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Flowering bonsai are very popular and fascinate almost everyone. But there are a number of things you need to look out for if you want to ensure these bonsai tree species are producing the flowers you want.
In general, flowering and fruiting species are treated and styled using the same techniques as other bonsai tree species. But if they get too little sunlight, are cut at the wrong time or too often, overgrow from too much nitrogen fertilizer, or the soil gets too dry, you will be disappointed if no flowers or fruit grow on your bonsai. We have two top ten articles for more photos: top 10 flowering bonsai and top 10 bonsai fruit trees.
Bonsai care guidelines for flowering bonsai
The special aspects of their care are: use special fertilizer for flowering and fruiting plants (low nitrogen, more P and K), provide enough sunlight and never let them dry out, especially when the flowers and fruits are developing.
When the tree blooms, do not let the flowers get wet, otherwise they will wither very quickly. Protect flowering trees from rain, only water the soil and you can enjoy the beautiful sight much longer. Flowering trees can have very different growth patterns that need to be considered when pruning your bonsai tree.
flowering tree species
Azaleas (Rhododendron indicum), for example, grow in a base-dominant manner – in contrast to most other species. This means that the lower branches will grow more than the top, which should not be pruned too much. Flower buds form in the summer for the following year, so you should prune your azalea as soon as it blooms and then don’t prune back much if you want blooms next year.
The Japanese flowering apricot (Prunus mume) blooms in late winter or early spring, before the leaves sprout. You can trim the branches after flowering, but you must identify the leaf buds and make sure there is at least one left at the end of the branch. If you cut a branch so short that there is no leaf bud left, the branch will most likely die. Also very important is the cherry blossom bonsai (Sakura).
There are species that flower at the end of new shoots, such as pomegranate, bougainvillea, snow rose, potentilla, Chinese quince and lagerstroemia. If you want the flowers to develop, do not cut the shoots until the tree has flowered.
Many tree species bloom on short shoots from previous years, such as crab apple, hawthorn, sloe, firethorn and quince. You can trim the long shoots, but be careful to keep the short shoots intact. Read more about the bonsai tree species.
If your tree blooms too profusely or bears a lot of fruit, you should thin out the flowers and fruit to prevent the tree from becoming weak. Flowers and fruits should be evenly distributed on the tree and be the same size. So remove flowers and fruits where there are too many in one place and pick the largest and smallest ones.
On flowering trees that do not bear fruit, remove all flowers when most have withered. Azaleas form seeds at the base of the flowers, which should be removed along with the faded flowers.
Most species are monoclinic, but some are dioecious, meaning there are male and female trees and only the female bears fruit. The Japanese winterberry (Ilex serrata), for example, is a dioecious tree and the female trees only bear their beautiful red berries when the female flowers are pollinated. This means you need a male Japanese winterberry flowering at the same time and as close to the female as possible to ensure pollination. You can also use a thin brush to move the pollen from the male flowers to the female flowers.
Birds like to eat the holly berries as well as many other species. So remember to protect the trees from birds if you want to enjoy the sight of the magnificent fruits on your bonsai tree.
