Author: Zhu Yongkang
Small leaves, short and strong plants, slow growth, not easy to deform, these excellent characteristics make the boxwood one of the mainstream tree species of miscellaneous wood bonsai. Especially in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, it has long been famous and has no shortage of masterpieces.
Boxwood (Buxus sinica), a species of boxwood in the family Boxwood, has 30 species worldwide and about 12 species in China, and here we introduce the morphological habits and conservation management of several of them. Because these kinds of boxwood grow in a very different region, some subtle characteristics I do not necessarily talk about very comprehensively, very systematic.
Fig. 1 Leaves of the bird's tongue boxwood
■ Bird's tongue boxwood (Figure 1) folk name "millennium dwarf", evergreen small shrub, usually less than 1 meter tall, but in the Lingnan area, due to the relationship between rainy climate, can also grow to more than 2.5 meters tall (dry diameter of more than 50 cm) tree trees. The bird's tongue boxwood branch is multi-branched and dense, the leaves are narrow and long, inverted lanceolate or inverted ovate oblong,2 to 4 cm long, leathery, shiny, small, yellow-green, dense short spike-like inflorescence, with a female flower at the top, the rest are male flowers, and the capsules are oval and ripe in July. It prefers light, is also shade tolerant, prefers warm and humid climates, often grows among the rocks of moist and humus-rich valleys, is not cold-tolerant, shallow roots, has strong tillering power, and grows extremely slowly. Pay attention to love wood bonsai and play bonsai with love wood. Breeding is mainly based on cuttings, but also can be pressed and sown, and in recent years, larger bonsai of the bird's tongue boxwood (trunk diameter of 50 cm, height of 2.5 m) have also been found in the Liangguang area, which grows well due to the suitable climate. However, in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and the Huai River Basin, at least at least at the exhibition has not seen the trunk diameter of more than 15 cm of the spiny tongue boxwood forming bonsai, so in the Yangtze River Basin, huai river basin with the tongue boxwood to make bonsai, most of them are mainly small and medium-sized.
Fig. 2 Pearl boxwood leaves
■ Pearl boxwood (Fig. 2) A treasure in boxwood. It is really beautiful, but it is difficult to make bonsai with it, especially medium and large bonsai, it is like the sleeping beauty in Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, which can only grow in nature. Here I will first introduce the situation and growth habits of pearl boxwood to you, and then tell you the story of my planting of pearl boxwood.
Pearl boxwood is a plant that grows more slowly than the average boxwood between evergreen shrubs and small trees. Because it grows in the cloud mountain above 800 meters above sea level, the humidity is very large all year round, and there are mosses on the trunk, and the trunk thickness of the 80-100-year-old tree is only about 6 to 7 centimeters. If the thickness of the trunk exceeds 10 cm, the age of the tree must reach 200 to 300 years or more.
Here's a little story about me planting pearl boxwood. After the Spring Festival in 1986, after being introduced by a friend, I went to Lushan Mountain, Jiangxi Province, to investigate pearl boxwood. In a small mountain pass about 1,000 meters above sea level, a large piece of pearl boxwood was found, about 100 plants, mixed with other miscellaneous trees on the mountain and wild mountain rhododendrons. The dry diameter is 20 centimeters thick, the thin one is also up to 8 to 10 centimeters, and the height is about 1 to 2 meters, all of which are the best materials for making bonsai, I was ecstatic, and immediately asked the local mountain people to dig up 38 piles with native soil, transported to Nanjing at the fastest speed (one and a half days), and immediately used "northeast peat" to mix with the mountain soil produced around Nanjing (sterilized), planted in a special clay pot, placed in a plastic greenhouse for maintenance. Spray 3 to 5 times a day, the planting link should be no problem. Pay attention to love wood bonsai and play bonsai with love wood. About 40 days after planting, all the pile blanks have grown new shoots, but the growth rate is very slow, and after autumn, all the pile blanks stop growing, and the leaves that grow are not alive at all. For the next 3 years, I exhausted all methods to make them alive, and the result was that they all died one after another, and I may not have found the key technology to make them alive. But there is also a miracle, when the pearl boxwood was first planted, the pruned branches were pruned, and the survival rate after cuttings was more than 90%, and they were growing vigorously every year.
This failed experience of planting pearl boxwood downhill piles, I initially came up with several experiences: 1. Pearl boxwoods grow on high mountains above 800 meters, the mountain high pressure is large, the fog humidity is also large, once there is no transition, suddenly out of the suitable alpine humid environment for growth, away from the original ecology of alpine atmospheric pressure, it has caused the imbalance of the natural ecology of pearl boxwood, resulting in the slow death of all pile blanks, which is the inevitable end. This is why in the previous large-scale bonsai exhibitions, there is no medium and large pearl boxwood bonsai figure.
I have been reflecting on this matter for many years, and maybe it would be better not to dig up those pearl boxwoods and just pick some small cuttings. They have grown like that for hundreds of years, and maybe they will still live well today...
Figure 3 Leaves of Fujian boxwood
■ Fujian yellow poplar (Figure 3) Taiwan is called golden willow, growing in the mountains of western Fujian and southern Fujian, and there are also large areas of growth in the mountainous areas of Taiwan. The leaves are narrow and long, the branches and leaves grow densely, the trunk is raised, there are old scale patches, and the growth rate is slower. Taiwan has a relatively large golden willow bonsai, it is said that according to the Lingnan bonsai "livestock branches cut dry" method to raise the branches to a certain thickness, there is also a certain degree of difficulty. The dried branches of Fujian boxwood are better aged and are very suitable for making small and miniature bonsai. For example, the production of medium and large bonsai is not suitable in the Yangtze River Basin or northern China, because due to climatic conditions, the growth condition will not be good, and the longer the time of cultivation, the easier the branches are to age, and the phenomenon of "shrinking strips and dead pieces" occurs.
The ecological habits of Fujian boxwood: 1. It prefers warm and humid climate, is afraid of frost in winter, and the winter temperature should be maintained above 0 °C; 2. It likes sandy soil with good water permeability and air permeability; 3. The soil pH (pH value) is between 4.5 and 6, and the soil with excessive salinity cannot be used as planting soil; 4. The fertilizer requirements are not high, and the fermentation of mature farm manure or compound fertilizer can be used, and the thin fertilizer is applied frequently.
Fig. 4 Melon seed boxwood leaves
Fig. 5 Melon seed boxwood bonsai
■ Melon seed boxwood (Figure 4~ 5) also known as watercress boxwood, native to the central provinces of China, is now cultivated in the north. Melon seed boxwood is a traditional tree species of historical significance in Chinese garden application, and is one of the "Four Gentlemen" of ancient bonsai. As a garden landscape tree species, the planting age can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. It can be planted alone, clustered or on the side of the road, and can also be embellished with artificial rocks. Its adaptability is very good, the requirements for the planting land are not high, can be full of sunlight, can also be less sunlight, the soil pH requirements are very low, pH 4 ~ 7 soil can be adapted, whether it is sandy soil, clay, humus soil, or mildly polluted soil, can be planted. In the major gardens of Suzhou Tiger Hill and Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, there are many ancient trees with an age of 800 to 1000 years, which are famous longevity tree species. Pay attention to love wood bonsai and play bonsai with love wood.
For nearly a thousand years since the Song Dynasty, melon seed boxwood has also been the main material for "Yang Pai" and "Su Pai" bonsai. All year round, in addition to the coldest season, you can prune, tie, change pots, etc., and the branches are very soft and easy-going, let you turn it back and forth, (Yangpai cloud flake), once fixed, it will never be easily deformed. The ornamental value of melon seed boxwood is very high, and it is an evergreen tree among the miscellaneous tree species. The main trunk grows slowly in winter, but the branches do not grow slowly when making bonsai, which is also the best point of its use as a bonsai material. The main trunk of melon seed boxwood is difficult to thicken, and the folk have a saying about it: "Three years long an inch, thunder and shrink a little." "Its wood is solid, fine and less scarred, the skin color is the same as the wood color, it is ivory yellow, it is one of the four major carving woods in China, which can be used to carve high-grade handicrafts and various Buddha statues, prayer beads, etc." Roots and leaves can also be used medicinally.
Fig. 6 Leaves of mountain boxwood
■ Mountain poplar (Figure 6) is produced in Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi and other places, and in some places, it is also known as "water poplar", which is a relatively fast-growing species of boxwood. At first glance, the appearance is very similar to melon seed boxwood, and it can almost be mixed with fish eyes. The specific identification method is:
1. The trunk color of melon seed boxwood is "ivory yellow", while the trunk color of mountain boxwood is "gray white";
2. The leaves of melon seed boxwood resemble "pumpkin seeds", the leaf head is "round", and the head of the mountain boxwood leaf is "slightly pointed";
3. Melon seed boxwood branches are tight, there are many leaves, and mountain boxwood branches are sparse, leaves are rare, so from the effect of making bonsai, mountain boxwood and melon seed boxwood can not be the same day. Pay attention to love wood bonsai and play bonsai with love wood. When the mountain poplar leaves the native area, it is very difficult to raise it (especially across regions) after the pot, and there are many diseases and insect pests, and it often shrinks branches, dead pieces, and returns for unknown reasons.
The 5 kinds of boxwood introduced above are all planted as bonsai materials, and I think the most suitable for making bonsai is melon seed boxwood. It has a very rich Chinese historical accumulation and cultural heritage, as long as it is concentrated on cultivation, it can become a historical relic after hundreds of years or even thousands of years. In addition to pine cypress, ginkgo biloba, etc., this kind of boxwood is another variety of bonsai that can be passed down, and there are many excellent characteristics that cannot be achieved by miscellaneous wood bonsai, which can be called "miscellaneous wood king" (Figure 7).
Figure 7 Hometown miss melon seed boxwood 85× 100 cm Zhu Yongkang
Bird's tongue boxwood is also very good, pearl boxwood production of small, miniature bonsai is also very good, Fujian boxwood in the Yangtze River Basin to make small, miniature bonsai can also be, but in Taiwan due to climate advantages, you can make large-scale golden willow bonsai. Mountain yellow poplar has many problems, and it is recommended not to use it as a bonsai material.
Boxwood bonsai is very good to raise, the following I will cultivate and maintain the method of boxwood bonsai over the years and some experience to share with you. Boxwood, like other miscellaneous wood bonsai, has two growth periods and two dormant periods (except for Lingnan and other regions), and the best time to trim, tie and make boxwood is from March to September. Pay attention to love wood bonsai and play bonsai with love wood. Pruning boxwood in late autumn, due to the higher temperature, will grow more new shoots, but there is not enough time to grow and enrich, once encountered cold tide, it is easy to frostbite or even freeze to death, affecting the winter. Yellow Yang Kaihua fruit will consume a lot of nutrients, do not use it as a flower and fruit bonsai to appreciate. The probability of death of boxwood hanging flowers and fruits for a long time is very high, so the flowers should be removed in time to avoid fruit, so that the tree body is healthy and vibrant.
Fig. 8-1 Adult boxwood silkworm borer
Fig. 8-2 Boxwood silk borer larvae
The pest of boxwood (Figure 8) is mainly the yellow poplar silk borer, also known as the yellow poplar black edge borer moth, distributed in the Yangtze River Basin, Lingnan and parts of northern China, harming melon seed boxwood, bird's tongue boxwood, pearl boxwood and so on. Adults are covered with white scales, 2 to 3 cm long, 4 to 5 cm wingspan, and the forebreast, the base of the forewings, the leading edge, the outer bandage, and the outer edge of the hindwings and the abdomen are covered with black-brown scales, so they are called "black-edged borer moths". As long as the larvae take a few small bites on the leaves, the entire branch that is bitten will appear "yellowing". Pay attention to love wood bonsai and play bonsai with love wood. When the bite is too large, the entire boxwood bonsai may die. In the summer of 1993, due to a business trip in other places, the boxwood bonsai was invaded by the black-edged borer moth, and I did not spray it in time, resulting in the death of two finished melon seeds boxwood bonsai, and one plant was "half-dead" and became a waste product.
Control methods: 1. Adult egg laying period, check and remove the egg blocks once every 2 to 3 days, and check in the morning or evening when the sun is obliquely illuminated, which is easier to find. Using the nest habits during the larval feeding period and the characteristics of pupae overwintering in the nest, the eggs and pupae that can be retrieved can be burned in time; 2. Spray 50% of the borer pine emulsion 1000 times liquid or 50% sulfur phosphorus emulsion 1000 times liquid during the larval harm period, and spray the whole plant with a sprayer, and spray the shady surface and the main trunk dead angle.
Originally published: "Chinese Flower Bonsai", authorized release, please indicate the source when reprinting.
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