What are the planting conditions for hawthorn? A full analysis of the environmental requirements

SummaryHawthorn planting requires suitable temperature, light and moisture. The hawthorn tree has strong adaptability, being both cold-tolerant and heat-tolerant, and both drought-tolerant and waterlogging-tolerant, but in order to achieve better fruit quality and yield, it is still best to choose a sunny, warm-climate, fertile-soil location for planting.

Hawthorn seeds are hard and have poor water permeability, and require two winters of sand storage to break seed dormancy. Hawthorn saplings are mostly propagated by grafting, and wild hawthorn or cultivated varieties can both be used as rootstock; generally it takes 4 years to raise a hawthorn sapling.

Temperature

Hawthorn likes a cool and humid environment, is both cold-tolerant and heat-tolerant, and has strong adaptability, growing healthily under temperature conditions of 36-43°C. Hawthorn is generally distributed in barren hills and bare ridges, sunny slopes, semi-sunny slopes, valleys and other places, with a slope of about 25 degrees being suitable. Hawthorn is drought-tolerant; when there is too much water, the branches and leaves grow faster. It also has low requirements for soil, but grows better in slightly acidic soil that is deep, fertile, loose and well-drained.

Light

Hawthorn likes sunlight, but it can also grow in environments with poor light conditions. Under sufficient sunlight, hawthorn bears more fruit, the fruit is also larger, the fruit has good gloss, high nutritional content, and a higher vitamin C content.

Water

The hawthorn tree is both drought-tolerant and waterlogging-tolerant. In areas with rainfall above 700 mm and soil moisture content above 15%, hawthorn can grow normally. Although hawthorn is relatively resistant to waterlogging, it should not be planted in soil with a high groundwater level or low temperature, so as to avoid unhealthy root growth and poor overall development of the hawthorn tree.

Site selection

The hawthorn tree is suitable for growing on fertile flat land, hills and gentle slopes, with southeast slopes being the most suitable. Attention should also be paid to water storage, irrigation and drainage, and drought prevention at the planting site. Seedlings raised from hawthorn seeds are called seedling rootstock seedlings, and seedling rootstock seedlings generally need to be grafted before they can be cultivated. Hawthorn seed shells are thick and hard, so before sowing hawthorn, the seeds must be pre-treated to ensure a better germination rate.

Propagation methods

1. Early seed collection, variable-temperature treatment, sand storage method

The physiological maturity period of wild hawthorn is from mid-August to early September. When the fruit begins to color, collecting the fruit early produces faster seedling emergence; the seeds are already mature, and the seed pits are not completely lignified, and the suture lines are not tight, making seedling emergence very easy. For the collected seeds, crush the flesh, wait for the flesh to rot and soften, rub it apart, wash it clean with water, then scald it in boiling water for about 5 minutes, take it out, cool it with cold water and soak it overnight. The next day, spread it on concrete to bake in the sun so it is heated evenly. At night, collect it and soak it in water, then dry it in the sun again. When the seed shells have cracked to about 80%, it is ready for sand storage. In the second year of sand storage, a small number of seeds will germinate, and the germinated seeds can be sown.

2. Early seed collection, sand storage method

Collect hawthorn fruit during its physiological maturity period, press open the flesh with a roller, rub and wash with water to remove the flesh and impurities inside, then soak the cleaned seeds in a vat for about 10 days, changing the water once every 2 days. After 10 days, take out the seeds for sand storage. The seeds should be mixed evenly and placed in a dug pit. The pit is best dug in a sunny, windless place, and the size of the pit is determined by the length of the seeds. It is best to stand a bundle of sorghum stalks in the middle of the pit as a ventilation hole, then fill the pit level with soil, slightly higher than the ground, to prevent water accumulation. The sand storage time for seeds is generally about 200 days; in April of the following year, open the pit, take out the sprouts and sow, and the seed germination rate can reach above 95%.

3. Horse manure fermentation method

Scald hawthorn seeds with hot water, then soak them in warm water for about 5 days, after which take out the seeds and mix them with horse manure at 1:4, place them in a pit 45 cm deep and cover well, let them heat up to about 35°C, and after 50 days take them out when the seed cracks have opened, then stratify them with wet sand. Sow in the spring of the following year, and seedlings can grow that same year.

4. Corrosion method

Soak hawthorn in lime water or fresh urine to corrode the seed coat and make the seed shell crack, then stratify with wet sand. When sown in the spring of the following year, seedlings can also grow.