The production technique of flood and drought bonsai

I. Overview

Bonsai is one of the traditional Chinese arts. It takes plants, rocks, soil, water and other materials as materials, through artistic creation and horticultural cultivation, to shape the beautiful scenery of nature in the basin, like a three-dimensional landscape painting.

The reason why Chinese bonsai is called bonsai is to take its meaning of "scenery in the basin". Since it is a "scene in a basin", it can show a variety of natural landscapes. Therefore, in Chinese bonsai, there are not only tree bonsai (Tree penjing), but also mountain and stone bonsai (Rock penjing), and flood and drought bonsai (Water-and-Land penjing) with both trees and landscape.

Woody plants as the main material, through climbing, pruning, carving and other modeling treatment and horticultural cultivation, show the natural tree landscape in the basin, which is called tree bonsai.

With natural stone as the main material, after selection and cutting, carving, splicing and other modeling processing, embellished with some small characters and furnishings, arranged in the water basin, the performance of the natural landscape landscape, known as mountain and stone bonsai.

Flood and drought bonsai is a combination of tree bonsai and landscape bonsai, its materials are not only plants and soil, but also stones and water, and sometimes put some small decorations. It shows the "complete" landscape of trees, rocks, land and water in nature.

Flood and drought bonsai in the form of flood and drought bonsai appeared in the Song and Yuan dynasties, there were special pots for flood and drought bonsai in the Ming Dynasty, and more common in the Qing Dynasty.

Modern flood and drought bonsai develops rapidly and is widely popularized. it inherits the skills of traditional flood and drought bonsai, retains the literati characteristics of Chinese bonsai art, tends to be more natural in shape, and innovates in technology. It has become an ancient and novel form of bonsai. In recent years, with the increasingly frequent international exchanges of bonsai, flood and drought bonsai has also been loved by more and more bonsai lovers abroad, and has appeared in the demonstration performances of international bonsai conferences for many times.

2. Material selection

Flood and drought bonsai is a combination of tree bonsai and rock bonsai. The basic requirements for material selection are roughly the same as those of the two types of bonsai, but they also have some special features.

The materials of flood and drought bonsai mainly include pots, plants, stones, furnishings and soil.

1. Plants

Woody plant is the main landscape in flood and drought bonsai, and its selection is very important. its tree species must have the characteristics of small leaves, resistance to pruning, easy modeling and high ornamental value.

(1) Pines and cypresses:

Five-needle pine Pinus parviflora

Sabina vulgaris Juniperus procumbens

Juniper Juniperus formosana

Real cypress Juniperus chinensis' Shimpaku'

Cypress Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Filifera'

Spruce Picea asperata

Metasequoia glyptostroboides Metasequoia glyptostroboides

Sequoia fortunei Taxodium distichum

Jinqiansong Pseudolarix kaempferi

Podocarpus macrophyllus' maki'

Yew Taxus cuspidata

(2) miscellaneous trees:

Jiuli incense Mrraya paniculata

Fujian tea Carmona microphylla

Hammer elm Ulmus parvifolia

Beech Zelkova schneideriana

Lobular privet Ligustrum guihoui

Yellow poplar Buxus sinica

Qimei Sageretia theezans

Park Shu Celtis sinensis

Banyan Ficus microcarpa

(3) Leaf trees:

Acer truncatum Acer buergerianum

Red maple Acer palmatum 'Atropurpureum'

Acer truncatum Acer palmatum

Ginkgo biloba Ginkgo biloba

Tamarix Tamarix chinensis

Bambusa multiplex 'Nana'

(4) Flowers and trees:

June snow Serissa foetida

Stick stem begonia Chaenomeles speciosa

Rhododendron Rhododendron simsii

Crape myrtle Lagerstroemia indica

Plum blossom Prunus mume

(5) fruit trees:

Laoya persimmon Diospyros rthombifolia

Pomegranate Punica granatum

Golden marble Diospyros armata

Pyracantha Pyracantha fortuneana

Most of the tree materials used in flood and drought bonsai are cultivated from an early age, and they can also be extracted from the mountains, but they all have to be cultivated and processed for a certain period of time to make the trunk and main branches take shape and meet the following requirements.

(1) it is natural: the necessary trade-offs must be made entirely on the basis of the natural tree scene. In the posture techniques, generally pruning is the main, climbing as the auxiliary. Any obvious artificial smell, or excessive deformation, is not appropriate.

(2) it has the shape of a big tree: the tree shape should not be too strange, usually straight dry, oblique dry and near the water. Cliffs, curved trunks (referring to the large degree of bending of the trunk) and other tree shapes are not suitable.

(3) Root maturation: it is best for trees cultivated in shallow pots for a certain period of time, which have both mature roots and no downward coarse roots. The root system of the main tree exposed to the soil is spread out in all directions, and it is better for the other trees to have roots exposed to the soil.

(4) Coordination and change: most of the trees in flood and drought bonsai are made of jungle type. In the same basin, the same tree species are usually used, and sometimes more than two tree species can be used. The co-planting of different tree species must be dominated by one of the tree species, supplemented by other tree species, and can not be treated evenly. At the same time, we should pay attention to the unity of style as far as possible.

Trees in the same basin must be divided into primary and secondary, high and low, and thickness, among which there must be the tallest and thickest main tree.

The selection of trees in the jungle style should pay attention to the coordination of style, and the personality of each tree should not be too obvious. The trees in a work should be dominated by the same tree shape, but changes are also required in coordination. If you mainly use straight-dried trees to make a jungle style, you might as well mix one or two oblique dry trees or trees with slightly curved stems, which can add natural interest.

(5) tacit understanding with other scenery: when selecting materials, it does not require that all parts of the trees are complete, but that they can be organically combined with other scenery to achieve the desired effect.

The plants in flood and drought bonsai are mainly trees, including some small herbs and bryophytes. Different kinds of moss should be selected, which can increase the change of color and shape.

2. Stone

To choose stone is to select materials whose shape, texture and color are in line with the creative idea, to apply them in accordance with their aptitude as much as possible, and to maintain the natural characteristics of the stone.

The stone materials used for flood and drought bonsai are generally made of hard stone, with ideal natural shape and textured lines, soft color and strong stone feeling. The commonly used ones are as follows.

(1) tortoise stone

Tortoise stone belongs to hard stone, most of which are not round or square, and the surface is similar to the natural texture of tortoise shell. The colors are grayish yellow, grayish black, light red, white and so on. It can absorb water slightly and grow moss locally. It can also be carved and polished in a small range.

The shape and color of tortoise stone is simple, natural, strong stone sense and full of pictures. it is a commonly used stone species for making flood and drought bonsai.

Tortoise stone is mainly produced in Sichuan, Anhui, Shandong and many other areas of China. The texture and color of tortoise stone produced in different regions are also different.

(2) Yingde Stone

The texture of Yingde stone is hard, most of them are rugged, and the textured lines are rich and varied; a few of them are more round and muddy, and the textured patterns are relatively plain. The colors are mostly grayish black or light gray, with white tendons occasionally. Basically does not absorb water, should not be carved.

Yingde stone has a strong sense of stone, and it is one of the traditional ornamental stones in China, and it is also a common stone species for making flood and drought bonsai.

Yingdeshi is mainly produced in Guangdong, China.

(3) Pebbles

The texture is very hard, mostly oval, and some are irregular in shape, but they are all round, muddy and smooth, with few and plain textured lines. The colors are black, white, gray, green and light brown and so on. If it does not absorb water, it cannot be carved.

The pebbles have a strong stone feeling and are strong and durable. In the flood and drought bonsai, more choose the kind of shape changes, textured more rich materials, cut its suitable part, can be assembled into a very natural slope.

Pebbles come from many places, usually in mountain estuaries, water banks or placers.

(4) stalagmite

Stalagmite is hard, generally in the shape of bamboo shoots, sandwiched with grayish-white stone, like the size of ginkgo, colors such as bluish gray, purple and so on. Do not absorb water, can be used for percussion processing. Generally cross-cut its "bamboo shoot head", splicing the slope of flood and drought bonsai, it is more natural.

The bluish gray stalagmite is very suitable for showing the spring scenery.

Stalagmite is mainly produced in Zhejiang, China.

In addition to the several stone species introduced above, there are still many stone species that can be used in flood and drought bonsai. Such as axe split stone, thousand-layer stone, strange stone, snow fossil, sand sheet stone, stalactite and other hard stone.

As for sand stone, Reed stone and other cancellous stone, because its stone sense is not strong, and easy to permeate, so it is generally less used in flood and drought bonsai. However, these stones are easy to process and shape, easy to produce moss, and are suitable for the performance of soil slopes, so they are sometimes used.

The selection of flood and drought bonsai stone mainly has the following basic requirements.

(1) having a "stone shape"

In the flood and drought bonsai, the stone is mainly used for slope and cloth, and rarely shows a complete mountain landscape, so when selecting stones, we should pay attention to the "stone shape", that is, the shape of the stone, rather than the shape of the mountain. There is a difference between the mountain and the stone. Mountains have peaks, mountains, hills and ravines, while stone is only the composition of the mountain, generally showing a round and muddy block.

Hard stone is generally inconvenient to process, so there are more requirements for natural shape and textured lines. Cancellous stone can be carved, so there is no need to require too much of the original shape, as long as the texture is uniform.

(2) pay attention to "stone sense"

The feeling of stone is the texture of stone. The rigid and soft contrast in the flood and drought bonsai mainly depends on the stone to reflect the rigidity, so the stone is hard.

Quality is important. Generally speaking, hard stone has a strong sense of stone, while cancellous stone lacks it. But some hard stones do not look hard on the surface, that is, the sense of stone is not strong.

(3) Coordination and unification

In the same basin of flood and drought bonsai, the same kind of stone is generally used, and strive to achieve coordination and unity in shape, texture, texturing pattern, color and so on. However, coordination and unity does not mean that it is exactly the same, and there should be certain changes, such as fast noodles can be big and small, textured lines should be sparse and dense, shape should be round and square, and so on.

3. Basin

Most of the flood and drought bonsai use shallow water basins (generally use landscape bonsai basins and drill one or two drainage holes in the position of dry land) to highlight the scenery in the basin, especially the beauty of the foot of the slope, so that the works are more picturesque.

The shapes of commonly used water basins are rectangular, oval and irregular. The texture of the basin is marble, white marble and so on, as well as glazed pottery basin and purple sand basin. The color of the basin is mostly white or other light colors.

The water basin made of natural slate is irregular and changeable in shape, and it is also good for flood and drought bonsai. Although this kind of basin has no mouth and cannot store water, it can make a "dry basin water meaning".

4. Furnishing parts

Furnishings refer to buildings, people, animals, boats and other embellishments placed in bonsai. Although they are very small, they often play an important role.

The texture of the furnishings are ceramic, porcelain, stone, metal and so on. Pottery is better, that is, fired with clay, not afraid of water and sun, will not change color, and the texture is easy to coordinate with potted bowls and rocks. Pottery furnishings are usually made of Guangdong Shiwan products.

The pottery fittings commonly used in flood and drought bonsai are as follows.

Architectural category: there are mainly thatched pavilions, thatched huts, tile houses, water pavilions, slate bridges, wooden bridges, bamboo bridges and so on.

Characters: there are mainly independent, sitting alone, playing chess, talking, drinking, reading, playing the piano, blowing, fishing, bull riding, farmers, woodcutters, fishermen and so on.

5. Use soil

In flood and drought bonsai, soil not only has the role of storing, supplying water and nutrients, maintaining plant growth, but also the material for shaping the scene. The ups and downs of the topography in the basin are mainly shaped by soil.

The soil for flood and drought bonsai is roughly the same as that for general trees, and should be allocated according to the habits of different tree species. However, it must not only meet the needs of plant growth, but also facilitate the shaping of the terrain, and maintain the relative stability of the terrain. Therefore, in addition to good ventilation, drainage, water retention, it is best to have a little stickiness. When making flood and drought bonsai in different areas, you can take materials on the spot and prepare them yourself.

III. Production procedure

The production procedure of flood and drought bonsai mainly includes overall conception, processing trees, processing stone, integral cloth, bureau, gluing stone, planting trees, dealing with topography, placing parts, laying moss and so on.

1. General Conception

Before starting to make flood and drought bonsai, we should have an overall idea of the theme, theme, layout and means of expression of the works, that is, the "idea" in the theory of Chinese painting.

The conception is based on the natural landscape and takes the Chinese landscape painting as a reference.

The idea runs through the whole process of material selection, processing and layout, and is often modified to a certain extent in this process.

When conceiving, it is best to put the initially selected materials, including trees, stones, pots and furnishings together, and then calm down, examine them carefully, and look for feelings. After having a preliminary plan, we will begin to process the material.

2. Processing trees

Trees are the main body of flood and drought bonsai, and tree materials are generally processed first when processing materials. The tree materials used in flood and drought bonsai can only be used in the culture basin after a certain period of cultivation and shaping. When making flood and drought bonsai, the material should be further processed according to the overall conception.

First of all, it is necessary to examine its overall shape and the local structure of the root, stem, branch and so on. In order to examine it from different directions and angles, it is also necessary to see clearly the structure and trend of the roots. After repeated examination, if we find out the essence and defects of trees, we can consider how to enhance our strengths and avoid weaknesses, highlight the essence and make up for the defects.

It is very important to determine the front of the tree. Generally speaking, from the front, the trunk should not stand forward, the exposed roots and the main branches should extend longer to both sides and shorter to the front and back. There are no long branches sticking out in front of the trunk, nor should they be completely exposed. The main branch should avoid opposite and parallel, and should protrude from the bulge of the trunk, not from the bend. These most basic requirements must be paid attention to.

The angle of planting trees is also very important. After the front of the tree is determined, if the angle is not ideal, it has to be adjusted again. You can change the angle of the trunk to the front and back, left and right, until the ideal effect is achieved. The angle is very important, and sometimes if the angle is changed slightly, the mental state of the whole tree will be greatly changed, and even bring unexpected good results.

After the front and angle of the tree are determined, the length and short of the main branch, thinning and density, gathering and dispersing, hiding and revealing, rigidity and softness, momentum and balance can be further considered, and then the internal structure and overall shape can be adjusted.

The combination of climbing and pruning should be used in the posture. The method of posture is basically the same as that of bonsai trees. Here is a brief introduction.

(1) climbing: a technique that uses wire to fasten the branches of trees for modeling, which has the advantage of being able to freely adjust the direction and curvature of the branches, which is mostly used in pine and cypress species.

Generally, aluminum wire or copper wire is used for climbing. According to the thickness and hardness of the branches, select the wire with suitable thickness.

The copper wire should be heated until it turns red before use, and then cool slowly. It is soft to use in this way, it is not easy to hurt the bark, and it will harden after bending, which is good for fixing branches, but climbing requires skilled skills and should not be changed much. Aluminum wire is generally soft and soft, and there is no soft and hard change, so it is easier for beginners to use.

The order of climbing is generally the first master then the second, the first down and then up. When winding, pay attention to the wire and the branches to keep about 45 degrees. Pay attention to the twisting and twisting of the thumb to create a bend. Do not bend too hard to avoid breaking branches or damaging bark. The outer ring of the bending point must have a metal wire to pass through before it is not easy to break.

The wire wrapped around the trunk by the root must be inserted into the basin soil to make it fixed. The first lap should be fixed with the trunk and then wound up, and the last lap should also be fixed. The angle of the tail moves down slightly.

The wire can be wound either clockwise or counterclockwise, depending on the direction of twisting. Do not be too tight or too loose between the wire and the branches.

When winding multiple branches on the same branch, the branches must be wound at intervals, such as the first branch to the third branch, the second branch to the fourth branch, and so on. The wire must be wound more than once on the stem, otherwise the branches will affect each other and it is not easy to shape.

When the same branch needs to be wound with more than two metal wires, it must be neatly parallel to avoid overlap.

Before climbing, it is best to buckle the basin soil properly to make the branches of the trees soft and easy to bend.

The time of removing stitches varies according to tree species and growth and development. In the growing period, to often observe, when the wire is about to fall into the bark, should be removed in time, so as not to affect the appearance. When removing stitches, you should be careful to prevent damage to the bark, preferably cut off with wire pliers.

(2) pruning: a modeling method to achieve a beautiful tree shape by pruning the branches of a tree and removing the excess parts. The advantage of pruning method is that it can make the branches of trees vigorous and natural, and the structure tends to be reasonable, so it is mostly used for miscellaneous trees.

When pruning, we should first deal with parallel branches, cross branches, overlapping branches, opposite branches, whorled branches and other beautiful branches, some cut off, some cut short, and some are reformed by climbing.

For the long branches that need to be shrunk, only when they are cultivated to a suitable thickness can they be shrunk to produce lateral branches, that is, the second branch, generally retain two roots, and then culture. When the second branch grows to a suitable thickness, it will be cut again, and according to the third and fourth sections, it will be carried out in this way. Each branch mostly retains two, into a "Y" type, one long and one short. Sometimes only one is retained to adjust the relationship or avoid crossover.

When multiple trees are co-planted, it is often necessary to cut off the lower branches of the trees in order to conform to nature. In order to avoid overlap and achieve overall coordination, it is sometimes necessary to cut off the big branches of some of these trees. At this time, the overall situation should be given priority, and the cut should be cut. Even solitary trees sometimes have to cut off some large branches of the trees according to the needs of the overall layout.

The basin of flood and drought bonsai is very shallow, and the place where trees are planted is often very small and irregular, so it is necessary to arrange the roots of trees before planting them. Generally, part of the old soil is removed first, and then the downward coarse roots and overlong roots are cut short. The number of picking soil and cutting roots is best determined according to the shape and size of the dry land part in the basin. Before the location of the tree is determined, it can be scraped and cut less, and then further trimmed in place.

3. Processing stone

The stone used for flood and drought bonsai must be processed before it can be laid out. The main processing methods of stone are cutting method, carving method, grinding method, splicing method and so on, which are selected according to different stone types and shapes.

Cutting method: to cut off the excess part of the stone and retain the necessary part, which can be used as a spot stone in the slope and water, so that it can be combined with the basin surface smoothly and naturally. Sometimes a large stone is divided into several pieces. The spot stones used in dry land usually do not need to be cut, but if the volume is too large, unwanted parts can also be removed.

3. Processing stone

The stone used for flood and drought bonsai must be processed before it can be laid out. The main processing methods of stone are cutting method, carving method, grinding method, splicing method and so on, which are selected according to different stone types and shapes.

Cutting method: to cut off the excess part of the stone and retain the necessary part, which can be used as a spot stone in the slope and water, so that it can be combined with the basin surface smoothly and naturally. Sometimes a large stone is divided into several pieces. The spot stones used in dry land usually do not need to be cut, but if the volume is too large, unwanted parts can also be removed.

For hard stone, before cutting, it should be carefully and repeatedly examined to determine the best scheme for interception; for cancellous stone, it is generally carved first and then cut.

Carving and chiseling method: refers to through manual carving, the shape of stone is not ideal, processed into a more ideal shape. This method is mainly used for cancellous stone and sometimes for some hard stone, such as axe split stone, stalagmite and so on. The carving chisel uses a special sharp hammer or steel chisel as a tool, and the method is basically the same as the landscape bonsai.

Although the carving and chiseling method is artificial, it is necessary to carefully observe the natural scenery and refer to the stone shapes and textured patterns in Chinese landscape painting in order to conform to nature. The stones in the same work should have both changes and consistent style.

Grinding method: refers to the use of Emery wheels or water sand paper to polish the stone surface in order to reduce artificial marks, remove edges and corners, or solve the imperfections of some stone surfaces. Polishing is only a remedy and should not be abused. For the hard stone with good natural shape, try not to polish it to retain its natural charm.

When grinding, you can first rough grinding, and then fine grinding. Rough grinding with coarse sand wheel, fine grinding with water sand paper belt water grinding.

Splicing: refers to the combination of two or more stones into a whole, often used in flood and drought bonsai. Slope banks are generally formed by the combination and splicing of multiple stones, and sometimes the stitching method is also used to get the ideal shape or suitable volume.

The most important thing to assemble and splice stones is to have a sense of integrity. First of all, the stone with the same color and similar texturing pattern must be carefully selected, and then the joint position must be determined carefully, not only to make the joint match, but also to make the momentum coherent, and finally carefully glued with cement.

The stones combined and spliced together should not only be coordinated in color and texture, but also have changes in volume and shape, and must achieve diversity and unity.

The common styles of flood and drought bonsai are water boat type, island type, stream type, river and lake style, comprehensive style and so on.

4. Try to make the layout

After the processing is finished, all the materials, including trees, stones, furnishings and pots, can be put together and examined repeatedly, and then the materials can be put into the basin to see the position and proportion of each part, and sometimes a sketch can be drawn. this is the trial layout.

When trying to make a layout, you should first put the main tree, then put the tree, and then put stones, decorations, and so on. The layout must be very serious, often after repeated adjustments, some of the materials may have to be processed or even replaced in order to achieve the desired results.

1. The layout of trees

According to the overall idea, first determine the location of the trees in the basin. The location of rocks and water surface should also be taken into account when arranging trees. When the location of the trees is generally determined, some soil can be put in first, and then stones can be placed, and the placement of trees and stones can also be interspersed.

Diversity and unity are the basic principles of layout.

The layout of one or two trees is relatively simple and can be placed on one side of the basin. The two trees lean against each other, one at a time, one high and one low, all the time. It is both unified and changing.

The layout of multiple trees is much more complicated. But no matter how many trees there are, you can start with three. These three trees are the main tree, the auxiliary tree and the lining tree. The main tree must be the tallest and thickest, the secondary tree is shorter and thinner than the main tree, and the lining tree is the shortest and thinnest.

The position of the main tree, seen from the front of the basin, should not be in the center of the basin, nor on the edge of the basin, but should be placed on the left or right side of the basin. From the side of the basin, it should be slightly forward or backward in the middle of the basin. The position of the auxiliary tree is usually on the other side of the basin. The lining tree should be close to the main tree, but should not stand side by side. This is the most basic layout, but it is not absolute, and a certain range of changes can be made on this basis, but the planting points of the three trees must be unequilateral triangles after connection, and the whole crown should also be unequilateral triangles.

As for the co-planting of more trees, it can be gradually increased on the basis of three trees. If the five trees are co-planted, one can be added near the main tree and the auxiliary tree, and one tree can be added near the main tree and the lining tree on the basis of the five trees. The rest follow this analogy.

In fact, the above practice is to turn the original three trees into three groups of trees, but the basic principle remains unchanged, that is, the connection between planting points should be as far as possible into one or more unequal triangles; more than three trees should not be planted in a straight line as far as possible. in particular, it should not stand parallel to the edge of the basin; the distance between the planting points should not be equal, dense and elegant, showing a rhythm and rhythm. The overall crown had better be one or more unequilateral triangles but the outline should not be too straight and should be undulating.

In traditional Chinese painting, there are many classics about the combination of trees, which can be used as a reference for jungle bonsai.

2. The layout of stones

When configuring stones, first make sloping banks to separate the water surface from dry land, then light stones on dry land, and finally make stones on the surface of the water.

The treatment of the coastline is very important, not only tortuous and changeable, but also should not be seen too long from the front.

Attention should be paid to perspective in the layout of stones. On the whole, it is generally higher near and lower in the distance, but it also requires ups and downs and the collocation of large and small noodles in order to show nature and vividness.

Stone lighting in dry land plays an important role in topographic treatment, and sometimes it can make up for the root defects of some trees. It is necessary to echo with the slope and bank, set off with trees, and combine with the soil surface naturally. Stone lighting on the surface of the water surface can increase the change of the water surface. we should pay attention to the size of each other, gather and disperse properly.

When trying to make a layout, it is best to initially determine the position and direction of the parts to be placed, and for inappropriate ones, they can be replaced or cancelled. When placing the furnishings, we should pay attention to the rationality of the position, the proportion to other scenery and the principle of perspective.

5. Glued stone

After the layout is determined, the stone can then be glued, that is, the stone used for the slope bank and the spot stone in the water can be fixed in the basin with cement.

Before gluing, use a pencil to mark the position of the stone on the basin, pay attention to the position of the waterline, draw it on the basin as accurately as possible, and some stones can be numbered so as not to make a mistake when gluing the stone.

The cement should be selected with a faster solidification speed and should be used now. When the dosage is large, it might as well be reconciled several times. In order to increase the bonding strength, blending cement can be mixed with admixtures to increase the strength as appropriate.

In order to harmonize the cement with the stone, a water-soluble pigment can be put into the cement to make the color of the cement close to that of the stone.

Before gluing the stone, the slope stone can be finished for the last time, including leveling the bottom, polishing the damaged surface, and making the splice fit better, then washed and wiped dry. After the above work is done, the bottom of each stone is covered with cement and glued in the original position in the basin.

Glued stone should be close, not only to combine the stone with the basin, but also to combine the stone with each other, so that there is no leakage and no excess cement exposed. You can use a brush or a small brush to clean the cement stained on the outside of the stone.

In order to prevent water leakage between the water surface and the dry land, after all the stones on the slope bank have been glued together, check it carefully again. If a loophole is found, it should be filled immediately to prevent the water from leaking into the dry land, affecting the growth of plants, and also affecting the ornamental effect of the water surface.

If the use of cancellous stone as a slope, one side of the soil can be covered with a thick layer of cement to avoid the infiltration of water.

6. Plant trees

In the layout, the trees are temporarily placed in the basin, which generally does not meet the requirements of planting. After the stone is glued and the cement is dry, the trees must be carefully planted in the basin.

When planting trees, first carefully arrange the roots of the trees to make them suitable for the planting location, and make the distance between each tree meet the layout requirements.

Plant trees on the potted surface and cover them with a layer of soil (draining holes should be covered with gauze), and then put on the trees. Pay attention to maintain the previously set position and height. If the height is not enough, you can pad more soil under the root, otherwise cut the downward root.

After the location is set, fill the soil into the gap, while filling the soil, while using hands or bamboo cuttings to stick the soil and the root, until the root is buried in the soil, be careful not to let the soil beyond the scope of dry land, preferably a little smaller, in order to glue rocks. After the rocks have been glued together, the soil can still be filled.

After the trees have been planted, you can use a sprayer to spray water on the soil surface (no need to spray through) to fix the topsoil.

7. Deal with the terrain

In flood and drought bonsai, terrain processing plays an important role in the overall modeling.

After the stone has been glued, the soil can be filled in the part of the dry land, so that the slope stone and the soil surface are integrated, and the undulating terrain is made by piling soil and spot stones.

The lower part of the spot stone should not be suspended from the soil surface, but should be buried in the soil to achieve "root". In order to do a good job in bonsai, it is advisable to observe more stones in nature at ordinary times.

After making the terrain, sprinkle a layer of finely crushed "decorative soil" on the soil surface to facilitate the planting of moss and grass.

8. Place the furnishings

The placement of the parts should be reasonable. The furnishings such as boat boat and arch bridge can be directly fixed on the basin surface; the furnishings such as slate bridge are mostly set up on the slopes on both sides; pavilions, platforms, houses, figures, and animals should be fixed on the spot stones on the rocky slope or dry land; sometimes flat stones are buried in the dry land to fix the furnishings.

Fixed furnishings can generally be glued to stone or basin surface. For boat, bridge and other furnishings, can not be glued with the basin, only for viewing on the basin.

Fixed furnishings can generally be glued to stone or basin surface. For boat, bridge and other furnishings, can not be glued with the basin, only for viewing on the basin.

9. Laying moss

Moss is an indispensable part of flood and drought bonsai. It can preserve soil and water, enrich colors, connect trees, stones and soil, and represent grasslands or shrubs.

There are many kinds of moss. In a work, it is best to give priority to one kind, and then match it with other kinds, which has both unity and change.

Moss often grows in shady and wet places and can be dug with a small shovel. The weeds must be removed before planting, and the weeds must be removed carefully.

When planting moss, wet the soil with a sprayer, then tear the moss into small pieces and spread it carefully. It is best to leave a little space between each small piece of moss, not all covered, let alone overlap. The combination of moss and stone should be staggered rather than straight. After all the planting is finished, you can spray water again with a sprayer and press gently with special tools or hands at the same time to make the moss combine closely with the soil surface and neatly with the edge of the basin.

When laying moss, you can also plant some small flowers and grasses to add natural flavor.

10. Final arrangement

After all the above work has been completed, the final arrangement of the works can be carried out.

First of all, take a look at the overall effect, check if there are any omissions, and make some corrections if found. Then make a comprehensive and meticulous pruning and adjustment of the trees to deal with the relationship between trees and trees and between trees and stones as well as possible. Finally, wash the branches, stones and pots of the trees, and spray the fog once. When the cement is completely dry, part of the dry land will be sprayed with water, and the water surface in the basin can be partially filled with water. Such a flood and drought bonsai work was initially completed.

After 1-2 years of conservation and management, the work will be more perfect and natural.

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