How to Grow Asarum? A Detailed Guide to Planting Time and Techniques
Asarum, also known as Xiao Xin or Shao Xin, belongs to the Aristolochiaceae family as a perennial herb. It is a precious traditional Chinese medicinal material with certain medicinal value, capable of dispelling wind and dispersing cold, and treating headache, cough, rheumatism and other conditions. So how is Asarum grown? Let's learn about Asarum's planting methods and time together with the editor below!
Asarum Planting Techniques
1. Land preparation. For cultivating Asarum under forest, when preparing the land, first cut the underbrush clean and clear it off the site, then use a rake to gather out stones and other debris, and then begin digging the soil. The depth depends on the thickness of the soil layer; do not dig out the hardpan. Generally a depth of 5-20 cm is sufficient. After the first digging, rake it over once more, clear grass and wood roots out of the field, and after raking it level, dig it over carefully once again, dig out the remaining grass and wood fibrous roots in the soil, and after raking them clean and level, beds can be made. When cultivating Asarum on farmland or garden land, first plow the land once (20-30 cm deep), break up the clods, apply 2000-3000 kg of pig manure per 667 sq m, turn the manure into the soil and mix it evenly, rake it level, work it fine, and then make the beds.
2. Making the beds. The method of making Asarum beds is simple and easy to carry out. Make the beds along the mountain slope or slightly inclined to the slope; do not make beds across the mountain, to prevent rain from washing them away. Generally the bed width is 1.2 m, the height is 20 cm, and the length can be determined according to the terrain. Generally 10-30 m is suitable; if too long, it is not easy to level, and the working path is 0.8 m wide. Under forest, where the soil is fertile, generally no base fertilizer is applied.
3. Sowing. The characteristic of Asarum seeds is that dry seeds do not easily emerge as seedlings, so after harvest they should be sown while fresh. Otherwise, as the dry storage time lengthens, the germination capacity gradually decreases. Experiments have proven that the germination rate of fresh seeds can reach 96%, while after 60 days of dry storage the germination rate drops to 2%; if the dry storage time is even longer, no seedlings will emerge at all after sowing. Sowing at the right time is the key to increasing the germination rate and ensuring a full stand of seedlings. After seed collection, if the soil moisture condition is good, they can be sown immediately. This is generally done from late June to early July, and at the latest not beyond the end of July, otherwise root growth will be affected.
Asarum Planting Time and Methods
Seed propagation is the main method, and root division propagation can also be used. Seed propagation: summer sowing. Collect the fruit in early to mid-June, pile it indoors for 1-2 d, and after the fruit becomes soft, remove the fruit skin, wash the seeds, and sow them in time. Never store them dry. Or store them briefly in sand and sow in July, by drilling or by hole sowing. For drilling, use a row spacing of 10-12 cm, a sowing width of 4-5 cm, sow 120-150 seeds per row, and use about 60 kg of seeds per 1 hectare. After sowing, they can be transplanted after 2-3 years. Root division propagation: keep root segments at the top of the rhizome. When planting, open holes at a row spacing of 30 cm × 20 cm, and plant 2-3 sections of rhizome in each hole.
Asarum's Growth Habits
Asarum is a shade-loving plant, mostly distributed in mountainous areas with deep humus layers and fertile soil under broad-leaved forests and mixed coniferous-broadleaf forests, or growing among dense shrubs, in slightly moist places at the bottom of mountain gullies, and in forest edge zones. Therefore it has developed characteristics of liking moisture, liking fertilizer, liking shade, and fearing strong light, but under forest with too much canopy closure it grows extremely slowly. Practice has proven that only through "dappled shade" or sufficient scattered light, together with strengthened water and fertilizer management, can Asarum grow rapidly and achieve high yields.
Asarum Variety Classification
1. Asarum (original form), often curled into a ball. The rhizome grows horizontally in an irregular cylindrical shape, with short branches, 1-250 px long, 0.2-10 px in diameter; the surface is grayish brown, rough, with ring-shaped nodes, the internode length is 0.2-7.5 px, and the branch tips have bowl-shaped stem scars. The roots are slender, densely growing on the nodes, 10-500 px long, 2.5 px in diameter; the surface is grayish yellow, smooth or with longitudinal wrinkles; there are fibrous roots and fibrous root scars; the texture is brittle and easily broken, and the cross-section is flat, yellowish white or white. The odor is pungent and aromatic, and the taste is pungent and numbing to the tongue.
2. Asarum heterotropoides var. seoulense (variant), this variant has densely grown short hairs on the back of the leaves, and the petioles are sparsely hairy. It is produced in southeastern Liaoning. It grows under forest and in moist places in mountain gullies. It is also distributed in Korea. The type specimen was collected from Seoul, Korea. The whole plant of this species is used as medicine.
3. Asarum sieboldii, the rhizome is 5-500 px long, 0.1-5 px in diameter, and the internode length is 0.2-25 px. The odor is relatively weak.
As described above, Asarum not only has high medicinal value but also has a certain economic value. Growing Asarum gives high yields and good quality, and there are broad sales channels, so the prospects can be said to be relatively broad. Friends who want to start a business growing medicinal herbs may as well try growing Asarum; perhaps it can bring you considerable wealth.