Japanese cherry sakura: cultivation and care. Growing Miniature Japanese Sakura Bonsai Sakura Tree Propagation

Although in the CIS countries this tree does not grow in natural conditions, however, everyone knows about it, since they don’t pay attention to cherry blossoms impossible. Pink flower petals captivate not only the inhabitants of Japan and China, but also many Europeans, which is why the spread of sakura is connected. Today we will find out how to plant sakura, what this tree is, and also talk about caring for the plant.

What does it look like

Few people know that sakura is a “sister”, namely - finely serrated cherry.

When talking about what sakura looks like, it’s worth imagining not a copy of ours, but tall tree with a spreading crown, which reaches an average height of 8 meters. Has leaves oval shape, with teeth on the edges, which are painted in a green glossy color (have a bronze tint). The bark is smooth, covered with thin cracks.

An interesting thing is that sakura wood contains a lot of resin, so the shoots are very flexible.

When and how does it bloom

If you've ever been into Japanese folklore, then you may have noticed that cherry blossoms are abundant during the winter holidays. The tree begins to bloom in January, but flowering does not occur evenly, but from South to North.

At the same time, it is difficult to say when the plant will begin to bloom. middle lane, since it depends not only on weather conditions, but also on variation. There are species that bloom in late, winter, early or closer to June.

Let's talk about flowering. Sakura blooms incredibly beautiful pink flowers. About 7–9 inflorescences are formed on each brush, which completely cover the shoot. As a result, it seems that the tree turns into a huge ball.
Speaking about how long sakura blooms, it is worth noting that each flower lives no more than 10 days, after which it withers and crumbles. Re-formation of buds does not occur, so 1.5 weeks is the maximum flowering period.

Breeders bred interesting views, which throw out huge buds with 45–50 petals. From the outside it may seem that the tree was decorated with buds.

How to choose seedlings when purchasing

When choosing a seedling, you must pay attention to winter-hardy varieties. The whole problem with growing a tree is precisely that it cannot survive our frosts. Therefore, preference should be given to Sakhalinskaya, which acclimatizes well.

You should purchase a seedling at the end, when the tree has already shed its leaves. The height of the annual plant should be 65-75 cm. However, planting is carried out only in the spring (April), otherwise the fragile seedling will die over the winter, not taking root in a new place in such a short time. Before this, you can place the tree in the cellar or directly in the living room, planting it in big pot or a bucket.

Choosing a landing site

To grow sakura in the middle zone you need choose the right place in or on the infield. If you plant a beauty “as it turns out,” then the tree may wither away, even drying up.

So, we select the southwestern slope of a small hill and plant a young tree. If you plant it on the south side, the tree will suffer greatly from temperature changes. But if the place is in a lowland, then get ready for the sakura to dry out quickly.

Important! The slope should be gentle, no more than 10˚.

It is also worth making sure that sunlight not blocked by buildings, otherwise the tree will begin to stretch and deform greatly, as if it lacks minerals.

The soil. Be sure to check, since sakura grows in soil with a neutral reaction. The deviation should be insignificant. Also make sure that the substrate is well-drained and provide drainage before planting. Light loamy soil is preferred.

Step-by-step process of planting seedlings

Now let's take a closer look at planting sakura.

Let's start with digging a hole. We will need a hole with a diameter of 45 cm. Hole, separate the upper fertile layer from the lower one. We won't need the bottom one, but we'll use the top one for planting.

Mix in equal proportion humus, and upper layer soil that we received after digging the hole. If the mixture is not enough, then add purchased soil or take soil from a nearby field.

Close up in trunk circle you need not only or, but also “mineral water”. The tree requires and, which can be added either individually or in pairs using.
If it is poor, then once a year you need to add up to 10 kg of humus and up to 15 g (meaning the total weight of all elements).

If the substrate has average values, then 5 kg of organic matter and 8 g of mineral water will be sufficient.

Important! Do not use fertilizers that can strongly acidify the soil.

Trimming

The formation of the crown and the removal of dry, diseased and frozen branches should be done only before sap flow begins, in order to avoid the appearance of gum formation (resin secretion).

In this case, you cannot use film or any material that does not allow oxygen to pass through.

Did you know? In many Japanese cities, the first day of work and school coincides with the cherry blossoms, so this crop is often planted near educational institutions.

Diseases and pests: prevention and treatment

Even if you follow all the rules for caring for a tree, it is not a fact that it will not get sick or be occupied by pests, since it is impossible to recreate ideal conditions for development in the middle zone it is very problematic and many factors do not depend on you. Therefore, we will next talk about how to deal with diseases and pests of sakura.

Sakura is a generalized name for some species of Rosaceae, mainly cherry, which attract the attention of gardeners more flowering, rather than the harvest. Sakura bonsai captivates with its even greater decorativeness against the backdrop of subminiature - mature tree barely reaches 25-30 cm, but blooms “like the real thing.” They also grow taller copies of ordinary trees, up to one and a half meters, which are no less impressive, but not very suitable for indoor conditions.

Features of cultivation

The literal translation of “bonsai” means “grown on a tray.” This is not classified as technology, because bonsai technique is a real art. It is not enough to grow a tree in a pot; you also need to preserve all its proportions and natural forms.

Sakura is grown in bonsai style in compliance with the following requirements:

• the trunk should be strong, the roots at its base should be clearly defined;
• all branches must have a clear, graphic outline;
• the tree retains all the characteristics of its species and genus;
• pay special attention to the pot - it should not attract attention with excessive brightness of color, unusual shape etc.;
• the tree and the pot are a single compositional whole.

In addition to compliance with the requirements, there are growing features that cannot be ignored:

1. A strong trunk is formed in the first two years, so the pot is selected slightly larger than for ordinary plants.
2. Every year in the spring a replanting is required, during which the roots are “revised” and the excess ones are cut out.

In general, caring for bonsai sakura requires more time than caring for an ordinary indoor plant - constant compliance with the conditions of maintenance (temperature, humidity), giving the tree the desired shape and other nuances, which we will discuss below.

Seed preparation

The process of growing sakura from seeds is quite complex and time-consuming. This is explained, first of all, by the low percentage of germination - about 20.

For home bonsai, select seeds of species with small foliage.

Growing the actual tree, which looks like a real one, only many times smaller, takes from 10 to 15 years - the same as it takes to garden tree. Before planting sakura bonsai seeds, they are pre-treated:

1. Stratify in a bag of wet sand and in the refrigerator for 2-3 months. The temperature of the compartment where the seeds are stored should be +4-5°C.
2. 2-3 days before sowing, the seeds are soaked in warm water, slightly above room temperature.
3. Scarify them.
4. Immediately before sowing, the seeds are treated with fungicides.

Landing rules

It is best to plant bonsai sakura seeds in the spring, in mid-April.

To successfully germinate seeds at home, the soil is made up of coarse sand, sphagnum or vermiculite. Sand is pre-disinfected with potassium permanganate, calcination or steaming. There are no special requirements for the container for seed germination: a wide, shallow plastic container with drainage holes. Algorithm for planting seeds at home:

• the substrate is moistened;
• make shallow (0.5 cm) grooves at a distance of 3 cm from each other;
• lay out the seeds in increments of 2.5-3 cm;
• covered with disinfected fine sand (layer thickness about 1 cm);
• Cover the container with glass and cling film.

The container with the crops is kept on a light windowsill at a low (5-10°C) temperature.

Before emergence, seedlings are provided with:

• soil moisture;
• sufficient illumination;
• gradual increase in temperature (by 1-2°C per day).

If all conditions are met, seedlings will appear within 10-15 days. They are immediately picked off. Another option for planting seeds is possible. It provides for an exception from pre-treatment stratification. Already sown seeds are exposed to the cold.

Picking

The first picking is carried out in the cotyledon leaf stage. From a common seedling container, tiny sprouts are planted in separate small cups, up to 100 ml, with drainage holes. The substrate is made up of 7 parts turf soil, 3 parts sand and 1 part humus. During transplantation, the root is shortened by a third to speed up the appearance of lateral branches.

The seedlings are replanted for the second time no earlier than after 2 months. after the first pick. In this case, the main root is pinched to 2/3 of its length; the container for planting is chosen to be shallow in order to stimulate the development of lateral roots. Experienced gardeners recommend deepening the sprouts slightly in relation to the previous planting. The third and subsequent pickings are carried out as the sakura grows, but not more than once every 2 months, otherwise the trees will weaken and die. Optimal timing determined by the ratio of the height of the seedling and the pot - 2:1. As soon as the seedlings have outgrown, they are replanted, simultaneously shortening all the roots.

Frequent transplants are needed only in the first 2-3 years of the tree’s life, while winter period they are not disturbed so as not to provoke diseases of the root system.

Subtleties of care

Bonsai sakura is capricious, like Small child, she requires daily care:

1. Watering - half a glass (100 ml) of water daily in summer, every 2-3 days in winter, the need for the procedure is assessed by the condition of the soil.
2. Good bright lighting.
3. Regular ventilation of the room, drafts are unacceptable.
4. Transplantation is carried out annually in the spring, as soon as the tree begins to wake up after winter. The optimal diameter of pots for bonsai sakura is 20 cm, which is enough for the tree. However, its roots grow throughout life, so when replanting they are pruned each time, this measure slows down the growth of sakura in height.

Since the sakura bonsai tree has a limited volume, it is fed every 20-30 days depending on the growing season - more often in summer, once a month in winter. Trees that are more than 12 years old are fed monthly. In spring, the plant requires more nitrogen; fertilizer is selected for it with N-P-K ratio 12-6-6. Nitroammophoska (10-10-10) is suitable for summer. In winter, the main elements should be in the proportion 3-10-10.

During the formation of buds in the plant and during flowering, complexes with a higher potassium content (6-6-12) are selected.

Making the right shape

Sakura bonsai has no canonical forms; it is formed at your own discretion: straight, curved up or down, lush or 2-3 branches. The formation of a tree begins literally from the first days. The shape of the trunk is given using a special wire, aluminum with copper coating. It is soft, flexible and easy to work with.

The trunk is fixed with wire in winter or in early spring, when the tree sheds its leaves and its entire “skeleton” is clearly visible. The wire corset is left in place for no more than three months, after which it is removed. To avoid damaging the branches, use wire cutters to cut the wire into pieces. The tree is wrapped with wire with a reserve, without compressing the trunk - it will have to grow in width.

Side branches and shoots are pruned at the end of flowering. New shoots growing from the outer buds will go in a different direction, giving the branches a certain natural curvature.

The branches should not intertwine; each one is given its own direction. Otherwise, the sakura will lack light and air.

The top is cut off when the sakura grows to 30 cm. After this procedure, it will practically not gain height, the crown will become more spreading, the trunk will become thicker. Sometimes, to slow down upward growth, ring-shaped cuts are made on the trunk. This is a delicate operation, painful for the tree; to carry it out, it is better to contact a specialist in growing bonsai crops.

Growing Japanese cherry bonsai from seeds requires a lot of work and patience: the tree grows slowly. But such plants fit perfectly into any interior - home, office. At proper care they live for a very long time, giving pleasure and fulfilling the typical indoor plants function - air purification.

Sakura bonsai can reach large sizes in natural conditions. With proper care, it will fit in a small pot, while remaining an exact copy Japanese cherry. Sakura is a recognized symbol East Asia, the flowering of which is accompanied by national holidays. It is possible to grow a reduced reproduction of such a tree at home, but this process is long and painstaking.

Description of the variety

Sakura is appreciated for unusual flowers, in bonsai they reach 1 cm in diameter. In nature they are bright pink, but you can buy artificially bred varieties with red, green, purple and other colors. Individual flowers are collected in inflorescences.

How to grow a tree from seeds

Sakura bonsai seeds can be purchased in special stores. It is better to take more seeds, because the percentage of their germination and survival rate is quite low. You need to be prepared for the fact that only 1-2 seeds out of 10 will turn into full-fledged trees. There is a certain algorithm for preparing and planting sakura bonsai at home:

1. The seeds are scarified (pricked) to speed up the germination process. The day before sowing, they should be placed in water at room temperature.
2. Next, the seeds are placed in slightly moistened soil, deepening by 0.5 - 1 cm.
3. To germinate, sakura bonsai seeds must undergo stratification, which will imitate natural winter conditions. The container is covered with film and placed in the refrigerator for 2 months.
4. After this time, the seeds continue to germinate at room temperature and good lighting, maintaining constant soil moisture.

It is worth consulting with the seller on how to grow sakura bonsai from seeds. Different varieties have their own preferences regarding soil, fertilizing or watering regime. Along with the seeds, you need to purchase all the necessary equipment and learn in advance about the rules for caring for dwarf trees.

Bonsai care rules

Those who have managed to grow a full-fledged bonsai tree at home admit that the plant is very capricious and requires daily care. Special attention allocated to the irrigation regime. In summer, bonsai needs half a glass of water a day, otherwise it can quickly die from drought. IN winter time You can water it less often. Equally important is the lighting in the room. Bonsai pots are located in the brightest areas, protected from drafts.

Another way to control the plant's growth is to make horizontal cuts along the bark. They will release sap, which will weaken the bonsai and leave it dwarfed.

How to grow bonsai - video

Japanese sakura tree. Features, planting and care

Sakura is ornamental plant, a close relative of our cherry (plum subfamily, species - finely serrated cherry). This tree does not bear fruit; it is grown for flowering. Sakura grow on the territory of the Korean Peninsula, China, and the Himalayan Mountains, but the largest number of both the trees themselves and their varieties grow on the Japanese islands.

Sakura feels very good in the neighborhood with her relatives. Often, parallel rows of cherry blossoms are intertwined with branches to form a kind of arch. During the flowering period, the flowering arch makes an indelible impression. The sakura tree grows up to about 8 meters (although there are specimens over 20 meters high).

What does sakura look like?

Bark of tree smooth, with small horizontal cracks. The color of the bark is gray, with shades of green or red. Sakura wood is very elastic due to high content resin. Sakura leaves are oblong in shape with serrated edges. During the flowering period, tree branches are covered mainly with white or pink flowers.

Sakura flower. Usually, sakura flowers consist of five double petals, but in Japan varieties have been bred with flowers with up to fifty petals with a diameter of about 6 centimeters - which makes them look like peony flowers. There are sakura flowers different color: Most often these are white and pink, but there are flowers in yellow, red and even green.

Imagine how sakura blossoms. She, like our cherries, bloom before leaves appear, and therefore it seems that the dead branches are covered with luxurious flowers (due to which associations with rebirth and renewal arise). Some types of sakura do bear fruit; sakura berries are called “sakurambo”.

The fruits resemble miniature cherry, have the same color. The bone is large, covered thin layer pulp having a strongly sour taste. Sakurambo are sold in special miniature boxes for very high price. No other tree looks like what sakura looks like during the flowering period. The flowering time depends on the location of the tree and its type.

When does sakura bloom?

Sakura trees, growing on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, bloom in January. There are varieties of sakura that bloom in the winter months, others bloom in late spring, and there is a variety that begins to bloom in late autumn. How long sakura blooms depends on weather conditions - the cooler it is, the longer it blooms. Rainy and windy weather greatly reduces flowering time.

Is sakura a cherry or a plum?

Sakura is a close relative of both cherry and plum trees, and is also related to pear, peach and apple trees. All of them belong to the plum subfamily (Prunus), the Rosaceae family.

Sakura - types

Sakura is represented by 16 species, and 400 hybrid varieties. The following types of sakura include:

• Small serrated cherry . The height of the tree is about eight meters, they bloom large flowers;
• Short-bristled cherry . Trees up to 10 meters in height, small blooms pink flowers;
• Sakhalin cherry . Trees up to 12 meters, red leaves, blooms with small white-pink flowers. Foxes and flowers open in sync;
• Ferruginous cherry . A shrub plant no more than 150 centimeters high. Blooms with white and pink flowers.

Thus, the most common varieties of sakura are someyoshino ( distinguishing feature very large white flowers) and shidarezakura (pink flowers).

Growing sakura

In order to grow sakura from seedling You should adhere to a number of rules and recommendations:

Sakura should be planted at higher elevations. They prefer non-acidic soil; drainage is a must. In the first years after planting, sakura needs to be wrapped for the winter. negative temperatures. If cultivated varieties of sakura are propagated by cuttings and grafting, then wild varieties are propagated by seeds. So, in principle, you can grow sakura from seeds at home.

Seeds should be sown in summer as soon as they are collected. Regardless of the method of planting sakura, you should care for it as follows:

• Additional watering is important during flowering and leaf formation;
• It is necessary to regularly feed plants in the spring with nitrogen and potassium containing fertilizers. If there is insufficient feeding, trees stop growing and developing;
• at the end of summer, trees need to be fed with potassium and phosphorus containing fertilizers;
• pruning and crown formation should be done in early spring, before the process of sap movement begins.

Sakura the most susceptible to fungal infections, in particular – coccomycosis. Treatment and prevention are carried out only a few weeks after the end of cherry blossoms. During the flowering period, you cannot spray the tree - this will kill the bees that pollinate the trees.

Also, the tree may be subject to aphid invasion; in order to prevent aphids from getting on the sakura, the trunk should be treated with ordinary petroleum jelly (this will prevent ants carrying aphids from climbing the tree). In general, sakura at home is very beautiful and not very difficult.

Sakura is the common name for certain types of cherry trees. Their harvest is meager, but during flowering the plants amaze with their beauty. A guest from Japan can be grown from seeds in domestic gardens. home tree may have the size of an ordinary sakura or be its copy several tens of centimeters high. Gardeners share their experiences, photos and video recommendations on how to avoid mistakes and successfully go through the long journey of growing a tree.

Sakura from seeds: preparation for planting

The basis for growing any crop is high-quality seed material. Sakura seeds can be bought in specialized retail outlets. Seed germination is poor - no more than 20%. On this score, gardeners advise:

• buy more material;
• use products different manufacturers to determine who has better quality.

Sakura seeds

The process of planting a tree requires the following actions:

1. Perform stratification. For seeds, natural winter weather should be imitated. To do this, put them in a bag of wet sand and place them in the warmest compartment of the refrigerator. The material should be stored at a temperature of +4...+5 °C for at least 2-3 months.
2. A couple of days before planting, soak the seeds for a day in lukewarm water.
3. To help seedlings break through the seed coat, scratch or puncture outer layer mechanically.

Sakura seeds are planted in calcined or otherwise disinfected coarse sand. This substrate is most suitable for germinating seeds and, in addition, will protect the crop from diseases. An alternative to sand is moss or vermiculite. Use a wide and shallow container as a pot. Be sure to have drainage holes.

How to plant and pick sakura at home

Proper planting is half the success of future sakura growing:

• treat the seeds with a fungicide;
• moisten the substrate;
• deepen the seeds half a centimeter into the grooves made (there should be at least 3 cm between them);
• cover the planting with a thin layer of fine-grained sand;
• cover the pot with film or glass;
• leave at a temperature of +5…10 °C.

Seedlings should appear in 1.5-2 weeks. Until this point, care consists of maintaining the top layer of soil in a moist state, ensuring large quantity light, gradually raising the temperature to room level. When shoots appear, plant them in separate pots. The distance between seeded seedlings should not be more than 10 cm if you move them to a new common container.

Sakura blossom

Picking - important condition normal development of sakura. Repeated transplants help strengthen the root system. Sakura seedlings are left untouched only in the cold season. They are placed in a cool, shaded room until spring. Key moment in picking grown seedlings - selecting new pots. The gardener has two options:

• leave the crop to grow in a cramped container and form a bonsai version of the tree;
• move it to deeper and wider pots and prepare the tree for the garden.

Features of tree care

Sakura varieties have many differences in cultivation techniques. To grow bonsai sakura, the roots are shortened every season, and horizontal cuts are made on the bark, right on the trunk. For a garden tree, these methods are irrelevant - you form a seedling in a room, and then transplant it into open ground.

The rules for caring for a specific variety differ. common feature- trees are capricious and require daily attention. The tree needs soil enriched with humus, potassium, and nitrogen. During the season, sakura is watered with half a glass per day, in winter - less often. It is important for the plant good lighting and absence of drafts.

Sakura bonsai

The secret of the beauty of sakura is not only in large and abundant flowers, but also in the aristocratically built crown. It can be formed starting from 2-3 years of age of the plant. In the natural and miniature versions, the branches are arranged according to the same pattern. The crown may imply a straight trunk, a bend in the spirit of centuries-old Japanese cherry blossoms or widely spread branches.

Advice. To create a wide crown, prune the main shoot when you think it is tall enough. You can also trim the side shoots to correct their direction.

How to prune bonsai sakura correctly

To grow miniature crops, experts use various tricks and techniques. The goal is to make even a young tree look like a hundred-year-old tree. For this:

1. Expose some of the roots by removing a small layer at the base of the trunk. It should be thick. To do this, regularly remove all vertically growing shoots.
2. The barrel should not be too long. Cut off part of the root at its base. When replanting, deepen the cutting area into the ground. Over time, new roots will grow on it. Then the tree can be picked again, removing the old rhizome.
3. The heaviest branch of the tree will be the bottom one. Which shoot to leave for its formation - decide based on the compositional idea.
4. For a broom-shaped crown, prune vertically growing branches as much as possible. For vertical - on the contrary, protect vertical branches. In this case, only horizontal ones are cut.

The bonsai tree needs all these manipulations constantly. Otherwise it will lose its shape. The gardener's goal is to maximize decorative effect from sakura. If you adhere to cultivation technology, provide the plant with a little care and attention every day, then the Japanese guest will delight you with lush, large and bright color every spring.

Growing bonsai: video