Creating Bonsai from Stumps
This article introduces the content of bonsai making, focusing on the creation of stump bonsai. Let's explore together!
There are indeed rules to follow when making stump bonsai. Elders have summarized a wealth of experience and insights, such as this ancient bonsai-making rhyme, whose author is unknown. However, bonsai enthusiasts will still find many valuable lessons within it.
Branches should not be straight; they should have three bends in one inch.
Where it is sparse, a horse can gallop; where it is dense, no breeze can pass.
One branch should show undulations; two branches should vary in length; three branches should exhibit gathering and dispersing; multiple branches should reveal and conceal.
Straight and long branches should be hidden rather than exposed; straight and curved branches should be exposed rather than hidden.
Bonsai梅花 should not be bent but broken, and should not be straight but tilted.
Bonsai is a silent poem, a three-dimensional painting, and a living sculpture.
The day the landscape is complete, ten years of effort have been exerted!
Do not fear cutting the wrong branch, but fear placing it in the wrong position.
Store branches and cut the trunk. A mountain is measured in zhang, a tree in chi, a horse in cun, and a person in fen. Distant mountains have no trees; near is large, far is small.
Nature creates shapes with exquisite skill, and terrain extends far into the empty space.
Three thousand acres of dragon emerging and submerging, clouds and rain extending over twelve peaks.
A clear seat eliminates vulgarity; on a leisurely day, it brings forth cool breezes.
Among the mountains at night, leaves rustle and fall; in a drunken dream, the rivers and lakes are within a leaf.
Remove strong and retain weak; remove thick and retain thin.
Examine carefully and cut decisively.
Like the bonsai of Rugao, with two and a half turns, the cloud head, the rain feet, and the waist of a beauty.
Do not water unless it is dry, and when you water, ensure thorough saturation.
See dryness and wetness; apply fertilizer thinly but frequently;
View the top of the tree like a pavilion, and the bonsai from the bottom.
In spring, remove misplaced buds,
In summer, prune weak and strong branches;
In autumn, apply fertilizer;
In winter, prune accordingly.
Song of Bonsai Management for Mixed Woods.
Prevent pests and diseases early.
Winter is the right time.
Clean fallen leaves promptly.
Destroy overwintering eggs.
Apply "stone sulfur agent;"
In spring, the trees will be healthy.
Pruning branches with the five remove and five retain method:
Remove distant and retain near, remove large and retain small. Remove straight and retain curved, remove central and retain edge, remove high and retain low.
Daily management song for mixed wood bonsai:
In spring, water early in the morning,
Strengthen sunlight to prevent excessive growth.
Apply "phosphorus-potassium" organic fertilizer;
Strong branches and thick leaves with short internodes.
In summer, avoid the west sun exposure.
Prevent leaves from drying out prematurely.
Apply fertilizer as the temperature drops.
In the heat, bonsai is exceptionally enchanting.
In autumn, the west wind turns leaves yellow,
It is appropriate to reduce watering and fertilizer,
Adjusting the plant's internal mechanism;
Regularly check and adjust for the tree's safety.
In winter, preventing cold is the main priority.
Placing it at a higher position is the primary consideration.
Indoor wintering with sunlight;
Full dormancy for the bonsai.
There are principles for fertilizing bonsai and flowers;
"Four more" - Apply more when the plants are yellow and thin, before germination, during bud formation, and after flowering.
"Four less" - Apply less when the plants are robust, during germination, flowering, and in the rainy season;
"Four not" -