how to grow a bonsai tree from a cutting

HOW TO GROW BONSAI TREE FROM A CUTTING:

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Creating bonsai from cuttings is a very good and very popular way of growing new trees at a low cost. This method can reduce the time required to grow from seeds, and unlike seeds, it is a great advantage that you can increase the number of parent trees by knowing their characteristics.

Bonsai from cuttings

Cuttings are cut pieces of branches (lignified shoots) without roots, which are cut from healthy mother plants and inserted into the soil for rooting. The right time for grafting conifers is early September or April.

If you compare this method with growing from seeds, you can find out that growing bonsai will be a year faster. Another advantage is the previously known characteristics of the plant. They correspond to the mother tree. They start by choosing suitable cuttings. It is required to cut the shoot in the spring, the length of which is from 5 to 10 cm, the thickness is from 0.2 to 0.5 cm. Lignified branches are planted in summer.

In order to get bonsai by cuttings, it is required to root the shoots correctly. The container must be washed and disinfected. A drainage layer is poured at the bottom and a soil mixture with nutritious properties on top. From the bottom, cuttings are cut at an angle of 45 degrees. Pinch the top. It is important that the plant forms roots and does not feed the green mass.

The shoots are buried 2 cm and watered abundantly. If crops grow in high humidity, you need to create greenhouse conditions with a jar or bag.

The substrate is kept moist at all times. Regular ventilation of the greenhouse is required. The shelter is then removed. When a young leaf appears. This indicates that the plant has taken root. Formation begins only after a few years.

choose bonsai to grow from cuttings

Elm, privet ( ligustrum ) , hornbeam ( carpinus betulus ) , field maple ( acer campestre ) , barberry ( berberis ), and dwarf elm (ulmus minor) are suitable for growing bonsai from cuttings. But to propagate cedars and pines in this way will not work.

Not all trees reproduce by cuttings. For example, it is impossible to propagate cedars and pines in this way. They are propagated exclusively by seeds. Elms, on the other hand, can be grown very quickly from cuttings, like most trees and shrubs used for hedges, such as privet, hornbeam, field maple, barberry, and dwarf elm.

time-consuming process 

Growing bonsai from cuttings is also time-consuming and requires patience. True, growing plants in this way give again per year compared to seedlings.

In conifers, the rooting process can take more than a year. It is best to use plastic mini-greenhouses as utensils for rooting cuttings. Its lower part is two-thirds filled with a mixture of sand and peat and cuttings are stuck into the soil at an equal distance from each other.

Then the cuttings are carefully watered and the greenhouse is covered with a transparent lid. To place a greenhouse with cuttings, a darkened place is chosen and the soil moisture is monitored daily, if necessary, the soil in the greenhouse is watered.

When young leaves appear on the cuttings, which is possible in a couple of weeks, this means that roots have already formed. Now the transparent cover of the mini-greenhouse can be lifted from time to time for airing, in order to harden young plants and gradually accustom them to the usual climate. After a few months, the cuttings are already well-rooted and can be planted in separate containers.

For this, a loose, clay-containing soil mixture for plants is used. This year, young plants do not need to be fed with fertilizers, since fresh soil contains a sufficient amount of nutrients. To overwinter such plants, it is necessary to take care of a special shelter, since their delicate roots are not yet able to withstand prolonged frosts. Containers with young plants should be well dug into the soil and covered with a film folded in several layers on top to protect from the wind.

Cutting time

In general, spring or summer is the best time to cut the cuttings. Some hardwood cuttings may be better cut late in summer, after the growing season.

Cuttings in deciduous trees are best cut from early to late June. To stimulate root formation, cuttings can be treated with a special growth stimulator (phytohormone). Deciduous tree cuttings take root after a few weeks.

Bonsai Care

 

In order for a tree to please you with its appearance for many years, try to follow simple rules :

• regular watering should not be done from above, but at the roots of the tree;
• branches and leaves need to be sprayed with water to nourish them and remove dust, but this procedure can only be carried out in the morning;
• the bonsai bowl should not be in direct sunlight;
• the plant should be protected from frost and protected from high temperatures;
• Regular pruning of branches and roots will help you form a tree of the right size and shape