Making and shaping Podocarpus bonsai

Making of Podocarpus bonsai

Basin

Generally, Podocarpus is potted before sprouting in spring. The shape of the pot is determined according to the shape of the tree, and the potting soil should be loose, fertile, well-drained, slightly acidic sandy loam. The container you choose can be a purple clay pot or a glazed ceramic pot, which will make it look more simple and elegant.

prune

The leaves of Podocarpus are small and easy to prune, making them suitable for making into various shapes such as spherical and conical shapes. In order to pursue a harmonious proportion, they need to be pruned many times. Generally, pruning can be done when the new branches are 20-30 cm long.

The shape of Podocarpus bonsai

Generally, the shaping of Podocarpus is carried out during the dormant period, following the principle of mainly winding and supplemented by pruning. The branches of Podocarpus are soft and easy to coil, and can be formed into a variety of shapes. Common forms include curved trunk style, slanted trunk style, lying cloud style, cliff style and raised root style. The branches and leaves can be trimmed into slices or bun shapes.

Tie-Fa Style

It is suitable for Podocarpus trees with younger age, but for older trees, due to their thick branches, it is difficult to shape them and the ideal effect cannot be achieved. For the tying method of shaping, you can choose strong bamboo sticks and hemp ropes, tie the bamboo sticks and branches tightly and firmly with the hemp ropes, and then fix one end of the bamboo sticks to the main trunk. In this way, you can adjust the direction of the bamboo sticks so that the branches can grow in a specific direction according to your wishes, thereby achieving the purpose of shaping.

Pressing molding

Mainly by bending and tilting the trunk, the tree body presents a special artistic beauty on the slope. Note that after bending, the inclined end must be supported with wooden stakes to prevent the tree from falling over, and to avoid injury to the tree, place an appropriate amount of straw between the contact surface of the wooden stake and the tree.