Cultivation and maintenance of banyan bonsai

The banyan tree is one of the leading bonsai in Lingnan, which is favored by bonsai lovers. The author has devoted himself to the study of banyan bonsai for many years. I would like to comment on its cultivation methods.

I. selection of materials

There are three sources of banyan bonsai materials: wild stakes, cuttings and seedlings. This article is mainly about the cultivation of wild piles. The collection time of wild stump is from February to October every year, of which April to July is the most suitable, during this period, the climate is mild, the air is humid, the stump takes root and germinates quickly, and the survival rate is high. The sites for collecting wild piles should be at the foot of the mountain, the edge of the village, the corner of the land, and so on. The bonsai of banyan trees in these places are often gnawed by livestock and artificially felled, and the trunk is tortuous and strange, so it is easier to find piles suitable for bonsai. Generally speaking, as long as the end of the natural pile, after a year or two of careful cultivation, give birth to gas roots, to make up for the deficiencies, will also grow into an unexpected good pile scene. When picking piles, we should be careful not to hurt the roots too much and get fine roots as much as possible so as to improve the insurance coefficient of survival. Tender piles do not have too many scruples, and they can survive even if they are intercepted in the middle. The longer the tender pile, the better, the greater the plasticity, and the ordinary-looking pile can also be cultivated into a good bonsai.

II. Maintenance

After the wild piles are collected, they should be dealt with as soon as possible, and cut and choose according to the pile materials and training objectives. The banyan tree has strong vitality, the wound heals quickly, and the cutting pile can be put in place in one step. Tree stumps can be planted in pots and chambers, and can also be planted on the ground under certain conditions, and the growth of ground plants is faster, with more times of annual pruning and faster shaping. The cultivation substrate of tree stump is generally required to be loose and acidic black stone silt, river sand, building stone powder, cinder and so on, and these culture soils are easy to obtain. Piles can be planted with cultivated soil to cover the roots, and it is appropriate to insert trees at a depth of about 3 inches. After dripping with fixed root water, place it in a cool leeward place for maintenance, and cover the ground with shade. The weather is colder in early spring, so you'd better use a film bag to ensure your survival. In the management, watering according to the weather conditions, keeping the culture soil moist and unsoiled, too much waterlogging is easy to cause root blackening and necrosis. Normally, the stump will sprout and take root. The banyan tree sprouts first and then grows roots. It must not be confused by its appearance and neglect management. After the bud grows to 5cm-6cm, gradually let the stump adapt to the sun and return to normal management. The author sometimes collects too many piles, after cutting, put the piles in the cool and humid place of the leeward, do not put the culture soil, spray water on the piles twice in the morning and evening to promote their germination and rooting, wait for their roots to be thick and strong, and then transplant them into the basin.

III. Fertilizer and water management

The banyan tree is a tree species that likes great water and fertilizer, can tolerate drought and moisture, and can grow in stone crevices as well as in water. After the stump entered the normal nursing, the rotten human and animal feces and urine or compost cake fertilizer were used as topdressing and applied outside the root once or twice a day. When transplanting or changing pots, you can also use cooked chicken dung, bean cake and bone powder mixed with culture soil as base fertilizer. Sufficient fertilizer will make the branches grow faster and thicker, and can be pruned more times a year, so as to shorten the culture period. Water management is also very important. Although the banyan tree is resistant to drought and humidity, it should not be neglected in management. after survival, the banyan tree is waterlogged for a long time, which is easy to cause only roots but not branches. If the tree is not watered for two or three days in dog days, the tree will not die, but as soon as it is watered, the leaves will wither and fall off, affecting its growth. therefore, the management of water should be dry and wet, and it will be watered once every morning and evening on dog days.

4. Pruning

Wild piles become pile scenes, and pruning is a very important process. In the first year, we first cultivate its foundation, nourish its essence, erase only the wrong buds, and wait for the branches to grow thick and lignified in the second year before they can be cut. Give priority to shearing, supplemented by binding, it is appropriate to cut once a year, the strong and vigorous ones can be cut twice, and the forked branches growing from the short branches will be cut again after being strong. Over and over again, if you trim it properly, within four years, a good bonsai will appear in your hands.