Many people consider the pine to be the ideal tree for a garden bonsai. In the wild alone, where pine trees sometimes grow to heights of up to 40 meters, the conifers have bizarre crown shapes that are caused by weather conditions such as wind. With a targeted thinning out, you can focus on this remarkable form of appearance. In addition, the coniferous tree impresses with its bark, which turns bright red with age. Learn more about the great qualities that make pine the perfect bonsai below. But the best thing can already be revealed in advance: as a bonsai, a pine tree is extremely easy to care for.
The pine is a beautiful bonsai
The type of pine is crucial
In order to apply the right care measures, it is important that you analyze whether your pine is a single or double shoot coniferous tree. The species plays a decisive role, especially when cutting the jaws. While pines with two shoots per season can easily be shortened with a candle pruning, conifers with only one shoot are damaged by this intervention. How to determine the type of your jaws:
The pine with a shoot
Pine trees of this species are often exposed to storms that periodically knock down their candles. The trees have adapted to these conditions with a second shoot per season. The following varieties fall into this category:
- japanese black pine
- japanese red pine
The pine with two shoots
Pines with only one shoot come from the mountains, where the climate is also harsh. However, their location does not require any adaptation. These include:
- white pine
- european black pine
- Scots pine
- and mountain pine
care instructions
location
Although pine trees are used to a harsh climate, they always need a lot of light. Place your garden bonsai directly in the sun away from walls and buildings.
pour
Although drought is not a problem for pines, it is beneficial to keep the substrate moist at all times. However, you should avoid waterlogging.
Fertilize
The right time to enrich the substrate of your garden bonsai with fertilizer is the time after sprouting. Fertilize every two weeks from April to August with a special bonsai liquid fertilizer from specialist shops. You only have to adjust the fertilizer application during budding.
To cut
Important aspects to consider when pruning your bonsai pine trees:
- a radical cut is best done in winter to keep resin leakage as low as possible
- in July and August you can cut back the needles to 1 cm or completely
- in the fall, remove the buds with tweezers
- repeat the procedure the following spring (March-April)
- in May, adjust the size of the candles and young shoots of your pine trees. As a rule, these are cut back to two thirds
- in October pluck or cut off old needles from the previous year
repot
In order for your pine to develop well, it makes sense to repot the coniferous tree every two to three years. The best time to do this is from February to May or from September to October. In this context, a simultaneous root cut is recommended.