Production and maintenance of Rhododendron bonsai

Rhododendron, also known as Yingshanhong, is an evergreen or deciduous shrub of the rhododendron family. The plant is much branched, with thin and straight branches and brown or brown rough hairs. Simple leaves alternate, leaf blade ovate-elliptic to acicular, apex acute or slightly obtuse, surface sparsely brown hirsute. Flowers several clustered branches at the top, Corolla funnel-shaped, single or double, rich in color, white, pink, red, purple and a variety of complex colors. There are many varieties of rhododendron, which can be divided into four categories: spring cuckoo, summer cuckoo, spring and summer cuckoo and western cuckoo. The bonsai made with it has the characteristics of dry roots, vigorous and simple roots, small and dense leaves, green leaves, resistance to pruning, various colors and so on.

Rhododendron can be propagated by pressing, cutting, ramet, grafting and other methods. Can also be used to grow for many years, the roots of quaint rhododendron old pile to make bonsai, mostly in late autumn and early winter or spring flowers before digging and transplanting, transplanting with more host soil, the trunk and main root to be properly trimmed, cut off the branches that affect the shape, leave more lateral roots and whisker roots, carefully examine the large branches, make sure that the shape is not necessary and then remove it. First planted in tile pots or underground blanks, the soil should be well drained sandy soil, the piles dug in late autumn and early winter are all buried with sandy soil, exposing only a few branches, and covered with plastic bags to keep warm and moisturizing; piles dug in spring should also be buried in the soil. Keep the soil moist without stagnant water after planting, and then gradually remove the sand from the trunk after the plant sprouts. In the process of raising billets, water should often be sprayed to the leaves and tree trunks to increase air humidity, but the roots should not be too wet, especially to avoid stagnant water, otherwise it will cause rotting roots and pay attention to shading in summer to prevent hot sun exposure.

Azaleas can be made into direct dry type, oblique dry type, curved dry type, double dry type, multi-dry type, exposed root type, cliff type, stone-attached type, water-dry type and other forms of bonsai. The seedlings propagated by cutting, striping and other methods can be modeled year by year after growing for 3 to 4 years, and the modeling time is mostly before sprouting in spring or in summer and autumn. Pruning is the main method and flat binding is supplemented by pruning. The modeling should follow the principle of first thickening and then fine, properly banding the trunk and main branches, and other branches are shaped by pruning, because the branches of rhododendron are relatively fragile and easy to break. Care should be taken when operating. If the branches break in the growing season, you can apply yellow mud to the wound and wrap it with plastic film, which will soon heal and recover. On the other hand, the old rhododendron pile needs to be trimmed and shaped, but some branches can also be properly tied. In order to improve the ornamental ability, the old stakes of rhododendron which have grown for many years, thick branches and beautiful shape can be used as rootstocks, excellent varieties of rhododendron as scion, and grafting or cutting grafting can be used. Can also according to the situation of the stump, gradually remove part of the soil, the root of the soil surface, so that its hanging roots show claws, simple and vigorous.

Azaleas like a warm and humid semi-shady environment, which requires good ventilation. Usually can be placed in bright light maintenance, summer and early autumn high temperature season to shade, avoid hot sun exposure, otherwise the strong light will burn leaves, but also can not be too shaded, lest plants grow too long, affect flowering, can be placed under the shade or tree shade maintenance. Keep the soil moist during the growing period, but do not accumulate water, pay attention to drainage in the rainy season, and sprinkle water to the plant and the surrounding ground when the air is dry to increase air humidity and prevent leaves from drying up. The surface of the basin soil can also be covered with a layer of soft grass to prevent the scorching sun from burning the fine fibrous roots on the surface of the basin soil. The mature thin liquid fertilizer is applied every 15 days or so. In order to prevent the occurrence of chlorosis, a small amount of black alum can be added to the fertilizer solution to make the leaves green and bright. The application of phosphate fertilizer such as bone powder and superphosphate for 1 or 2 times in the bud stage can promote the flowers to be big and colorful. Move into the sunny place indoors in winter, keep the soil above 0 ℃ from freezing, and control watering to make the basin soil slightly moist. Pruning is carried out once a year after flowering, cutting off disease and insect branches, dry and withered branches, cross branches, overlapping branches, weak branches, long branches, and properly truncated branches, so as to make the plant shape beautiful, branch distribution reasonable, and strengthen the growth of the inner chamber of the plant. The basin should be turned over every 2 years or so in spring or late autumn, and the basin soil should be slightly acidic sandy soil rich in humus and fertile and loose.