Mao Pu belongs to the elm family along with elm and beech trees. It is distributed in east Asia, from Japan in the north, to Taiwan in the south, and to South China in the west, and is widely distributed. The tree belongs to the deciduous tree, so the cultivation boundary of the tree is very broad, and it can be cultivated from the cold zone, temperate zone to subtropical and tropical. Today, Ji Craftsmen's Workshop will share the creative and conservation techniques of Maopu Bonsai with bonsai friends through the creative process of famous artists.
Mao Pu's styling succession: inseparable from the rapid evolution of the bonsai market. Observe the Mao Pu shape of some bonsai masters, most of them follow the standardization, appearance, follow the works of those gold medal awards and overall champions at the bonsai exhibition, pay attention to the number of branches, feel like blindly pursuing the sense of quantity of the branches of the pot tree, but in the process of learning, blind imitation is easy to give up the unique and elegant charm of Mao Pu.
Mao Pu sketches
Starting from nature: All along, bonsai is derived from nature and higher than nature's artistic creation, so the best tutor should also learn to follow the rules of nature, from the perseverance of Mao Pu in nature, I believe that every bonsai lover will feel the greatness of the creator and be inspired by it as long as he witnesses it.
Figure 1
Analysis of young wood: (Figure 1) Is about 30-50 years old of the hairy young wood, from the figure can be seen the state of young wood: the trunk is relatively straight, the skin is younger, the shape is elegant and more than enough, although the treetops are still very fine. But when creating bonsai, this youthful tree is not the best object for us to learn.
Figure 2
Old Tree Status: Looking at the picture above, from the oldest, twisted, and varied memorial tree about 300 years on the left, to the young and thin-skinned and straight-dry hairy tree on the right. These old trees on the left, the changes between the branches are endless, or up or down, the old state is fully exposed. On the right side is a young tree type, and the difference can be seen by comparing the two: the young tree phase and the extremely old tree phase present a completely different style.
Figure 3
The most important thing about bonsai art is to transcend the limitations of time and space to express the endless old state of the trees, and it is very obvious to show the freedom of the simple trees that have gone through all the vicissitudes, but they are all-encompassing, of course, this is the object of our teaching.
Figure 4
What Mao Pu deserves to admire: The branches of Mao Pu are like calligraphy, which is loved. The main trunk is as steady as the kaili, the branches are flipped smoothly like grass, and the thin branches are just like the seal body, which seems to be complex and branched.
Mao Pu - Luo Mingxuan's work
Analysis of the work: Most of the bonsai friends will have a very unaccustomed feeling when they first see this photo, so many branches, it seems to be a little complicated, and the canopy is not a regular triangle arc of the conventional bonsai, but as long as you spend a little more time carefully admiring it, you will find that this simple tree work is not ordinary.
Trunk form: We first start from the trunk analysis, five trunks of different sizes are staggered in between, stretching out on all sides and overlapping trunks are very wild, and the natural form in the photo (Figure 3 to 4) is very similar, when we use the photo (Figure 3 to 4) to compare with it, we can see the author's ingenuity, breaking the traditional bonsai creation of the box, the spirit of the old pu tree is revealed. And the direction of the branches swinging back and forth magically, it seems to let us walk into the distant forest, the ancient world of natural mythology. The appreciator sees the spirit of the tree, the spirit of the tree for thousands of years, not the general garden tree.
The performance of the canopy: the performance of the canopy is more unique, the general canopy is a triangular arc, and this tree is irregular small cloud-shaped, the author conveys that each prominent crown can be an independent huge tree, and most of the prominent parts show the collection of countless large trees. Although this is only a bonsai of more than 70 centimeters, the author wants to show a huge forest through the uneven plural crown, not just a simple pot tree, the author in the creation, trying to create the canopy into a huge forest phase, the energy of the tree, the image of the infinite improvement.
When a bonsai is not just a tree, but a vast forest, the imagination space contained in it will be amazing. Bonsai can express endless and incredible artistic conceptions through different techniques, and only in this way can bonsai culture be more profound and long-lasting.
Tree species selection: Wild hair can easily produce countless new plants through the spread of seeds, and most sexually reproducing individuals are not suitable for pot cultivation. Only from the finished tree of good quality, and the mother tree that is not easy to wither, the branches are easy to diverge, and the branches are radial, can be built well. Most of the mountain materials are prone to dead branches, and only after grafting excellent varieties can the tree state be kept and not easily deformed.
Soil: The requirements of the cultivated Mao Pu for the soil are not high, all kinds of soil, sand can be applied, but the finished old tree needs to be more than 70% fertile and loose humus-rich loam, add a small amount of mountain sand, in order to moisturize, and it is not easy to produce dead branches.
The bonsai materials started in early spring, after the first modeling in the summer of the first year, buried pots into the soil for maintenance, mainly piles
Three years later, after moving from the ground into the basin, the branches rose too strongly, and the branches were adjusted downwards with aluminum wires and partially wrapped around the aluminum wires.
In the spring of the fourth year, the growth of the potted tree at this time is very vigorous and strong, especially the crown needs to be suppressed, so that the whole plant is evenly balanced.
The strong and vigorous hair can be pruned about 2 to 3 times a year; the first posture modeling time is in May after the spring buds are luxuriant, when the leaves are dark green, you can work. The second and third operations after that were carried out in July and early September, the leaves were cleared and straightened; in the summer of that year, in order to balance the growth, the author pruned the strong top buds at the top, and the process of maintaining the posture was to make the upper and lower branches more even.
In the summer of the fifth year, the whole plant is tangled and fixed, inhibiting the growth of the top buds, and retaining the lower branches to allow them to grow freely, so that the whole plant is balanced.
Timing of soil change: Because the dormancy period of Mao Pu is particularly early, the germination period is also earlier than that of general tree species, so it is necessary to turn pots and change soil before the early spring buds move; usually Mao Pu is the earliest tree species to change soil in spring. The root system of The grass is very strong, so the formed tree must change the soil every year to ensure healthy growth. Semi-formed pot trees are about 2 to 3 years old.
In the summer of the sixth year, after the leaves of the potting tree are removed, all the branches are wound with metal thread, and the whole branch shape needs to be fully used to wrap the aluminum thread around the skill, so that the speed of bonsai molding is accelerated, and the shape can be referred to the previous articles on the artisan's past knotting skills. The basic skills that bonsai masters must master: panza modeling, bonsai basic skills analysis!
The dormancy period of Mao Pu is very early, starting from about November, and new shoots will sprout from the early spring of early February of the following year. About 7 to 10 days after the removal of the leaves, new shoots will emerge, when the fresh leaves are very beautiful; when entering the winter dormancy period, the aluminum wire is removed to make the tree strong.
In the spring of the seventh year, the second half was still not formed, so the metal wire was accelerated.
In the summer of the eighth year, Mao Pu is close to forming, using thin bamboo or chopsticks, adjusting the spacing of the branches, waiting for the shape, and then dismantling it to form!
Trees are formed
Disease and pest control: The biggest pest of Mao Pu is bacterial infection, after a long period of rain, we must disinfect the bonsai, otherwise the new shoots are susceptible to the influence of insect pests and turn yellow after germination, resulting in the gradual weakening of the tree, and even cause the phenomenon of dead branches; the shell insect is another major harm to Mao Pu, especially in the sweltering summer and before the dormancy period, these 2 time periods are the most vulnerable to shell insect infestation, once the pot tree is found to receive insect infestation, it is advisable to quickly use a steel brush to brush it clean, and apply pesticides to the plants. Avoid mesozoan hyperplasia and destruction of branches.
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