Hawthorn, also known as mountain red, is a common deciduous tree in the Rosaceae family. It has strong adaptability and is a typical temperate plant. When the fruit is ripe, it hangs on the tree like a starry sky. It can be eaten or processed into medicinal materials. In recent y

Hawthorn, also known as 山里红, is our common Rosaceae deciduous tree. It has strong adaptability and is a typical temperate zone plant. When the fruit is ripe, it hangs on the tree like baby's breath . It can be eaten or processed into medicinal materials.

In recent years, with the development of the bonsai market, making hawthorn bonsai has also entered people's field of vision. The hawthorn materials used to make bonsai are mostly small hawthorns, the so-called wild hawthorns in the bonsai industry, which are actually seedlings that have not been grafted.

Varieties such as Dajinxing, Dahongpao, and Jinguozi are all grafted and propagated by and , and their rootstocks are also seedlings grown from seeds. Therefore, there is no need to stick to the selection of wild hawthorn resources, as long as they are seedlings or grafted seedlings, they can be used.

Hawthorn can be made into large bonsai or miniature bonsai. Hawthorn is used as a miniature bonsai, which has many advantages such as easy material selection, production and growth, and quick molding. How to make a hawthorn miniature bonsai?

It grows quickly and is easy to shape, Figure 1

. How to choose miniature hawthorn blanks

Hawthorn is a fruit tree seedling. Because of its germination and strong germination, there are many ways to obtain hawthorn blanks. The first is to go to Hawthorn Garden to select the ramets of the mother tree;

the second is to select the roots of the old stumps of hawthorn trees and use the root cutting sand culture method to cultivate them into horizontal dry type and water-side small micro bonsai. This method takes a short time and is effective, but you need to choose a strong main root. When choosing hawthorn blanks, look for strong seedlings with a strong base and complete and well-developed root systems. The stronger the better.

I would like to remind you that when making hawthorn miniature bonsai, cuttings cannot be used as materials. Cuttings are used in orchard production to improve yield and quality, but they are not suitable as bonsai materials.

Because the cutting seedlings mostly have large branches and trunks after survival, and the tree shape is open. Frequent pruning and use of , chlormequat, and are required to control growth. Another disadvantage is that the root system is underdeveloped, the life span is short, and the plant ages quickly. This is also the main reason why cuttings are strictly prohibited in important garden landscape areas.

Oblique cutting of field materials, Figure 2

2. Excavating raw piles and processing rough materials

The mining of hawthorn raw piles in the north is generally before the sprouts sprout in the spring, and can also be excavated by chance in the autumn. When digging, you must first pay attention to protecting the horizontal taproot, because whether it is made into a medium-sized bonsai or a small miniature bonsai, root modeling is a very important link.

Especially for small bonsais with themes such as hawthorn, the root shape is even more important, and the shape of hanging roots and claws can be made. The second step is to cut off the upper branches, retain part of the main trunk, and perform a second pruning during the growth period. Finally, prune the root system.

When making miniature bonsai, the upper branches are removed. No matter how developed the root system is, most of it must be cut off, leaving only the required taproot and fibrous roots. The root system is too large to be potted. When raising the embryo, put the roots in the yellow mud slurry added with rooting powder , hang it in the slurry, dry it and then cultivate the embryo in sand.

Abandoned old piles, Figure 3

3. How to grow hawthorn blanks

The best way is to plant on the ground. If it is inconvenient, use box planting, and box planting can cultivate several small blanks at the same time. The substrate is composed of clean river sand and red jade soil . You can also use vegetable garden soil, but do not use any fertilizer and raw tap water.

When planting in a box, plant it shallowly and with a high circumference, and gradually remove sand over 1-2 years to create a hanging root effect. Generally, there is no need to prune in the first year of cultivation. You just need to position the branch points according to your own shape design. Leave some of the unnecessary sprouts to pick and grow, and prune them off when potting in the second year.

Four-year instant bonsai, Figure 4

4. The modeling method used in hawthorn miniature bonsai

Generally speaking, the modeling method of miniature bonsai does not need to be too complicated, but its basic routine is roughly the same as that of medium-sized bonsai. For thicker blanks, instead of using the stem-cutting and branch-stacking method, you can combine the stem-cutting and three-branch techniques.

First, cut the trunk at a 45-degree slope at the base of the trunk and raise it, then climb it when the first-level branches and trunk extension branches are semi-lignified. For the trunk that is suitable for climbing and bending, the blank can be bent directly to make the second branch of the whorled branches. Bend half or diagonal dry style. But this method is too blunt, and the ornamental value is not as good as cutting the stem, sprouting and then climbing.

Cut it dry first and then climb it, Figure 5

5. Hawthorn bonsai maintenance

Hawthorn is a positive tree species , resistant to cold, drought, barrenness, and avoid water accumulation. When potting, it is best to use loose and breathable sandy humus soil , which can adapt to both slightly acidic and neutral conditions.

Hawthorn bonsai pruning mainly involves shaping, climbing and topping during the growing season, cultivating auxiliary branches into fruiting branch groups, and cultivating first-level branches into floating branches with 3-4 fruiting branches. If you do these things well during the growing season, there will be no bad or diseased branches during the dormant period, so there is no need to prune. You only need to cut off a few weak branches next spring.

Other maintenance measures include increasing lighting and ventilation, don’t worry about temperature and humidity, don’t need too much fertilizer and water supply, use cooked fertilizer 2-3 times a year; you can pour tap water, it can be dry but not flooded, and the soil is moist. Hawthorn is a tree species that is too resistant to growth.

Weeping branch type, Figure 6

Summary: Hawthorn miniature bonsai, as long as you take good care of the rough and take out the shape, the management after potting is relatively easy and extensive. You can throw it on the balcony to dry in the sun, but don't forget to water it.

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