Rare fruit-bearing golden marble bonsai

The origin and variety of gold marbles

Golden marbles are distributed and cultivated in East my country, South China and Central China. The gold marbles currently on the market and participating in exhibitions are mainly from Sichuan and Hubei, but the gold marbles from the two places are different.

The Sichuan golden ball plant has many small fruits on its leaves. As long as it reaches the cultivation period, even a very small stump (small or miniature bonsai) can bear fruit in the pot.

Hubei Golden Balls are divided into three types: large-leaf, medium-leaf and small-leaf. The large-leaf fruit is small, the medium-leaf fruit is large, and the small-leaf fruit is medium. Some small stumps rarely bloom and bear fruit even after being cultivated for many years. Hubei Golden Balls is the largest, especially in winter, it does not shed its leaves.

How to identify the dioecious sex of golden marble

Since the golden ball plant is dioecious, there are two types of potted golden ball plants: those that bear fruit and those that do not.

It is impossible to accurately determine the gender of a tree stump by analyzing its shape, trunk bark color, leaf shape, leaf color, and leaf veins. Only by observing the flowers of the golden marble can one accurately distinguish between males and females.

When male plants bloom, there are more than two flowers under each leaf bud. The flowers are shaped like small lanterns, with no claws on the pedicels. When the flowers open, the male stamens and pollen can be seen.

When the female plant blooms, there are only one or two flowers under each leaf bud. The flowers are larger than the male flowers. The four-leaf flower claws wrap the center of the flower in a triangular shape. After the flowers bloom, the flower claws open like persimmon flowers, and young fruits can be seen inside the flowers.

Propagation, cultivation and management of golden marble

Seed propagation

After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, pick the ripe fruits, take out the seeds, wash them clean and dry them.

In early April, soak the seeds in hot water at about 30℃ for 48 hours, then pick them out and place them in a water-tight container and cover them with a double layer of gauze. Like growing bean sprouts, water the seeds once a day until the seeds open and germinate, and then sow them on the prepared seedbed.

With regular management, small bonsai can be made from seedlings after three years.

Cutting propagation

Whether it is new branches or old branches of female plants, cuttings can be used to make plants survive. The key to transplanting is to pay attention to the season, which is mid-April every year.

Secondly, ensure that the cutting bed environment is moist and the cuttings are fresh. If conditions permit, place the cutting bed in full sunlight, spray the cutting bed during the day, and stop at night.

If there are no conditions, you can place the cutting bed in a bright, ventilated, semi-shaded and semi-sunny place. Spraying it four times a day with a sprayer can ensure the survival of the golden marble cuttings. Small bonsai made from cuttings will bear fruit after three years.

Digging old piles in the mountains

It can be from November of the previous year to April of the following year.

On the premise of protecting the natural ecological environment, professional personnel can go up the mountain to collect and dig in a planned manner.

Soak the old stumps brought down from the mountains in clean water for two hours, then bury about 1/2 of the stump head in sand and water it thoroughly to help it take root. As long as the environment is kept moist, the branches can grow to one meter in the same year. In March of the following year, you can dig them up, put them in a pot, trim them, and shape them. In three to four years, they will become a basically formed tree stump bonsai.

Routine maintenance management

The shape of the golden marbles can be fixed by using metal wire to shape the trunk and main branches. Future management will be mainly pruning with hanging and tying as a supplement.

For potting, you can mix river sand, leaf mold and loess in a ratio of 4:4:2. After planting, water it thoroughly once, place it in a cool place for half a month, and then you can manage it normally.

After the new sprouts come out, water the plants with decomposed liquid fertilizer once a month. The ratio of liquid fertilizer to water is 1:10. Apply more fertilizer in spring and autumn, less fertilizer in summer, and no fertilizer in winter.

When watering, make sure the soil in the pot is slightly moist, and water thoroughly every night in summer. In spring, autumn and winter, do not water the plants unless the soil is dry, and make sure to water them thoroughly when you do.

Fruiting cultivation

Because the golden ball plant is dioecious, during its flowering period, try to have male plants blooming next to the female plants to facilitate natural pollination and increase the fruit setting rate.

If there are no male plants flowering next to the female plants, artificial pollination can be carried out. When the flowers of the female plant fall, the fruits are already hanging on the pedicels. At this time, you can spray 1:800 potassium dihydrogen phosphate twice every half a month to increase the fruit setting rate.

In the ninth month of the lunar calendar, you can also spray 1:600 ​​urea water twice, which can make the fruits large and shiny.

The golden ball tree cultivated and managed in this way will have lush branches and leaves and full of red fruits from October of the first year to February of the following year, giving people a feeling of harvest, joy, peace and beauty.