Propagating a bonsai from cuttings is relatively easy. To ensure that nothing goes wrong, you should note a few things.
Anyone who already owns a bonsai and has a good hand in caring for it will certainly come to the point "There has to be a second one" at some point. But you don't necessarily have to buy a new one. You can also easily propagate your bonsai. This even has the advantage that you know the corresponding needs and characteristics in advance.
Bonsais can be propagated with cuttings or by sowing seeds. The cutting method works well until the cutting becomes a bonsai, but it takes time. For the new rearing from seeds you need a lot of patience. You save at least one to two years of waiting time by raising cuttings. In order for a beautiful bonsai to develop, however, the right care is always necessary. Location, planting tray, correct watering and pruning all play an important role.
The Basic Principles of Bonsai Propagation
Special bonsai seeds are often offered in the trade. This is a misconception you shouldn't fall for, because there is no such thing as THE bonsai seed! The term "bonsai" simply refers to a small tree that is planted in a pot. Regular pruning keeps the tree small. For example, you can get a normal sized apple tree or a miniature sized apple tree from an apple seed.
With the right care and the necessary pruning, cuttings develop into handsome bonsai within a year. If the starting cutting comes from a fruit-bearing tree, even tiny fruits will form on the branches after a few years.
Which cuttings are suitable for growing bonsai?
You can take cuttings from any tree you like. It doesn't have to be bonsai. Short and slightly woody twigs are ideal for cutting cuttings, preferably with only a few leaves, so that excessive moisture does not evaporate through the leaves.
Instructions for propagation:
1 Score the bark of the cutting and place it in a small plant pot with an airy substrate. The earth should not be too manyHave nutrients so that the cuttings root quickly.
2 A small greenhouse or clear plastic cover over the pot is ideal. Also, make sure you have soil warmth and plenty of daylight, but no direct sunlight. The cutting needs water - not too much please, otherwise it will drown, keep the substrate only slightly moist.
3 After about six to eight weeks, with some species only after a few months, many thin and light-colored roots have formed. You can recognize the root formation by the fact that the cuttings used drive out leaf tips.
4 Now place the rooted cutting in a pond basket. The substrate is loose and airy again. The pond basket offers an open design and has the advantage that the roots strive towards the light and grow vigorously. The goal is a strong and vigorous root ball. You can see the progress with the open pond basket. In this phase, the trunk also becomes thicker.
5 Let the young tree grow in peace. Growing bonsai is a meditative process in which you observe the growth and only intervene occasionally to regulate it.
6 Transplant the sapling every two years and take the opportunity to prune the roots. Shorten it by about a third and remove the taproot completely. This way the bonsai will have a good hold later in the planter. When the young bonsai has reached the desired size and trunk thickness, you can put it in a bowl and keep it small with targeted topiary.