enduring long-term environments lacking water and nutrients, yet it often manages to maintain a good growth state. One cannot help but admire its tenacious vitality! The reason Golden Bullet can cling to cliff faces for growth is mainly that it relies on its strong and powerful roots for support. Based on these characteristics, we can also artificially create a Golden Bullet rock-clinging cliff scene, which will surely greatly increase the ornamental value of a Golden Bullet rock-clinging bonsai. So, how do you attach Golden Bullet to rock?

  The making of a Golden Bullet bonsai mainly involves trunk chopping to build branches and pruning and wiring. There are also many styling forms; common ones include the formal upright style, slanting style, curved trunk style, lying trunk style, cascade style, semi-cascade style, literati style, and forest style, among other bonsai images. Since there are many bonsai styling forms, you can choose according to your own actual needs and preferences during the making process, and you can freely unleash your creativity. But to make a Golden Bullet rock-clinging bonsai, the first thing we need to solve is how to successfully get Golden Bullet to cling to rock. Now let's follow the editor and take a look at the method for making a Golden Bullet rock-clinging bonsai!

  Golden Bullet not only has tenacious vitality, but also strong sprouting ability, and it is also fairly tolerant of poor soil, so it can generally be used to make rock-clinging bonsai. The obvious feature of a Golden Bullet rock-clinging bonsai is that the trunk and roots are embedded to varying degrees in the rock wall, or even coiled around the rock. The trunk often relies on the rock to take its form, creating a steep and magnificent effect; the stump is also vigorous and twisted, showing elegance; the sturdy roots are also exposed and embrace the rock, even passing through it, presenting an effect of roots within the rock and rock beneath the roots. The entire Golden Bullet rock-clinging bonsai looks seamlessly integrated, full of charm, and rich in meaning.

  But the process of attaching Golden Bullet to rock is rather cumbersome, especially the handling of details, and the tools and materials used are also numerous, so completing the entire Golden Bullet rock-attaching process takes a great deal of time and energy. Attaching an old Golden Bullet stump to rock, in particular, often demands even higher technical skill. The first thing to do is still the preparatory work: all the tools and materials needed in the process of attaching Golden Bullet to rock must be gathered together. Only then can the next step be carried out. Below, we will share with you an example of attaching a Golden Bullet stump to rock.

  1. First, take out the previously prepared rock and groove it, but note that the size of the groove chiseled out must match the Golden Bullet stump being used, ensuring that the main root of the stump can fit into the groove.

  2. Sterilize and disinfect the Golden Bullet tree. After all, sawing the stump will leave wound surfaces on the stump, so a carbendazim solution is generally used for soaking to sterilize and disinfect the wounds.

  3. After sterilizing and disinfecting the small Golden Bullet stump, it is generally also recommended to apply rooting hormone to its roots, which can accelerate the sprouting and growth of its root system. This step is very important and very necessary for promoting rooting, since after all the roots of the Golden Bullet stump are embedded in the rock groove.

  4. Next, use plastic film to wrap and bind the long roots of the Golden Bullet, and after that, insert them into the groove of the rock.

  5. After that, use plastic film again to wrap the stump and the rock together and bind them tightly, then plant them in a flower pot.

  6. But to achieve the purpose of cultivating the stump, we also need to mound soil and add soil for the stump, and at the same time bag it to keep it warm and moist, then quietly wait for it to take root and sprout.

  7. After 1 month, we remove the sleeve and the bag, but at this time no sign of sprouting has yet been found. However, after another half month, we can often clearly see the tender buds on the Golden Bullet stump beginning to leaf out. Since it has sprouted, that is a good sign, indicating that the Golden Bullet stump has basically survived.

  8. But as the Golden Bullet survives and the tender branches keep growing, more and more newly sprouted tender branches will appear, and they will grow longer and longer. However, to promote sprouting, we now need to cut the overlong branches short.

  9. After cultivating it for another period, we can take out the old Golden Bullet stump together with the attached rock and carry out a repotting operation for it. From rock-attached stump cultivation to repotting, it often takes about 3 months.

  10. But after repotting, we still need to mound soil and cultivate the stump bonsai for a period, so that the Golden Bullet can quickly adapt to the new growing environment.

  11. And after the Golden Bullet has smoothly acclimated to the pot while attached to the rock, we should not be in a hurry to remove the mounded soil, but at this time we can prune branches when the opportunity arises and shape the branches with metal wire.

  12. Generally, the leaves that Golden Bullet produces in the first year are often relatively large, while the new leaves produced in the second year will be much smaller. And in the second year, we also need to choose a suitable time to carry out another repotting treatment for the Golden Bullet rock-clinging bonsai, and this time what needs to be done is to transplant it into an ornamental pot, making it a true Golden Bullet rock-clinging bonsai.

  The above is the method for making a Golden Bullet rock-clinging bonsai. This entire process is not only time-consuming but also rather labor-intensive. From beginning to end, not only must Golden Bullet successfully cling to the rock, but in the meantime 3 pottings were also carried out. However, seeing the final Golden Bullet rock-clinging bonsai completed, I believe everyone feels as excited as the editor! Today the editor will share this with everyone here, hoping it can bring you some help.