wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. – The soil it grows in can be used to grow other plants, thus making it a nurse plant. Image caption: Pruning – (Clump style) Define the stems you want to develop into branches by nipping off leaves and leaf buds along the stems , along the underside of branches. ", "Exactly what I was looking for. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. The above ground and underground portions of your bonsai tree will need to be kept in relative proportion. % of people told us that this article helped them. What is the best way to prune? These would include branches that cross each other, those that grow at very sharp angles, and those that grow across the trunk and interrupt its continuous line. My golden gate tree has some yellow leaves. Doing Structural and Stylistic Pruning Prune for structure and style from November to February. Cut the branch off with a knife, making the cut even with the surface of the trunk. Spekboom is indigenous to South Africa. Pretty darn amazing! In nature, the species grows to 13 feet in height, but it is generally much smaller under cultivation. Remove large leaves to open the plant and allow light to reach inner stems where you want new, smaller leaves to grow. Help! Portulacaria (Port-yoo-luh-CARE-ee-ah) is a small genus of upright, semi-woody succulents indigenous to South Africa.The stems are thick, succulent and brown to burgundy, with small, round jade green leaves. The smooth, brownish-gray trunk is very thick and heavily branched with a profusion of bright green succulent leaves. I water it once every eight to 10 days. I water my bonsai every two days. Spekboom can tolerate cold temperatures as well as extreme heat. Spekboom is a water-wise plant that’s ideal for low … taken in spring or summer, allowing the cut portions to dry and callus for a couple of days before putting in the rooting medium. wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. The goal of maintenance pruning is to maintain and refine the shape of a tree. Like most succulents, elephant bush is easy to reproduce from cuttings. By using our site, you agree to our. Your site informed me that, "It does help. Do not dig into the trunk when taking the cutting. Remove all but two to four of the leaves near the top of the cutting. It truly is a magnificent plant. In this case, 92% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. It varies from species to species. This article has been viewed 110,815 times. If you want some thin branches to thicken, then don't trim them. "I received a ficus bonsai as a gift. Place the cut end of the branch halfway in a small container filled with 2 parts sand and 1 part potting soil. All clippings can be turned into new trees – Spekboom forms it’s own micro-climate under its protective thicket 08/10/2020 at 7:43 pm. Do not train your tree like a shrub, you have to see the branch structure by creating empty spaces. Simply twist the stem to remove it from the main branch or cut it with a very sharp, sanitized blade. For example, leave branches in place on thinner areas of the trunk to help thicken it. Approved. Hi Noreen – It did that over time. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/c\/c2\/Trim-a-Bonsai-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Trim-a-Bonsai-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/c\/c2\/Trim-a-Bonsai-Step-1.jpg\/aid1914258-v4-728px-Trim-a-Bonsai-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"