How to Make a Papaya Crabapple Bonsai
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The papaya crabapple belongs to the Malus genus of the Rosaceae family, which is a deciduous shrub or small tree. The flowers have 5 petals, white or pink, and bloom in April. The fruit is oblong, initially green, and turns dark yellow when ripe, with a smooth skin, woody texture, and strong fragrance, maturing from September to October. The fruit can be stored for about half a year without deterioration under unharmed conditions.
In ground cultivation, papaya crabapple has large leaves and fruit, reaching 10 to 15 centimeters in length and weighing up to 1 kilogram. However, in a pot, the leaves are smaller and denser, and the fruit is only the size of a duck egg, making it more suitable for making tree trunk bonsais. Papaya crabapple trees have many short branches and are easy to prune and shape into bonsais. Especially when using fruiting papaya as a rootstock and grafting successfully, it can be made into an ancient and elegant papaya bonsai.
The papaya crabapple has a straight trunk, beautiful flowers and fragrant fruit, with浓绿 leaves. After the leaves fall in winter, the branches are sturdy, displaying a strong masculine beauty, often used to create different styles of large tree bonsais, such as straight trunk, oblique trunk, and double trunk.
Papayas for making bonsais can be cultivated from young seedlings, commonly propagated through methods like seeding, cutting, aerial layering, and grafting. Alternatively, old trees discarded by the landscape department can be used. After cutting the main trunk to a certain height, they are planted in clay pots or underground to "nurture the stock," and new shaping branches are developed. After pruning, wiring, and pulling, they are shaped into form, with larger wounds properly修饰 to achieve a natural look, reaching the artistic effect of "although man-made, as if naturally formed," before finally being transferred to a fine pot for display.
The transplanting and repotting of papaya crabapple should be done in early spring, with soil balls intact and the main roots shortened, retaining more lateral roots. Plant in neutral to slightly acidic, loose, and fertile sandy soil, and apply decomposed cake fertilizer as a base fertilizer. After surviving, place them in a sunny outdoor area for care, keeping the potting soil moist but not waterlogged during the growing season. In early April, spray a 0.2% phosphorus potassium fertilizer solution on the leaves to promote healthy bud development and provide sufficient nutrition for flowering and fruiting later on.
Since the potting soil is limited in nutrients, the number of fruits should not be too many, generally leaving 3 to 5 fruits per pot. The rest should be removed early to avoid consuming too many nutrients and affecting the plant's normal growth. Apply " alum fertilizer water" once a month to prevent soil alkalization and make the fruit larger and fragrant. Regular topping and pinching are performed during care to maintain an attractive plant shape.
After the leaves fall in winter, prune and shape the plant, removing dead, weak, and other branches that affect the shape, retaining more vigorous branches to ensure abundant flowers and fruit the following year. Papayas are cold-resistant and can be left outdoors in a sheltered, sunny spot to overwinter. It's best to bury the pots in the ground, or they can be placed indoors above 0°C. If the temperature is too high, the plant will sprout early, which is not good for the following year's growth. Therefore, the highest temperature should not exceed 10°C to allow the plant to fully rest. Repot every 1 to 2 years in early spring.
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