How to grow a cannabis bonsai tree

Reading Time 6 minutes

 

Welcome back to our blog Pevgrow! Today I’m going to focus this article on trying to enlighten you on how to make your own marijuana bonsai tree. Yes! You got it right! Mr. Miyagi would be proud of you, Let’s go Daniel San!👉

The Bonsai is an art that requires a lot of patience and surgeon’s pulse to maintain gracefully a plant inside a very small cultivation space that has been an inspiration to be able to grow cannabis in very confined spaces. More concretely, the culture of cannabis bonsai trees is a perfect option for the conservation of mother plants in a very small culture cabinet. Do you want to know more, right? Stay with me! 🤗🤫

 

 

☕ Why grow a cannabis bonsai?

 

 

Professional marijuana growers, when they find an outstanding plant, keep it as a mother plant in a vegetative state, in order to take from it the clones they need. The problem comes when we want to keep many moms at 18 hours, since they do not stop growing, invading the entire cultivation space.

So, doing marijuana bonsai you can keep your favorite genetics in the same way but in a much smaller space, didn’t you think about it? 🤗

I have a small cabinet where I gather all the mother plants I select, and the truth is that I spoil them as if they were my own children. This way you can collect the best cannabic genetics that you find or exchange in a reduced space. We’ve come to have up to 27 different genetics in a space of 3x3ft (1 M. x 1 M.). What do you think? 🌞

 

 

 

📲 Basic aspects for bonsai cultivation

 

Before starting to grow your bonsai cultivation, I’m going to give you some previous guidelines that you must know in order to get everything right.

First of all, the size of the pots should range between 0,08 and 0,5 US gal (0,3-2 liters), ensuring that they do not get out of control and have more autonomy, and of course you can buy them at the best price in our online Growshop.

Another factor to take into account is the substrate, which ideally is one like All Mix or similar, i.e. with many nutrients. This is important because one of the biggest problems that a bonsai faces is the accumulation of salts. At first it’s not obvious, while the roots have clean substrate they develop perfectly but, as time goes by, the use of enzymes becomes indispensable and the flowerpot gets smaller, so you only have 2 options, either transplanting or pruning roots.

The type of lighting is very important, it is recommended that you use low-energy bulbs with an output of between 125 and 200W. LEDs can also be a good option, as long as they are not very powerful. A minimum of power is necessary so that plants in a vegetative state do not start to flower. Buy the best lighting systems in our growshop online by clicking here.

 

 

💻 How to grow a cannabis bonsai step by step

 

 

It all starts by carefully selecting the cannabis cuttings, which may be a selection of yours or a known elite clone. Using cuttings, the resulting plants are more branched than stretched, which makes miniaturization easier, so we don’t recommend doing it with seeds.

Once you have selected the cuttings you are going to use, transplant to a small pot from 0,08 to 0,1 US gal (0,3 to 0,5 liters). As soon as you notice that it begins to grow, the first apical pruning or F.I.M. (this post interests you) should be done to encourage early branching. This will slow down vertical development and promote horizontal growth.

 

 

🎯 Training to shape a bonsai

 

 

If you still find that the vertical growth does not stop, you should use what is known as a tutoring system, ie, take the growth of the plant wherever you want using wire for bonsai, trying to bend the branches in the direction of the ground, forcing its horizontal development.

Some growers make small holes on the top of the pot, where they put the wire to guide the branches to the bottom of the plant, it can be a good solution.

A good method would be to make a hole at the top of each side of the pot, and guide the 4 lowest branches of the cuttings in each direction. This way we promote the penetration of light and aeration even in the lower parts of the plant.

 

 

It is very important that during the growth you watch the plant and you’ll need to cut some sprouts, so that the light can enter and avoid the appearance of mold and other insects that could damage it. Even so, I recommend that, from the beginning, you use a good phytosanitary that applied regularly will help you to avoid the appearance of different plagues that can affect your precious cannabis bonsai. It is also interesting to use healing to repair the damage caused by pruning.

You can see it in a much more graphic way in this video and I’m sure you won’t have any doubt!

 

 

 

🎬 Root pruning, root system maintenance

 

 

Once you have the plants in their flowerpots, you will have to keep in good condition their substrate, to do so it is essential to be careful with root growth, the foundation of any marijuana bonsai. Eventually, the roots will have colonized the entire pot, so there could be a problem of root spiralization or asphyxiation that might be lethal for mother plants.

This in turn, causes the water and nutrients retention to be much lower, which is why the only solution will be to transplant the cannabis bonsai to a previously conditioned substrate. To keep the compact form of the marijuana bonsai, it will be mandatory to maintain the same size of flowerpot, therefore, what is necessary to do is to apply a pruning of roots or Root Trimming, that consists in cutting cleanly the edges of the lump, to remove a slice of approximately 0,4-0,8 inches (2-3 cm.), and filling with new earth, managing to get the roots to enjoy again a fresh substrate and with a limited volume of root mass.

Ideally, this root pruning should be done a few days after cutting the offsprings, so root and plant mass will be equitable.

 

 

 

 

👾 How to take care of cannabis bonsai trees?

 

 

Marijuana bonsais can be stored for about two years with virtually no problems, but for that you will have to consider a number of factors that will guarantee its health and therefore its longevity. The biggest problem of keeping mother plants for a long time is that the stems of the cuttings become more and more woody, which makes rooting more difficult and time consuming.

Ideally, mother plant bonsai trees should be renewed every 6 months or 1 year maximum.

 

– In the root system, the base of every plant, careful irrigation is recommended so that root development is adequate and avoiding the appearance of diseases such as Phytium, which arises with a substrate too soaked.

– In terms of lighting, I recommend using a photoperiod of 18 hours of light and 6 hours of darkness, as we want the plant to grow and not bloom. Some users have tested a light cycle of 6/6/6/6, i.e. 6 hours of light, 6 hours of darkness, 6 hours of light and 6 hours of darkness each day, this slows growth, but can stress plants.

– When bonsai tree is already formed, I recommend that you don’t relocate it, since the luminic and environmental conditions can affect it, causing the appearance of stress. Therefore, the ideal is to keep it in a growing cabinet, where you can give it the ideal environmental conditions, temperature, etc.

 

In this article, I have explained you what is a cannabis bonsai and how to grow one step by step, as well as different advices so that its life is as long as possible. I hope it has been helpful to you, and if you liked it by sharing it on social networks you will help this blog keep growing and continue to bring new tips every week for you. Oh! don’t forget that you can leave comments with your experience with cannabis bonsai trees in the comments section, Think Green (Piensa en Verde) Cannalover!😜