The bonsai must be pruned in the first days of spring, pruning the branches both to favor oxygenation and to direct the foliage towards the desired shape. Over the course of the year, the shoots must also be topped (but not during the flowering period, of course), leaving three or four leaves per branch. In order to make the flowering last longer, it is advisable to eliminate the withered flowers. The plant needs prolonged exposure to the sun, but care must be taken: in fact, even if it loves particularly bright places it must avoid direct sunlight. Taking into account that it suffers significantly from sudden changes in temperature, it can be placed outside in summer, but not in winter, since temperatures below ten degrees could compromise its survival. As for the multiplication, it takes place by cuttings: it is sufficient to take, in spring, semi-woody cuttings, which must then be buried in a mixture composed in equal parts of peat and sand. It is worth underlining that this bonsai is not excessively sensitive to pest attacks, nor is it easily exposed to diseases. The most serious health problem can be with the drying of the leaves, but it can be avoided by simply sprinkling them with a generic anti-cryptogamic four or five times a year.

Occasionally, moreover, attacks by red spider mites, aleuroids, aphids and above all scale insects may occur, which prove to be threatening in particular for the roots. The latter are revealed in the form of whitish encrustations that appear on the stem and on the leaves: it is simply a woolly material, which constitutes the envelope that protects them. To remove encrustations, you can proceed manually, or spray the affected areas with a linseed oil solution. It is good to know, however, that the scale insects will probably reappear, since their eggs are in the soil: in this case, more drastic interventions may be necessary. The pathologies of bonsai can be countered and prevented with anti-parasitic products available on the market in all garden centers, applying consecutive treatments according to the recommended doses. An aspect that must be taken into account in the maintenance of this bonsai of Asian origin is undoubtedly the fertilization, which must be done every ten days in March, that is when the vegetative restart occurs. The best product consists of a mixture of organic liquid fertilizer with specific stimulating fertilizer for bonsai. It is advisable to interrupt the administration in July and August. It may also be useful to use an organic mineral fertilizer enriched with vitamin B in the event that it is intended to promote rooting.

There serissa it is very suitable for the art of bonsai, because it gives life to particularly decorative plants: it is no coincidence that it is widespread, in China and Japan, even among less experienced bonsai lovers, who are able to work it with the utmost ease. The plant, in essence, lends itself to modeling and leaves large spaces for action.

• bonsai serissa

  
  small evergreen shrub, native to China and Southeast Asia; it has very small, shiny, green leaves
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