How to make Ruixiang bonsai

(1) Botanical knowledge

It belongs to the family Daphneaceae, genus Daphne. Evergreen shrub with smooth stems. Leaves alternate, long oval, multi-clustered branch top, entire, dark green and shiny. Flowering from March to May, head terminal, Corolla yellow-white to lilac, such as lilac-shaped, strong aroma. Daphne has whirling branches, soft strips and thick leaves, elegant posture.

Main variety

1. White Ruixiang, also known as Baihua Ruixiang, the flowers are pure white.

2. The leaf edge of Daphne odorifera in Phnom Penh is golden and fragrant.

3. Rose Daphne, also known as light red Daphne, the petals are white inside and slightly red on the surface.

4. The stem of Daphne odorifera is dark purple, the flowers are white, and the perianth tube is covered with gray-yellow silky hairs.

Ruixiang is produced in Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Zhejiang, Sichuan and other provinces south of the Yangtze River Basin in China. It is also distributed in Japan.

Daphne like shade, avoid sun exposure, more afraid of cold, suitable for growing in fertile, loose and well-drained acidic soil, not resistant to water and moisture.

(2) material selection and cultivation measures

Artificial propagation: Daphne multipurpose cutting, striping method, can also be used in water cutting, ramet, sowing method. Cutting can be carried out all the year round, but the best time for cutting is from early March to late June. Spring cuttings should select one-year-old stout branches as cuttings, which are about 5-10 cm in length. They can be cut around 0.1 cm at the branch point with a sharp knife the day before cutting to promote healing and rooting. If it is cut in a ring at the branch point, the cut should be cut and trimmed at the right time, and 2 or 4 leaves should be retained in the upper part of the cuttage; if it is not cut in a ring at the branch point, it can be cut separately if there are several ramet. The insertion depth is about 1B3 or 1B2 and should not be too deep. Family cuttage can be used in cuttage pots, such as large area cuttings must use seedbed, seedling bed soil quality to loose and fertile, good drainage of slightly acidic soil is better. After insertion, a protective shed should be built to prevent the sun and rain (bamboo can be bowed into a scaffolding 50 to 60 centimeters high, covered with plastic film). When the temperature is too high, the film shed must open a corner of ventilation, pay attention to control moisture, should not be too wet. Generally, it can be rooted in about 30 days after spring planting, and can be transplanted in about 2 months. If cutting in summer and autumn, cuttings must choose the new semi-lignified branches of the same year, and choose sturdy branches, about 8 cm long, with a heel on the branches. After insertion, it is necessary to keep the seedbed soil moist, pay attention to the heat preservation work when the temperature drops, generally can also take root in about 40 days, and then transplant and cultivate after the next spring is warm.

The method of high branch pressing can usually be used for striping propagation. The time of high branch pressure should be between May and June. First, select the appropriate branches, determine the high pressure part, use the notching method to horizontally carve one or two circles or annular peeling on the pressed part, the incision reaches to the xylem, then wrap the cut site in a plastic bag or half-half bamboo tube, tie it tightly at the lower end, apply growth hormone on the wound, then fill in the prepared culture soil, and wrap up the bag mouth at the upper end. Keep the soil in the bag moist and fix the high-pressure branches so as not to break. Generally, it can take root in about 40-50 days, and it can be cut from the mother branch and cultivated in the basin after about 2 months. The propagation of Daphne odorifera by water insertion is simple and easy, and the survival rate is also high.

(3) the process of potting.

Selection basin: Ruixiang should use a slightly deeper round basin or square basin, oval or rectangular basin can also be used. The texture of the basin is better with purple sand pottery basin. The potted color can be yellow or light gray to set off the green leaves and white flowers and produce the effect of drying clouds and supporting the moon.

Using soil: Ruixiang likes to grow in a fertile, loose, well-drained sandy loam, which requires a slightly acidic soil with a pH value between 6 and 6.5. Potted plants should be mixed with rotten leaf soil or sun-dried and weathered pastoral soil plus appropriate amount of rice chaff ash or sand.

Planting: it should be planted in the pot in April in spring. At this time, the climate is mild and humid, and the temperature difference between day and night is small, which is beneficial to the growth of Ruixiang clothing basin. Planting in autumn is also possible. When transplanting, you should take more lodging soil and prune the branches properly.

(4) Positioning techniques

Processing: Ruixiang bonsai should be modeled with wire climbing and pruning. However, attention should be paid to the timely removal of the wire, so as not to cause wire trapping and affect the beauty and growth. Processing modeling should be in the dormant period, can also be carried out after flowering.

Tree shape: the shape of the Ruixiang bonsai tree should be made into a natural tree shape, the branches should be tall and stretch, and pay attention to the density, so as to show the multiplication of flowers, rich color and fragrance, and increase the ornamental effect.