What are the most important care of the peach bonsai

Have you ever seen a peach bonsai tree? Do you know if they can be made from this type of fruit tree? From now on we say yes, and that at an ornamental level it looks beautiful.

But it is important to know what are the needs of this tree in its mini format. Shall we help you with it?

Peach bonsai care

The peach tree, with the scientific name Prunus persica L., is native to China, Afghanistan and Iran. It needs a temperate climate, but it can actually adapt well to anyone as long as temperatures don’t drop too much.

It is striking to see it in flower, but even more so with small fruits when you have it in bonsai. Therefore, we are going to give you the keys that you must control to get a good specimen.

location and temperature

We could tell you that you can have the peach bonsai indoors. But the truth is that it would not be a good idea. As the fruit tree that it is, it needs sun. Too much sun. So you will have to locate it outside.

It is true that peach trees do not withstand frost well (in fact, in a normal tree if the temperature falls below 2 degrees it is dead). In the case of the peach bonsai, the ideal is to put it in a place where it gets the most direct sun.

Now, here we must make a subsection. And it is that if it is the first year that you have it, it is possible that it needs, first of all, an adaptation to the climate. If you put it directly in the sun and it comes from an area where it doesn’t burn so much, the leaves will burn and it will suffer.

Therefore, you have to watch where it comes from to know if you have to put it in direct sun (its ideal) or in semi-shade for a while.

pot and substrate

Another peach bonsai care is to choose both a good pot and a good substrate.

In this regard, you must bear in mind that this bonsai needs a soil that mixes a substrate with a neutral pH and also has akadama, pomice, and volcanic rock. The ratio is usually 50, 25 and 25 respectively.

Regarding the pot, always choose one that is wide and low whenever you can. You have to place the little tree in it but, if you want to follow the Japanese tradition, never put it in the center because that place belongs to God and no tree should be there.

Transplant

Before going on to another of the cares of this bonsai, we want to stop you in the transplant since it is related to what you have just read. The transplant will depend a lot on the age of your peach bonsai.

If it is young, it will be in its growth stage, and in that case it is recommended to transplant it once a year.

If it is older, it will be fine if you do it every 2-3 years.

Of course, in any case the transplant must be carried out before spring. Or more specifically, before it blooms. If it does, don’t touch it, you’ll have to wait until the next year because you can stop its development and make it sick.

Another point to take into account is the issue of pruning the roots. In this case, you should cut off the thickest ones, and leave the thin ones. It is a way to prevent the tree from growing too much by having it in bonsai. You don’t have to do this every time you transplant it, in fact, you may do two or more transplants before you even cut the roots. Also, we are talking about something that can be dangerous because the bonsai gets very stressed and could get sick if you don’t take care of it for a while.

Irrigation

There is no doubt that watering is one of the most important care and that it can harm your bonsai. During the winter you will hardly need water, once every two weeks could be enough. But in summer, due to flowering and fruit development, it will need more water (at least once a week).

Now, everything will depend on the weather you have. You have to find the perfect balance so that your bonsai is hydrated without damaging the roots or the tree itself.

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From spring to summer, adding a little fertilizer with the irrigation water is not a bad idea, quite the opposite.

pruning

Both pruning and wiring are two of the most important care for a bonsai because it is what you can use to shape it and make it as beautiful as the images you have seen on the Internet.

Most peach bonsai tend to have a cascading shape. But this is not easy to achieve, and less in a short time. You have to be patient so that, as the years go by, you can shape the branches, pruning those that remain dry or get out of formation, etc.

You also have to remove the crossed and front branches with the aim of leaving the front of the bonsai free.

As for the wiring, you will know that it is used to carry the branches where you want them to go. In other words, it serves as a guide for your design. Always use aluminum or copper wire, which are the ones that can do the least damage to the branches.

If you do not want marks to remain, in addition to applying it more smoothly, you could use some element so that the wire and the branch do not touch. When they are young branches there is no problem, but with the older ones you can find resistance.

Of course, be very careful not to break the branches in your desire to give it a different orientation from the one it has.

Plagues and diseases

Like any fruit tree, pests and diseases can affect it. Mealybugs, spider mites, or problems derived from excess or lack of irrigation and light are some of the most common.

Multiplication

Finally, the subject of the multiplication of the peach tree in bonsai is not achieved as a “normal” tree. In general, a peach tree can be obtained by seeds, grafts or cuttings.

Well, in the case of a bonsai reproduction, you could only do it using seeds or, in very specialized cases, with cuttings from the bonsai itself. The latter is much more complicated and only experts are lucky (and only sometimes) to achieve it.

As you can see, the peach bonsai is not difficult to care for, but it does have some peculiarities that you must keep in mind so that it is healthy. Would you dare to have one?