Enrich your home with a beautiful, exotic rainbow eucalyptus. When the deciduous tree, a symbol of warm Australia, and the Japanese art of bonsai come together, a very extraordinary plant is created that is guaranteed to attract everyone's attention on your terrace or balcony. With the right care, your rainbow eucalyptus will give you a lot of joy as a bonsai.
How to Care for a Rainbow Eucalyptus Bonsai?
How to care for a rainbow eucalyptus bonsai? Choose a sunny location, water regularly without waterlogging, fertilize weekly in summer, cut side shoots and new growth, avoid wires, repot every 2-3 years and protect against frost in winter.
Location
Like all eucalypts, Eucalyptus deglupta should always be kept in a sunny place. In summer it also feels most at home as a bonsai in a pot outdoors. Indoors, the room temperature should not exceed 20°C.
Possible design forms
Popular design options for a rainbow eucalyptus are
- The upright shape
- The inclined shape
- Or the double trunk
Care instructions
Pouring
Although the eucalyptus generally tolerates drought well, regular watering is essential when keeping a bonsai. The root ball must never dry out completely. On the other hand, waterlogging is very damaging to the tree. Test the substrate for moisture before watering your rainbow eucalyptus bonsai.
Fertilize
From April to September, support the growth of your rainbow eucalyptus by giving it weekly liquid bonsai fertilizer (€4.00 on Amazon). In winter, the fertilizer application depends on the room temperature at the location. A dose every two weeks is usually sufficient. In very cool conditions, limit dosing to once per month.
Cutting
The rapid growth makes it difficult to keep a rainbow eucalyptus as a bonsai. If you follow these tips for cutting, you will still succeed:
- Short the side shoots right from the start to create a bushy growth.
- If your rainbow eucalyptus is 2 m high, you must first cut it back to 50 cm before you start designing the bonsai.
- Short the new growth to two sets of leaves.
Wiring
A rainbow eucalyptus bonsai should not be wired. Its bark is too sensitive for this technique.
Repotting
Every two to three years it is necessary to plant the Rainbow Eucalyptus Bonsai in a larger pot.
Wintering
You definitely need to protect a rainbow eucalyptus bonsai from frost. In winter it is best kept indoors.