Production of cedar bonsai

(1) Botanical knowledge

Cedar belongs to the family Pinaceae, Cedar. Evergreen tree with a spire-shaped crown, spreading branchlets and slightly drooping branchlets. Leaves needle-shaped, hard, grayish green or silver-gray, scattered on long branches and clustered on short branches. It blossoms from October to November. Cones mature the following year, oval-shaped, reddish brown when ripe.

Main varieties

1. The weeping cedar branches are flat and drooping, wreath-shaped and beautiful.

2. Silver leaf cedar leaves are silvery white or grayish blue.

3. The crown of golden leaf cedar is tower-shaped, the needles are golden in spring and turn yellowish green in autumn.

4. The crown of dense cluster cedar is tower-shaped, the branches are dense and curved, and the branchlets are drooping.

Cedar is native to the Himalayas and is distributed in the south of Xizang, India and Afghanistan. It is suitable for growing in temperate and subtropical regions with annual rainfall of 600-1000 mm in China, and grows well in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Cedar likes light, also has a certain shade tolerance, likes cool and humid climate, and has a strong adaptability to temperature changes. it is suitable for neutral or slightly acidic soil with deep soil layer and good drainage, avoid water and moisture, and water in the soil often grows poorly, or even dies.

(2) material selection and cultivation measures

Artificial propagation: Cedar propagation usually uses the methods of sowing, cutting, striping and grafting. Because cedar is dioecious and needs artificial pollination to bear fruit, so the provenance is insufficient, and cutting is the main method of cedar propagation at present.

The cuttings can be divided into two types: spring cutting and summer cutting, and it is suitable for spring cutting from February to March. The one-year-old sturdy branches of the young mother tree were selected as cuttings, and if the big tree was selected, the upper branch of the crown, which was 10 cm long and 15 cm long, was selected. The needles in the lower part of the cuttings were cut off, and the seeds were soaked in 500ppm's naphthalene acetic acid solution for 3 seconds. Then the cuttings were inserted into the cuttings, and the 1B3~1B2 was inserted into the cuttings with a row spacing of 6 cm and 10 cm, and then sprayed with water. Shade sheds should be set up in time after insertion to reduce evaporation. Spray water 2 or 3 times a day to keep the soil moist and give proper light. If the management is perfect, it can take root in about 60 days. The summer cuttings are carried out from May to June, and the new shoots extracted in spring of the same year are used as cuttings. Seedling transplanting in March of the following spring should be carried with lodging soil or soil ball. Sowing and breeding in mid-late October to collect seeds, exposure to de-seed, bagged dry storage. It will be sown in the spring from February to March of the following year. In order to save seeds, it can be sowed on demand. The tip of the seed is inserted downward into the soil, with a row spacing of 15 cm and a plant spacing of 5 cm. Cover soil, cover grass and water after sowing. About half a month later, seedlings emerged and a shed was built for shade. Fertilize every 15 days, it is better to use rotten human feces and urine, and chemical fertilizer can also be applied. The following spring transplant or pot cultivation, processing and modeling.

Striping propagation is also very convenient, because its branches droop, close to or even close to the ground, these branches can be used for striping. The branches of 1 ~ 2 years old are the best for cedar striping. First, use a sharp knife to cut a knife or ring to peel the branches that are ready to be pressed into the soil, reaching to the xylem, then press the lower part of the cut into the soil 5-8 cm deep, fix the strips with branches, bury the soil, firm, and do not allow to bounce up. The cedar pressed in spring can take root in the same year. The following spring was separated and transplanted from the mother.

Grafting propagation should be carried out in early February, the scion uses sunny 2-year-old branches, about 10-15 cm long, rootstocks can be used with Huangshan pine or black pine seedlings.

(3) the process of potting.

Selection of pots: purple sand pottery basin or glazed pottery basin is suitable for cedar. Large bonsai can use a deep round basin, can also use a variety of stone basins, but must be fixed with wire. Medium-sized bonsai is appropriate to use crabapple-shaped, manger-shaped basin, small seedlings can be planted in the jungle type can be used bauxite or marble and other chisel shallow basin.

Using soil: cedar can be used as a slightly acidic sandy loam with loose soil and good drainage. Pots are often used to mix mature pastoral soil or rotten leaf soil with sand.

Planting: it is suitable for March to April in spring and after autumn. Cedar seedlings dug from the ground must take shelter in the soil to facilitate survival. And thinning the withered roots, stretching the fibrous roots, covering them with fine soil, gently shaking the bowl and compacting them with bamboo sticks to make the potted soil and roots firm. The planting position of the trunk should be tilted to one side of the 1B3.

(4) Positioning techniques

Processing: the processing shape of cedar bonsai is mainly climbing, combined with pruning as a supplement. It is appropriate to climb in winter and spring, and brown silk is mostly used for climbing. Cedar trunk stands, side branches spread, so most of the side branches are bent into S shape, the trunk is generally not bent, naturally upward into a big tree, the posture is very simple and beautiful. Can also take the same year born seedlings 5-7, high and low scattered, co-planted into a jungle type, branches and leaves whirling, do not have charm.

Tree shape: the cedar tree is tall and straight, with side branches flattening and stretching. Bonsai production must make use of its natural form, the tree shape to straight dry type, double dry type, oblique dry type, jungle type is better. Branches and leaves through tie-cut, can be made into layers or clouds, maintenance for many years, can become a rigid and soft storage, elegant bonsai.