How to Grow Dichondra repens from Seed? Planting Methods and Precautions

Dichondra repens has excellent ornamental value. It can be planted on a large scale in parks, or on a small scale in pots. No matter where it is, growing well requires careful attention. Below we introduce how to grow it and what precautions to take.

How to Grow Dichondra repens from Seed

1. Parks, scenic areas and sports fields generally have larger planting areas and relatively small terrain undulations, which facilitates tilling the soil and produces the best results.

1. Land preparation: Shape the terrain well, deciding where it should be high and where it should be low; once the seeds are planted, it is not easy to change the terrain. After determining the terrain, remove all weeds, apply 3~5 tons of farmyard manure per mu, with fermented chicken manure or cow manure being best, then till all the topsoil once.

2. Sowing: After preparing the land, you can sow. Dichondra repens seeds are small, so broadcast sowing is mainly used. When there is no wind, scatter the seeds evenly, then cover with 1~2 cm of soil and press lightly, then water and cover with plastic film or degradable non-woven fabric. If the temperature is good, they will germinate in about 10 days. After germination, water promptly to speed up seedling growth. Within 2 months of planting Dichondra repens, weeds must be removed by hand; be sure not to use herbicides, as currently no herbicide can be used on Dichondra repens.

2. Courtyards and gardens have smaller areas, and mechanical tillage is difficult, so manual digging or water-assisted sowing is generally used. If the soil cannot be tilled, remove the weeds and scatter the seeds directly, but before germination, water every day to keep the seeds able to absorb enough water, until about half a month after germination.

Dichondra repens Planting Methods and Precautions

Growing methods

1. Light and temperature

Dichondra repens needs sufficient light during growth. It should receive plenty of sunlight every day so it can grow vigorously and green. Dichondra repens has a growth habit of both liking light and tolerating shade, and can grow in semi-shaded, damp places. It has low temperature requirements, but when the temperature drops to -6°C to -7°C, it will suffer frost damage.

2. Water and fertilizer management

During growth, Dichondra repens needs regular irrigation and moderate fertilization. After the seedlings emerge, water 1~2 times per week, and increase irrigation frequency in dry seasons. After the plants mature, watering should be controlled in early spring and early winter; during the peak growth period around the Spring Festival, determine watering frequency according to soil conditions. Dichondra repens likes nitrogen fertilizer. Usually, in combination with rain and watering, apply an appropriate amount of nitrogen fertilizer as a top dressing. After fertilizing, water heavily to reduce the degree of leaf burn. Alternatively, fertilize first, then sweep the fertilizer under the leaves, and then water. At the same time, do not fertilize during high summer temperatures.

3. Soil

Dichondra repens is not very demanding about soil. As long as drainage is moderate, it can be planted in sandy loam and clay. It mostly grows in fertile fields or mountainous areas.

Precautions

When Dichondra repens is used for lawn greening, because it takes a period of growth to completely cover the ground, weeds will appear. At this time, the weeds need to be removed. When there are few weeds, they can be pulled by hand; if there are many weeds, herbicides can be sprayed to kill them.

Can Dichondra repens Be Soaked in Water and Drunk?

Dichondra repens is also called "rou hundun cao" by people, which shows that Dichondra repens is edible, and some people often use it to soak in water and drink, which also has good effects. Taken internally, it dispels wind and cold, promotes the movement of qi and breaks accumulations, dissipates nodules and relieves pain, and enters the gastrointestinal meridians. It has good therapeutic effects on abdominal pain from cold, abdominal pain from cold constitution, abdominal pain from heatstroke, pain from traumatic injury with accumulation in the chest and abdomen, difficult urination, and pediatric wind-phlegm with binding in the chest. However, pregnant women should not take it, as it affects the fetus.

Effects of Dichondra repens

1. Liver-protecting and enzyme-lowering effects

Pharmacological experimental studies show that Dichondra repens extract has a certain therapeutic and protective effect on acute liver injury in animals caused by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), and can significantly reduce the elevated serum transaminases in mice caused by liver injury within 1 week and 3 weeks; it reduces pathological changes in the liver, and can also increase the inverted albumin-globulin ratio after liver injury; experiments with fresh Dichondra repens grass juice showed that it reduced the serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and the malondialdehyde (MDA) content in serum and liver tissue of CCl4-poisoned mice in a dose-dependent manner, significantly increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels, and significantly reduced hepatocyte degeneration and necrosis.

2. Analgesic effect

Using the writhing method, hot plate method, and electrical stimulation method to stimulate mice, different doses of Dichondra repens extract were administered, and the pain threshold of the mice was measured. The results showed that Dichondra repens extract has a good analgesic effect.

3. Anti-inflammatory effect

Small doses of Dichondra repens extract significantly inhibited the increase in capillary permeability caused by acetic acid; it inhibited carrageenan-induced inflammatory swelling of rat toes. Both Dichondra repens extract and its petroleum ether extract can significantly inhibit xylene-induced acute inflammatory edema of the mouse ear, but the anti-inflammatory effect of the petroleum ether extract of Dichondra repens has no obvious dose-dependent relationship; for different inflammation models, the medium dose always had good pharmacological activity.

It seems that in addition to its ornamental value, after being extracted, Dichondra repens also has good medicinal value. When injured, using it can help relieve pain and also has an anti-inflammatory effect on wounds. Not only that, it can also be soaked in water and drunk, and has a good effect on dispelling wind and driving away cold, but pregnant women must absolutely not take it.