Prunus incisa ‘Kojo-no-mai’
Kojo-no-mai is a small shrub/trees it has crocked branches and delicate white flowers with pink centres which appear to hang like lanterns or butterflies from the bottom of branches. It has fragile thin white flaky, to deeply fissured brown bark, the leaves are pale green in summer, orangy yellow in autumn, and fruits are black, edible but too small.
Styles and Sizes: They make delightful, small to medium bonsai in almost any style of bonsai.
Position: Loves a full sun aspect, especially if you would like it to flower profusely. Any extraordinarily hardy and tolerant species.
Watering: It loves it moisture but deteriorates rapidly in water-logged soils. Water thoroughly early morning and allow the soil surface to dry out before watering again.
Feeding: Feed with an organic fertiliser, every two weeks with a liquid feed or every two months if using a pelletised feed.
Repotting: It grows in moist, fertile soils so repoting every year can be beneficial. Best repot in autumn after flowering and fruiting. Use a free-draining soil, of loam, sharp sand and well-mulched bark in equal parts. Alternatively, you can use Akadama and pumice in a ratio of 2:1 by volume.
Pruning: New shoots should be cut back to 3 later shoots, or active buds after 5-7 leaves have formed.
Wiring: Shaping is primarily done with the ‘clip and grow’ method of pruning, and wiring is not necessary. If needed it can be wired in autumn but removed before branches start to swell in early summer.
Buy species: You can find Kojo-no-mai Cherries on amazon.co.uk