(1) Botanical knowledge

It belongs to the Pinaceae family and the genus Pinus.

An evergreen tree with dark gray-brown and slightly red bark, split into thick scaly pieces, and dark reddish-brown winter buds. The leaves have a bunch of 2 needles, slightly thick and hard, bright green, 5 to 13 cm long, with persistent leaf sheaths. The cones are ovate, almost sessile, and can remain on the tree for several years. The trunk shape is often curved, the side branches are flat, and the crown is as gnarled as a cover. Those that grow on the peak of Huangshan Mountain in Anhui Province have various postures due to the influence of the environment, such as the "Welcome Pine" in front of the Yuping Tower

and the "Farewell Pine"

; Beihai The "Kilin Pine"

, "Black Tiger Pine"

; Tianhai's "Wolong Pine", etc., have extremely beautiful natural forms and are all examples of Huangshan pine modeling.

Mount Huangshan pine is a coniferous tree suitable for growing in the subtropical eastern mountains of my country. It is widely distributed in Huangshan and Dabie Mountains in Anhui at an altitude of 600-1800 meters; in Tianmu Mountain and Yandang Mountain in Zhejiang at an altitude of 800-1500 meters; in Wuyi Mountain and Daiyun Mountain in Fujian at an altitude of 1000-1500 meters meters; the central mountain range of Taiwan has an altitude of 800 to 2,400 meters, as well as Henan, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan and other provinces.

Huangshan pine is extremely light-loving and is suitable for growing in alpine climates with cool air and high air humidity. It is vertically distributed above 700 meters above sea level. Requires deep, well-drained acidic soil. It grows on the ridges of solitary peaks with barren soil and exposed rocks. The branches are low and curved, the posture is peculiar and elegant, and the leaves are thin and short. It is most suitable for making bonsai.

(2) Material selection and cultivation measures

Artificial propagation: Huangshan pine is mostly propagated by seed seedlings. The germination rate is high, generally up to 80-85%. When the cones turn yellow-brown from late November to early December, collect plump cones from strong mother trees with dense canopies and remove the seeds. After being exposed to the sun for about 10 days, the seed scales will crack, the wings and impurities will be removed, and the seeds will be bagged for winter storage. Sowing before and after the "Spring Equinox", the nursery land should be loose, acidic soil with good drainage.

Spray 75% pentachloronitrobenzene or potassium permanganate solution for soil disinfection.

Before sowing, wet the seeds with water and then dress them with calcium, magnesium and phosphorus fertilizer.

1 kilogram of seeds should be mixed with approximately 0.5 kilograms of calcium, magnesium and phosphate fertilizer. After sowing, cover it with fine soil about 2 cm, and then cover it with grass. After a month, it will begin to sprout and unearth.

A thin layer of decomposed human urine can be applied once in June. After application, rinse the seedling leaves with clean water, and then spray with 0.5% Bordeaux mixture to prevent disease.

The seedlings grow vigorously from July to August, and stop growing in late September. The seedlings can reach about 20 to 25 centimeters that year.

For potted plants, thick and short saplings that are 2 to 3 years old can be used, and then processed and shaped.

Mountain mining: Mount Huangshan pine is easy to regenerate naturally and can be planted in rock crevices, ridges and slopes in mountains above 700 meters above sea level. Select wild Mount Huangshan pine seedlings that grow thick and short in the mountains. It is better to have taller branches and short and dense needles to facilitate potting and shaping in the future.

After excavation, it should be cultivated in time, and all needles should be cut in half before planting to reduce evaporation. It is advisable to choose a place with sufficient sunlight, good ventilation, and relatively poor soil for cultivation.

Control water and nutrients. Use reed curtains for proper shade in hot summer, uncover them late and cover them early, and spray water 1 to 2 times a day to keep the surface soil moist. After 2 years of cultivation in the ground, it will become a good bonsai material.

(3) Potting process

Pot selection: Huangshan pine has a chic and elegant posture, ancient wildness, and natural change. Therefore, it is generally suitable to choose purple sand pottery with simple shape and deep color. Basins are usually shallow basins. The shape of the basin depends on the shape of the tree. For example, the straight-stem type, double-stem type, slant-stem type, etc. should choose a rectangular or oval basin; the curved-stem type can choose a crabapple-shaped or manger basin; the cliff-type can use a deep thousand-tube basin or Medium-deep square or round pots; large bonsais can use alum stone, marble and other chiseled stone pots; small bonsais can also use glazed pottery pots.

Soil used: Huangshan pine is suitable for acidic sandy loam with a pH value between 4.5 and 5.5. It also grows well in neutral soil or slightly acidic soil. It is best to use mountain soil or humus soil for potted plants, mixed with 30 to 40% of sand as culture soil.

Planting: The most suitable months for planting Huangshan pine are from March to April, but they can also be planted after autumn.

You need to bring soil balls with you when transplanting to help the pots survive as soon as possible. Before planting, you should check whether there are damaged roots, rotten roots and overly long taproots. If any, they must be cut off and apply wax or paint to the wounds to prevent rosin from overflowing. Pines should avoid getting wet, so the bottom of the basin must be filled with broken tiles or charcoal and covered with a layer of coarse sand. The deep thousand-tube basin can be filled to a height of 13 cm to facilitate ventilation and drainage. For shallow basins, use plastic gauze to pad the basin holes. When planting, use dry soil, fully fill the soil at the roots, shake the pot, press it firmly with a bamboo skewer, cover it with moss, water it once with water, and place it in a semi-shady place. After about 10 days, Then gradually move it to a sunny place, but do not move it to strong light at once.

(4) Posture shaping technology

Processing: The posture shaping of Huangshan pine is mainly climbing, supplemented by pruning. Climbing can be done with brown wire or metal wire. Metal wire is the most convenient and easy to master, but care must be taken to remove it in time after shaping to avoid "wire trapping" and damage to the branches.

Huangshan pine is generally pruned in conjunction with the upper pot.

According to the needs of the future tree shape, remove the free branches, cross branches, parallel branches and redundant branches. According to the needs of the shape, first climb the main trunk, and then hang it appropriately. The branches only need to be processed simply and don't need to be too detailed. They will be shaped and processed year by year in the future.

Huangshan pine tree stumps excavated from the mountains can be potted and processed after being planted in the ground for 1 to 2 years. It can also be cultivated in the open field, and it can be shaped and processed once a year. In the second year, it can be dug up and cut off the main root, and then replanted in the ground. Then adjust the shape and posture to promote the development of multiple lateral roots. After a few years, it can be placed in a pot to take shape and be viewed.

Pruning and pruning of Mount Huangshan pine should be done in late winter and early spring, when it is the dormant period.

It is best to perform climbing modeling during the growth period, when the sap flows and the branches are soft, making it easy to bend and tie.

Tree shape: The shape of Huangshan pine bonsai is naturally changeable, strong and handsome, and has the characteristics of typical pine trees. It can be made into straight dry type, inclined dry type, horizontal dry type, curved dry type and cliff type.

The shape requirements can refer to the shape of black pine. It does not have to be cut and tied into pieces. The growth of B branches and leaves can be controlled by the topping method, that is, by picking off 12 of the newly sprouted buds every spring.

(5) Maintenance and management

Placement: Huangshan pine is a light-loving tree species. Under full sunlight, the side branches are neatly whorled, the needles are straight, dark green and shiny. Therefore, it should be placed in a sunny, relatively humid and ventilated environment. When the temperature is high in midsummer, it can be properly shaded.

It can be placed outdoors in winter. It is best to bury the small bonsai in the pot in the ground facing the sun and leeward, with only the branches exposed. If you move it indoors for the winter, you must pay attention to ventilation and the temperature should not be too high, otherwise it will affect the growth after spring.

Watering: Huangshan pine likes dryness and hates moisture. The pot soil should be slightly dry. Do not water too much. It must be completely dry before watering. Needles can be sprayed with water frequently to facilitate growth. Water should be deducted appropriately during the peak growth seasons of spring and summer to keep the needles short and increase the beauty.

Fertilization: Mount Huangshan pine does not like fertilizer very much. Too much fertilizer can easily damage the roots. During the peak growth season of late spring and early summer every year, shells such as snails, clams, and river mussels can be broken and boiled for 1 hour. After cooling, use the water. If you want to improve soil pH, you can apply alum fertilizer water. After autumn and before winter, apply fermented cake crumbs again.

Pruning: Pruning of Huangshan pine is mainly done by picking buds. It is done between March and April every year when the new buds have not yet sprouted needles. Generally, about 12cm of the top buds are picked off. The number of buds to pick can be determined based on the shape of the tree and future styling needs. If the branches do not need to grow, all the terminal buds can be removed. If the branches are weak and need to grow, you can pick less or not at all.

In addition, branches and leaves that affect the aesthetic appearance can be pruned during the winter dormancy period. If the wounds after pruning encounter rosin overflow, they can be sealed with wax or paint.

Repotting: Repotting of Mount Huangshan pine should be done every 3 to 5 years, preferably between February and March.

If it is carried out in a greenhouse, it can be carried out in advance to January.

Autumn is also possible, but

it is not as good as spring. When repotting, keep 13% of the soil, organize the root system, cut off rotten roots, dead roots and long roots that affect the upper pot, and then plant according to the technical requirements of the upper pot. You can also prune branches and leaves at the same time.

Pest and disease control: The main diseases of Huangshan pine include pine oak rust, pine needle rust, leaf blight, etc.; pests include pine stem borer, pine black sawfly, aphids, scale insects, red spider mites, etc.

Pine oak rust and pine needle rust can be controlled by spraying with 300 times of 65% wettable iron or zinc; leaf blight can be controlled with 1:1:100~200 (copper sulfate: quicklime: water) Bordeaux Liquid spray to prevent disease. Pests such as pine stem borer and black sawfly can be controlled by spraying with 50% borer-killing emulsifiable concentrate or 50% Marathon emulsion with a concentration of 1500 to 2000 times.