Conifers as a garden bonsai
The bonsai conifer is very similar to its big brother, only in a small format. There are several ways to get a bonsai conifer:
- Buy as a finished tree in the garden center
- buy at the nursery
- Search and collect mini specimens in nature
- Bonsai conifer from cuttings
- Bonsai conifer from seeds
also read
- Growing a copper beech as a bonsai - tips for care
- A conifer on the balcony
- Grow an oak tree as a bonsai tree
Regardless of which bonsai you choose, the small tree has to be constantly nurtured and cared for.
The most important aspects of bonsai care are regular cutting and wiring. In the long run, this makes the conifer very bushy.
The techniques for creating a bonsai
Since the thuja is one of the most pruning conifers, it is particularly suitable for shaping into bonsai. An important technique for the design is regular cutting.
The cutting
Backcuts and corrective cuts are required to keep the tree small. As with the large thuja, the bonsai thuja is mainly cut in autumn or spring. This requires a special tool, the concave pliers for thick branches. Cuts with the concave forceps heal better. In addition to cutting back the new shoots, bent or twisted branches are removed. If two branches grow next to each other at the same trunk height, one of the two can be removed.
The wire
With this technique, branches are brought into the desired shape. You use anodized aluminum wire and wrap it around the young branches. Wrapped in wire, it is easier to bend and shape. However, the wire must be removed again when it begins to grow in.
It is best to obtain detailed information about cutting and wire in the relevant literature or ask a specialist. It would be a shame if a bonsai conifer were damaged by improper handling.
The care
Caring for a bonsai conifer must also be learned. Various factors are important here. Since bonsai are grown in shallow bowls, watering and Fertilize care must be taken that only the required amount is actually administered. Too much inevitably leads to damage.
In addition to watering and fertilizing, the plant must also be repotted regularly so that its root ball does not become too compact. Here, too, the advice of a specialist should be obtained.