DIY bonsai pine in the garden

Bonsai is the art of growing smaller copies of trees. It was developed in Japan many centuries ago. How to make bonsai from pine at home is the subject of interest for gardeners and lovers of indoor plants.

Description and main types

There are 4 popular types of bonsai:

• Japanese black. It grows slowly, but perfectly survives in temperate latitudes.
• Japanese white. It has white needles and a dense top.
• Mountain pine (mugus). It is growing rapidly, which greatly speeds up the process.
• The ordinary pine is unpretentious, malleable and gladly takes the required shape.

Cascading branches on an inclined trunk

Bonsai Pine Styles

Form is an integral part of style. The complex shape of the trunk and the exotic growth of branches determine the different styles of bonsai:

• Tekkan. Smooth trunk, with the top arrangement of branches at the top. It has a basic form.
• Moyi. The trunk has a curved shape.
• Sokan. Of 1 root 2 trees.
• Syakan. Inclined trunk, as if torn from the soil by a gust of wind.
• Kangai. Arrangement of branches on a declined trunk in cascading format. The capacity should be high since the top of the pine leans below the bottom.
• Khan Kengai. The crown is bent to the level of the pot. For stability, the upper branches are redirected in the opposite direction.
• Bungees. Weakly curved trunk with few branches. A prerequisite is the fact that the top of a young shoot grows on an old tree trunk.
• Seikijou. The root is located on a stone.
• Isitsuki. It grows on a stone.
• Hokidati. The crown is like a ball with a single trunk. The shape is like a fan. Branches and roots evenly disperse on all sides of the horizon.
• Yese Ue. Group of trees. Need to take an odd amount.
• Ikadabuki. It looks like a fallen tree.
• Banana At the very bottom, the trunk is twisted into a knot.
• Sharimiki. The trunk seemed to be struck by lightning and burned. Part of the tree remains dead, but lives off of the living half.
• Neagari. The tree stands on its roots, which makes it look decorative. Requires a minimum amount of soil.

Planting and growing conditions

Occupation troublesome, but worth it. The process is approached in stages:

1. First you need to get the seeds. Ripe pine cones are gathered and placed in a warm, dry place for opening. Next, seeds are extracted from the scales. Cones not older than one year, otherwise the seeds may not germinate.
2. At the next stage, the seeds are exposed to low temperatures (up to +4 ℃). Under these conditions, the shell softens and the embryo is more easily born.
3. Sowing of seeds is carried out in February or March. It is at this time that they awaken and are ready for growth.
4. A layer of gravel is placed at the bottom of a small pot, and ordinary sand is poured on top. They must first be calcined to prevent the death of seedlings.
5. A groove of 2 cm depth is made in the container, and prepared seeds are placed in it with a frequency of 3 cm. Then they are covered with calcined river sand, irrigated and covered with glass. Every day it is necessary to produce ventilation.
6. After about two weeks, seedlings appear. After that, the glass is removed and the containers are placed on the sunny side. Plants must not be allowed to stretch out. If there is not enough light, add backlight.
7. The pick of the root is made at the age of one month. Plants are carefully removed from the soil and cut off parts of the root that are not green in color. This forms a radial root.
8. Root formation. After this, the cuttings are placed in the preparation for root formation for 15 hours. In the meantime, prepare pots with a soil mixture, which consists of garden soil and river sand in half. Ready seedlings are planted in pots and put in a shaded place for rooting for a month and a half.
9. Landing at the main place. After rooting, the trees are planted 1 more time in a wide container with a height of 14 cm. The roots are placed horizontally. Pots are returned to the sun before the appearance of the kidneys. This will happen presumably after 4 months.

Pick a root to get a bonsai

Care Rules

Pine is not a domestic plant, so you need to try to create conditions that are close to natural. In winter, the plant is taken out to the balcony, and in summer sent to the street.

It is important to create for the plant as close as possible to real conditions

For the full development of the plant, the following rules should be observed:

• Do not get involved in frequent watering. In the summer, the plant is watered once a week, and in winter you just need to make sure that the soil does not dry out. The plant is very fond of showers, so it is advisable to spray the pine tree once a week.
• The plant is fed 3 times in March and September. Organic fertilizers: humus, compost. From mineral: nitrogenous and phosphoric.
• Every 3 years, the tree needs to be replanted. This is done with the onset of spring, when the plant woke up and began to grow actively. It must be carefully removed from the old pot and inspected the roots. If they spin, then you need to straighten them. Old coarsened roots are best cut. The capacity is taken a little larger than the old and suitable in size to the tree. The plant can be transplanted for a while outside, after digging a hole and preparing the soil. Soil is taken new. The care remains the same.

Cropping and shaping

The formation of common bonsai pine occurs in a special format. The tree has 3 growth zones: the top, middle part and branches below. In the upper part of the branch grow faster, and the slowest growth in the lower. DIY bonsai pine formation algorithm:

• The kidneys. With the onset of spring, buds begin to appear on the tree. Less developed kidneys are left above, stronger ones below.
• Candles In the process of growth, the kidneys turn into candles, which are subject to pruning. Candles are shorter at the top, and authentic at the bottom.
• Needles. To supply the internal shoots with light from the sun, the tree needs thinning of the needles. They begin to do this in the middle of summer and end in the fall. The needles are plucked at the top on the thickest branches. Then the lower branches are also evenly pubescent. To make the tree look more decorative, you can just trim the needles. With further growth, they will no longer be so long.
• Crown. By wrapping wire, the upper branches and the trunk can be given a complex shape. This procedure is performed in the fall, when the tree slows down growth. Otherwise, the wire will grow into branches and scars will remain on the tree.

In the process of growth, the kidneys turn into candles, which are pruned

The formation of pine bonsai from seedlings

There is a faster way to get bonsai. Young pine is acquired in the nursery. Prepare the soil mixture and suitable utensils for planting at home. Digging seedlings from the forest. At first, the trees transplanted into pots live in the garden. They are covered with mulch in the fall. In spring, the shoots are shortened to 10 cm, as a result of which the side shoots begin to grow actively, and the trunk thickness increases. When the tree takes root, they form a bizarre shape.

Young pine can be purchased at the nursery

How to make bonsai from a pine in a summer cottage

If the crown has become rare, then it must be formed. They leave only beautiful branches, and get rid of the rest. All actions are taken in the fall, and in the spring, when the buds begin to grow, pinch them leaving 1.5 cm. Along with pinching, the branches are placed horizontally and fixed with wire.

The wire may not hold coniferous branches. In these cases, stones are additionally suspended on the branches. Only in this way is it possible to reliably fix powerful branches in the desired position. Pines bend well.

Additionally, large stones are hung on the branches

Wire removal

Usually, one season is enough to fix the branches in the right position. When cutting wire into the bark, it is removed earlier, even if the branches have not yet formed. After some time, you can apply new turns in the intervals of the scars and try again.

Then just have a bite with wire cutters and carefully unwind.

Non-waste production

When growing bonsai pine every year, it is necessary to form a crown by cutting the growing shoots. If there is no desire to throw branches and want to increase the number of plants, they are used as planting material. It is only necessary to root young cuttings and it will be possible to make new dwarf trees from them. In this case, production becomes waste-free.

Formed plant requires close attention and proper care. Its cultivation is a painstaking process of cutting branches, tweezing needles and cutting. Not to mention maintaining moisture, fertilizing and observing the temperature regime. Fulfillment of all these conditions will lead to the desired result, and the tree will delight for many years.