A detailed guide to making a Murraya paniculata bonsai

Selecting seedlings

Murraya paniculata (orange jasmine) is an ornamental plant suitable both for ground planting and for growing in pots. Common sources of seedlings include slower artificial propagation methods such as sowing and cuttings, or you can search the mountain forests yourself for tree stumps with an antique, elegant shape to transplant.

Selecting a pot

It is recommended to use a glazed ceramic pot, which has fairly strong water permeability. An oval or rectangular pot shape is preferable.

Soil

When choosing soil for growing Murraya paniculata, pay attention to air permeability; leaf mold, garden soil, an appropriate amount of sandy soil and rice husk ash can be mixed and stirred together evenly.

Time

Spring, March to May, is best.

Shaping

It can be bent and trained into natural forms such as the slanting-trunk style or the straight-trunk style, with pruning as the main method and wiring as a supplement.

Pruning period

Spring, April to May, is preferable. The "store branches and truncate the trunk" method is generally used, that is, first cultivate the main branches to a thickness suitable for pruning, then cut a section off each main branch trunk; the cut branch trunk is the first branch node. The secondary branches that grow from it are the second branch node. And so on, cycling repeatedly, to achieve a winding, vigorous and elegant effect.