Detailed Guide to the Cultivation Techniques and Management Methods of Aralia elata
SummarySeedling raising: three methods can be used for raising seedlings: growing seedlings from seed, softwood cuttings, and rhizome cuttings. Transplanting: Aralia elata prefers shade and fears waterlogging, is drought-tolerant and tolerant of poor soil, and is suitable for growing in slightly acidic conditions. It should be transplanted on cloudy days or in the afternoon on sunny days, planted at a reasonable density, and given decomposed farmyard manure and water. Later management: water promptly in the later period, remove weeds and diseased plants, fertilize reasonably, and control plant height well. Harvesting: it can be harvested 3-4 times a year; prune appropriately to fix the tree shape, and apply bud fertilizer.
I. Seedling Raising
There are three methods of raising seedlings, namely growing seedlings from seed, softwood cutting propagation, and rhizome cutting propagation.
1. Growing seedlings from seed
(1) Aralia elata is generally harvested from March to April, blooms from April to June, and its seeds mature from October to December. At this time the fruit skin splits open, and the seeds are red; keep them for seed.
(2) The mother trees kept for seed must be selected from healthy, vigorous plants free of pests and diseases, with more sprouts, fewer thorns, strong clumping habit, and purple-red or pale green buds.
2. Softwood cuttings
(1) Cuttings should be selected from 1-year-old semi-lignified branches that are free of pests and diseases, grow vigorously, and have fewer thorns. Cut them to a length of 10-15 cm, keeping 3-5 buds.
(2) The upper cut should be flat, ideally 1 cm above the topmost bud; the lower cut can be made as a slanted cut, 0.5 cm below the basal bud, without side branches, which reduces evaporation and increases the rooting area.
(3) To improve the survival rate, the lower cut can be left to air-dry so that the repairing substances secreted by the plant can coagulate at the wound, and then it is soaked in rooting powder solution.
(4) Generally, 15,000-17,000 plants can be cuttings per mu, with a plant and row spacing of about 20 cm, inserted at a 45-degree angle to the ground, about 15 cm deep, with one bud exposed, then adjusted to face north, watered, and kept out of direct sunlight as much as possible; in very hot weather, shade netting must be added.
3. Rhizome cuttings
(1) The rhizomes of Aralia elata have many axillary buds; as long as their dormancy is broken, the axillary buds can sprout into seedlings.
(2) Aralia elata rhizomes with a diameter of about 0.5-2 cm are cut into 10 cm lengths and, after disinfection, can be used as planting stock.
(3) When cutting, insert the planting stock two-thirds into the soil, with one axillary bud visible to the naked eye, and water it; at the same time, be sure to protect it from the sun.
II. Transplanting
1. Aralia elata likes cool shade, fears waterlogging, is relatively drought-tolerant and tolerant of poor soil, and is suitable for planting in slightly acidic soil.
2. Transplanting is generally carried out from January to February each year, and should be done on cloudy days or after 4-5 p.m. on sunny days, with a density of about 110-150 plants per mu.
3. Seedlings over 30 cm should be selected, and the leaves cut off before transplanting.
4. Before transplanting, planting holes need to be dug; each hole can be given about 10-20 kg of decomposed farmyard manure, then an appropriate amount of fine soil added. After fixing the sapling in the hole, cover with soil and water with settling water.
III. Later Management
1. Aralia elata is relatively drought-tolerant, and the survival rate can generally reach 60-90%. In areas where the soil is relatively dry, be sure to water to keep the roots moist.
2. Sprouting begins in early March; after true leaves grow in the middle period, diseased plants and weeds need to be cleared away, and then fertilizer applied.
3. When the seedlings have 3-4 true leaves, a diluted liquid of decomposed organic fertilizer can be applied; when 5-6 true leaves have grown, a second topdressing can be carried out; when 8 true leaves have grown, a third topdressing can be carried out, and the concentration of each topdressing can be gradually increased.
4. Because Aralia elata has thorns, and to make later harvesting easier, it should not be too tall; when the seedling grows to 1.5 m it needs to be topped, which helps promote branching, and the plant height should be kept at about 2 m as much as possible. In areas with heavy frost in winter, be sure to cover the plants to prevent freezing.
IV. Harvesting
1. Harvesting can begin about one year after planting; during harvesting, attention should be paid to fixing the tree shape and maintaining a certain tree height.
2. Aralia elata can be harvested about 3-4 times a year, with harvesting stopped in autumn. Before leaf fall in early winter, it can be pruned again to fix the tree shape, and then a round of bud fertilizer applied, thereby increasing the yield for the coming year.