Apple is one of the common fruits in life. After dwarf cultivation and appropriate shaping, it can also be a simple, elegant and ornamental bonsai. Making apples into bonsais not only looks good, but the fruits they produce are just like ordinary fruit trees and are very delicious. Below is the method of growing apple potted plants that the editor has carefully compiled for you. Let’s take a look.

1. Select varieties

Potted apples should have small crowns, slender branches, slightly smaller leaves, graceful tree openings, strong germination, early fruiting, and high yields year after year. Varieties with long growth period and strong disease resistance and ability to adapt to the potting environment, such as Otome, Donghongguo, Rose Autumn, Honglingguo (Wanshou Guo), Qianheguo, Hanfu, Hanxiang, etc. (For reference only)

2. Selection of pots and allocation of nutrient soil

1. For potted apples, biscuit pots, purple sand pots and wooden pots are generally selected. The specifications of the pots are 40cm in diameter. , bottom diameter 35cm, height 30cm, mainly round, round pots are conducive to the roots spreading evenly around.

2. Preparation of nutrient soil. The culture soil must have good physical and chemical properties, be rich in humus, have strong fertilizer and water storage capabilities, good aeration, and appropriate pH. Choose 6 parts of fertile mature soil, 2 parts of river sand, 1 part of decomposed sheep manure, 1 part of soaked leaves and horseshoe fermented fertilizer, mix them evenly in proportion and sift. The culture soil should be sterilized by cooking, baking or using drugs before use, and the soil pH should be measured and adjusted. The most suitable pH value for apples is 5.7~6.7.

3. Potting

Generally, potting is done before germination in spring or after leaves fall in autumn. When planting, soak the roots with 5 degrees lime sulfur mixture to disinfect, and cut off necrosis and excessive growth. root. First put a few pieces of broken tiles at the bottom of the pot, then spread 2~3cm thick slag as a drainage layer, then add 1/3 culture soil, spread the roots evenly, shake the sapling slightly while filling the soil to make the roots closely connected with the soil, bury the soil Just be practical, water in time, and keep the soil moist.

IV. Fertilizer and water management

1. When fertilizing apple bonsai, we must master the principle of “fertilize thinly, apply frequently, and match nutrients.” Do not fertilize during the flowering stage to avoid hindering the flowering of the plant. It is not recommended to fertilize apple bonsai in winter.

Apply 0.2% quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer once before and after germination to promote neat germination and flowering;

Starting from May, topdress liquid fertilizer once every 10 days or so, with 200 times liquid organic fertilizer Mainly cake fertilizer, supplemented by 0.2% each of inorganic liquid fertilizers such as urea, diammonium, and ammonium sulfate;

Foliar spray fertilizer can be used during the fruit expansion period, and 0.3% to 0.5% urea, 3% to 5% plant ash leaching solution; topdress 0.5% organic liquid fertilizer once every half month when the fruit is close to maturity, and use 0.2% inorganic nitrogen fertilizer; apply decomposed manure as the base fertilizer after the leaves fall;

The new shoots will stop growing and During the fruit maturity period, topdressing should be done every 10 days according to the growth of the plant, mainly 200 times organic liquid fertilizer, combined with 0.2% inorganic nitrogen fertilizer.

2. The soil for potted apples should be watered thoroughly after it dries out, and water should be replenished in time during the germination, flowering, and fruit expansion stages. In order to promote the differentiation of flower buds, proper water control is required in June. Water less during the rainy season from July to August. In spring, you can water once a week; in summer, when the temperature is high and the transpiration is high, you can water once every 1 to 2 days. In high-temperature seasons, foliage spraying is also required; in autumn, watering should be controlled to prevent excessive growth; in winter, watering is generally not done and the potting soil is used. Dryness is the degree. The leaves are enlarged and dark green, which indicates that the fertilizer and water are appropriate. The yellowing of the inner leaves indicates that the water is watered too frequently and should be adjusted in time.

5. Plastic pruning

Potted fruit trees can be cultivated into natural round head shapes, tower shapes, small spindle shapes, folded fan shapes, open heart shapes, and "Y" shapes according to the specific conditions of the seedlings. Shape etc. Pay attention to the opening angle to allow ventilation and light transmission, which is conducive to the formation of flower buds and high yields. Every year, the new shoots of fruit trees grow to 10-13cm, and when they become semi-lignified, they must be twisted and broken. One-year-old seedlings can also be topping at the required height to strengthen the trunk and produce new branches. For new branches, the branches should be pulled to cultivate the tree shape; during the growth period, excessively dense branches, competing branches, juxtaposed branches, and leggy branches should be thinned out. Thinning branches should be done sooner rather than later, and before the branches become lignified. Pruning of fruit-bearing trees should be carried out after the tree body goes dormant. It is advisable to leave 1/2 or 1/3 of the fruit-bearing branches. Cut off overly dense branches and expand the crown year by year, striving to achieve a large tree shape with enhanced main branch load capacity. . It is necessary to balance the tree vigor and allow its fruiting branches to fill the space, making the tree strong and beautiful.

In addition, depending on the variety and shape of apple bonsai, various measures such as branch pulling, topping, twisting, girdling, branch thinning, retraction, and plant growth regulators can be used to create the basic shape of the bonsai, early flowering and early fruiting.

6. Flower and Fruit Management

1. Artificial pollination: 2 to 3 days before apples bloom, collect pollen from orchards with similar phenological periods and plant them in pots

In the early stages of apple blooming, artificial pollination is carried out in the morning when the flowers bloom.

2. Thin out excess flowers on branches during the flowering period. When thinning flowers, the middle flower and the first side flower should be left in each inflorescence. Try to protect the terminal flower buds on short branches. The first thinning should be done when the soybean fruit is large; the second thinning should be done when the hawthorn fruit is large, which is the final fruiting period. Fruit bagging is carried out after physiological fruit drop to improve the appearance of the fruit, make the peel smooth, beautiful and colorful, reduce the number of pesticides, prevent pollution and increase the proportion of high-quality fruits. Remove the fruit bag 15 to 30 days before the fruit matures to color the fruit.

7. Pest and disease control

Apple bonsai has less pests and diseases due to very careful management. Once pests and diseases occur, diseased branches, leaves, and fruits must be removed promptly and the pests must be captured manually. When diseases and insect pests are serious, spray fungicides such as carbendazim, thiophanate, and chlorothalonil 1 to 2 times after flowers fall to prevent and control fruit and leaf diseases; spray pyrethroid-based insecticides twice in April to May. Prevent and control aphids, leaf rollers and other pests; spray insecticides and acaricides such as Zeli and Uranus 1 to 2 times from June to July to control red spider mites and peach heartworms; spray carbendazim and thiophanate from July to August , Bordeaux mixture and other fungicides to prevent and control early defoliation, ring rot, and anthracnose.

8. Winter management and repotting

1. After the leaves fall in winter, wrap the pots with straw ropes, sacks, etc. to prevent the cold, or dig trenches and bury the pots in the soil to survive the winter, or place them in Overwinter in cellars, corridors, etc. You can also move the pots into a vacant room for overwintering.

2. Repot the apple tree once every year after the leaves fall. Pour the apple tree out of the pot and gradually remove the surface pot soil, remove 1/3 of the old soil by the roots, cut off the mesh root pad, and then fill in new ones. The nutrient soil is compacted and watered enough. Pay attention to loosening the soil in time to avoid hardening in the pot, which will affect its absorption of water and fertilizer.