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China using aerial chichi for propagation has a long tradition. In places
like Chengdu, Sichuan Province, the Taoist priests cut down these stalactite-like
branches from the bases and planted them in pots. Eventually they grew
into miniature plants (penjing) as commercial ornamentals. This practice
has been carried on for generations.
An old Chinese legend: It
is said that when Emperor Kao Tsung moved from Kaifeng in the north to
Nanking and Hangchow in the south in 1127, the imperial cavalcade crossed
the Yangtze River into southern Kiangsu. Coming to a town called Chen I,
near the city Kunshan between Soochow and Shanghai, an official named Kung
I, a native of the northern capital Kaifeng, picked a branch of a Ginkgo,
stuck it into the ground and prayed that if the branch lived, he would
settle there.
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great penjing master, Hu Yunhua, published a photo of a ‘stalactite’ Ginkgo
penjing in 1987, titled ‘Single Peak Piercing the Clouds’ to which he added:
'This
penjing created by an artist of the Sichuan School displays a highly unusual
shape. The trunk resembles stalactite, a mineral formed through limestone
corrosion. No human effort could possibly sculpture this kind of bole.
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. Basal chichi forming is stimulated by conditions of continuous stress over a long period of time. Examples can be found on the Sumter plantation in South Carolina where about 10 million Ginkgo trees are cultivated for the leaf production. Trees of about 5 years old are cut back to near ground level and many are pushed over and partially uprooted by the harvesting equipment. In this way you may create multitrunked Ginkgo bonsai that mimic the form of trees growing naturally on steep, eroding mountain slopes. With proper training such “basal chichi” bonsai can develop into a “forest” of stems, like a group planting of seedlings but with a more rugged, individualistic appearance. * More about Ginkgo chichi bonsai in: Del Tredici P, Ginkgo chichi in nature, legend & cultivation, International Bonsai - 25, no.4, 1993. About chichi you can read more on my Tree-page. |
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China HeMeng |
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China HeMeng |
Wagashi art: Ginkgo 'bonsai' Japan 2007 |
Mark Fields |
Please email me your Ginkgo bonsai information!!
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Reactions
from readers and videos
Ginkgo
bonsai do well with leaf trimming. Here in Washington State, USA
I leaf trim anytime from last week of May to first week of June (usually
June). Leaf trimming causes a new set of smaller leaves to grow.
Leaf trim every leaf on the tree. Cut the leaf stem half way between the
base of the leaf and stem attachment. Leave the half stem on the tree.
It will dry and fall off. - Tom Phelan
Video
Ginkgo bonsai nursery in China
This video shows a bonsai nursery in China
that grows Ginkgo bonsai trees.
You can see stunning examples of Ginkgo trees.
Also a demonstration of pruning, grafting and more.
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![]() Dwarf (Penjing) Ginkgo, China
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please visit my YouTube channel with many videos. |