Fir bonsai for beginner gardeners - the secrets of formation
Today, indoor bonsai is no longer considered a wonder, and many are engaged in its cultivation. But there are also fancy street trees, for example, fir bonsai. It grows on the street, but not in the open field, but in special pots. It is not at all difficult to form such a plant if you know how to do it correctly.
How to choose a fir for bonsai
There is a significant difference between buying a garden seedling and a bonsai seedling. It does not even consist in choosing a variety, but in the age and size of the tree itself. If for the garden we choose well-developed seedlings under 1 m in height, then the criteria for bonsai are different. Here it is already worth paying attention to unsightly seedlings about 50 cm high. Look among the discounted plants: there you can find a fir with an unevenly developed one-sided crown. It is quite suitable for us, the main thing is that there are side branches.
If you bought a fir in the summer or autumn, then it is better to take it indoors for the first winter. The plant will be too weak after repotting and cardinal pruning.
Terms of forming pruning
TO bonsai formation start in between growth waves. Conifers grow actively in spring and around mid-summer. Accordingly, you can trim them in early summer or early autumn.
What to do with a seedling after purchase
As with all plants, fir should be transplanted, but it is better to change the order of actions for bonsai. If you transplant the fir first, and then start cutting and wiring the shoots, you will loosen the roots. Therefore, the first thing to do is prune, stretch the branches, and only then transplant the seedling. You can transplant both directly into a bonsai bowl and into a small pot. In the latter case, the plant will be there until spring.
Fir bonsai: the basics of formation
The first pruning for fir should be gentle. Bonsai are characterized by a thick trunk, so do not rush to remove the lower branches. As they grow, the stem grows too. Leave all the lower shoots until next season.
The shape of the bonsai depends on desire and imagination. For example, you can do it this way:
- Cut off the growing point, while at the same time removing the height of the plant to the first good side branch on top.
- Examine the side branches, there can be two shoots growing there. If on one side there is already a branch on the lower tier, then cut out the second shoot growing from one bosom at the top. At the same time, you cannot leave a stump, everything should be even.
- Cut off the top on the uppermost side branch, especially if there are already branches on the remainder of the shoot.
- As a result, you will have a shortened tree with 3-4 good side branches and young shoots in the lower part of the trunk.
Treat all slices with a special tsu-paste - this is a remedy like a garden var. It can be purchased at the store. After such a paste, the cut is completely overgrown and almost invisible.
Another interesting point. If you have a lower branch with its own branches, you can force it to change position with thin copper wire. Wind the wire starting from the trunk and placing it between the needles and the buds. Bend the coiled wire gently, giving the branch the desired direction. At the first stage of shaping, that's all.
Fir transplant
A trimmed seedling can now be transplanted.Remove the fir from the pot, remove the topsoil. If you plant in a temporary pot for wintering, you don't need to do anything else. Simply place the seedling in a new container and add soil. In this case, trim the roots in the spring. If this is a spring planting immediately in a bowl, you need to shorten the roots at the same time.