Bonsai (translated from Japanese - "grown in a tray") - a small copy of the tree grown in home or country conditions. The effect is achieved by regulating the size and shape of the root system of the plant. It’s not easy to grow a bonsai maple with your own hands, the process requires patience and time. But the final result fully meets expectations: a deciduous tree behaves like a full-fledged fellow, in the process of opening and withering, the leaf changes color, then falls off. The compact size of the dwarf plant allows you to keep it even in the apartment, taller individuals adorn the verandas and garden plots.
Kind of maple for bonsai
You can grow a small tree from pine, sakura, bamboo, willow, elm, lilac, lemon, spruce, ficus. Plant growers are experimenting with different types of plants, the principle of creating any specimen is to work with the root system of layering and special care for the crown.
Maple bonsai can be grown at home from different types of tree:
- Rocky;
- Field;
- Ashenaceous;
- Cuneiform;
- Platanolic.
The dwarfs of these species have small leaves, which most organically looks on bonsai trees.
For the cultivation of these trees at home, color specimens are bred. These include:
- Maple blue or blue;
- Japanese red;
- Violet.
Bonsai art is in high demand among gardeners and gardeners, because the industry is constantly evolving, breeders are introducing new types of maples with different leaf shapes and shades. The photo shows the most popular types of maple compositions.
Execution options
You can grow a miniature tree from a representative of the maple family in several forms:
- Upright view;
- Inclined;
- Broom-shaped;
- Grove.
It is possible to grow a composition from seeds or cuttings at home in any form, it is enough to observe a clear sequence of actions and not to miss important points.
To search for seeds
Most often, gardeners use a mature seed of a tree - later this source can be given any shape without the need to change an already formed system.
The collection is made after the ripening and falling of the "helicopters" from the branches in the autumn. True, such material is not ready for planting: for seeds it is necessary to arrange an imitation of winter rest in artificial conditions. To do this, take a container with a tight-fitting lid, place moist sand in it, into which seeds are buried, close the container and place in the refrigerator. The stratification period is 100-120 days, in the spring the collection is ready for landing.
If you want to grow a natural decor item at home, but there is no time to collect seeds, you should contact specialized stores offering ready-made planting material for Japanese and other types of maple. Blue, blue, red bonsai is obtained only from specially bred plants.
A faster way to get a decorative tree is to plant a stalk.
Preparing planting material
To make seed growth faster, they cut a dense shell and place 9% in warm water or hydrogen peroxide for 2-3 days. In conditions of high humidity, intensive absorption of fluid occurs and the seed comes to life.
To prevent the development of diseases of the tree embryo, primary treatment of seeds with a dry or liquid fungicide is carried out.
Preparing the soil and capacity
For growing bonsai maple at home, it is important to properly prepare the soil. For maple, take an equal ratio of alumina, humus and sand.
An important stage is soil disinfection. Optimal methods:
- Heat treatment at high temperatures. To do this, the soil is heated in an oven, microwave or in a water bath, then it is cooled, dried and sieved through a sieve.
- Another method is freezing followed by thawing of the soil.
- The use of biologically active additives such as "Fitosporin", "Barrier", etc. They are sold in specialized flower shops.
During processing, pathological fungi, mold, eggs of insects and other infection that can harm the plant die. After the procedure, fertilizer is introduced into the soil to restore beneficial microflora.
For the first time, you can take a small bonsaynitsa - growing a tree does not happen faster than in natural conditions, therefore, as it grows, it is changed to a larger volume.
The container is thoroughly cleaned with non-aggressive substances, washed and dried. There must be drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. To avoid leaching the soil, it is recommended to line the bottom with a net.
Planting seeds
Soil is poured into the prepared container, leaving 3 cm to the edges of the bonsai. If there are several seeds, they are laid apart from each other at a distance of at least 1 cm. The resulting layer is pressed by a board, then soil with a thickness of not more than 3 seed diameters is filled up on top. Planting is lightly watered and cover the container with glass or polyethylene for free passage of light and moisture.
After the first shoots appear, the glass is raised, and several holes are made in the film for supplying fresh air.
After the formation of leaves, young shoots are planted in fresh soil at a distance of 2-3 cm.
Work with a handle
A faster way to create a maple bonsai with your own hands is to take a finished tree handle and transform it.
- A billet is prepared in the early summer: choose what you like, it should not have a formed bark.
- At the base of the cuttings make an annular incision of the skin and rough wood. Here the roots will develop. The second same incision is made above the first 2-3 cm.
- Remove the bark and hard part between the incisions.
Next, the roots are germinated for the subsequent planting of the branch blank.
- The root-forming hormone in the form of powder or gel is applied to the cut site.
- To intensify the work of the substance, wet sphagnum moss is attached to the treated slice, sealed with polyethylene and left in a darkened, non-hot place.
- After a few weeks, the roots themselves will appear through the applied protection, then the bandage can be removed.
For germination, you can use a mixture of good compost and sand: in the moistened substance put the cut part of the cuttings until the roots appear.
After the formation of confident roots, the stalk is separated from the mother branch.
Landing escape
Take a pot with drainage holes, add round pebbles into it, soil (80% crushed bark and 20% peat) in an amount sufficient to securely fix the tree. A thin bark is removed from the shoot without violating the integrity of the roots, the bare part is placed in the ground.
A little sphagnum moss can be added to the soil. It serves as fertilizer and softens hard water, which provides gentle care for the root system.
To enhance fixation, a peg is inserted into the pot, to which a young tree is tied.
Do-it-yourself bonsai cultivation is available only in cases where the tree is planned to be placed on the street.. Even full-fledged care is not able to replace the native element with a wild tree. During the period of changing the color of the foliage, the composition can be brought into the house, but no more than for 1-2 hours.
Landing care
Seedlings obtained from seeds are pruned at the age of 3 months - the main stem is shortened by 2/3.
Blue, blue red maples develop in the same way as green: each species should be transplanted in spring with an interval of no more than 2 years. Each time the soil is completely changed, the central and lateral roots are cut by 20%.
Pinch the shoots after the formation of 2-4 leaves.
Upon reaching a plant height of 10 cm, it is transplanted into a regular pot, preferably ceramic.
In late spring and early summer, bonsai is fertilized with special fertilizing.
Maples love shade, so you should not leave them in the open sun. It is also impossible to expose the composition to large temperature differences.
Crown formation
Maples are given different shapes by cutting branches and their growth direction.
The blue maple in the photo is obtained from seeds. When a new branch appears at the grown plant, it is wrapped with a thin wire at the base and fixed to the pot in the right direction. Thus, the most bizarre and exotic forms of dwarf trees are obtained.
Do-it-yourself homemade bonsai can be grown in 5-7 years with proper timely care.