If you don't have enough space in your garden to grow a walnut in the classic way, you can think about keeping the walnut as a bonsai. In this guide you will learn the most important things about walnuts as bonsai.
The walnut tree is not a simple bonsai
Walnut as a bonsai - is that even possible?
The fact is that not every plant is suitable to be kept as a bonsai. Now nut trees in general and walnuts in particular are actually part of it.
Whether in forums or in specialist articles: Experienced hobby gardeners and experts generally advise against cultivating a walnut as a bonsai (due to its sensitivity to cutting).
It is also clear that a walnut tree cannot normally be grown as a “real” bonsai. However, you can try to grow a larger bonsai from a walnut from a meter in height.
Practical tips on walnut tree bonsai
Note that you can only actually transform a walnut into a bonsai after about four years of standing and growing time.
Before that, you need to germinate the walnut, and after that, plant the seedling in a large pot so that it can grow as usual.
You then wait two years before doing the first root cut in the spring.
Important: Only cut when the walnut tree has developed enough fibrous roots. Then you can shorten the taproot by a third.
Then put the walnut back in its pot and continue to care for it as usual.
Two years later, shorten the taproot again by a third.
Perform plant pruning once a year
In order to keep the walnut at a low height, it is important to carry out the pruning regularly:
- once a year
- in August or September
Caution: A walnut kept as a bonsai is much more sensitive to fungi than a "normal" walnut tree.
Work with absolute concentration and as cleanly as possible. This is the only way to prevent one
Penetration of the fungus into the cut wounds.
Where to grow the walnut as a bonsai?
You should only grow your walnut in the garden as a bonsai - it is not suitable for keeping indoors.
Important: Make sure you hibernate frost-free.
Finally, we want to expressly point out that your experiment can also go wrong. Your walnut tree may die off. You should be aware of that.