A Detailed Guide to the Planting Methods and Key Technical Points for Chinese Toon (Toona sinensis) Seedlings

SummarySeed soaking and germination: Select newly harvested Chinese toon seeds from the current year, soak them in 55°C warm water, and place them under a constant temperature of 23°C to germinate. Sowing: Evenly broadcast the pre-germinated Chinese toon seeds onto the substrate, cover with perlite, and spray water immediately. Mist management: 5-10 days after sowing, mist at regular intervals to keep the relative air humidity consistently at around 80%, accelerating the growth of the sprouts and promoting tender quality. Timely harvesting: Harvest around 12-15 days after sowing, when the cotyledons have fully unfolded.

Growing Chinese toon is not complicated, but it has high temperature requirements. Chinese toon likes light and warmth, and is suitable for planting in places with a mild climate. So, aside from these points about Chinese toon seedlings, what other important planting methods are there? Below, let's explore them together with the editor, carrying our questions.

Planting Methods for Chinese Toon Seedlings

1. Seed soaking and germination: Select newly harvested Chinese toon seeds from the current year, remove impurities, and remove the wings from the seeds. Soak them in 55°C warm water. After soaking for 12h, scoop them out, rinse, drain the surface moisture from the seeds, and place them under a constant temperature of 23°C to germinate. After 2-3d, when the sprouts have grown to 1-2mm, they are ready for sowing.

2. Sowing: First wash the seedling tray clean, lay a layer of white paper on the bottom, spread a layer of wet perlite about 2.5cm thick evenly on the white paper (volume ratio of perlite to water is 2:1), then evenly broadcast the pre-germinated Chinese toon seeds onto the substrate at a sowing rate of 240g/m2. After sowing, cover the seeds with about 1.5cm of perlite, and spray water immediately after covering, with the amount of water sprayed being 1/2 the volume of the covering perlite layer. You can also spray the perlite directly, then cover.

3. Mist management: 5d after sowing, the sprouts emerge from the substrate; after 10d, the hypocotyl of the Chinese toon sprouts reaches 8-9cm in length, about 1.0mm in thickness, and the roots are about 6cm long. During this period, mist at regular intervals to keep the relative air humidity consistently at around 80%, accelerating the growth of the sprouts and promoting tender quality.

Division Propagation of Chinese Toon Seedlings

Also called tiller or root-sucker propagation. It is the most common Chinese toon propagation method suitable for scattered cultivation, using root suckers to form seedlings. Chinese toon has strong suckering ability, with lateral roots distributed in the top 10cm of soil, mostly growing horizontally, and very prone to producing suckers, forming clumping plants. After leaf fall in autumn or before sprouting in spring, dig trenches or holes around the mother tree to encourage root suckers to sprout, and by autumn of the same year or spring of the following year, they can be divided and planted.

Root Cutting Propagation of Chinese Toon Seedlings

Root cutting propagation for seedling production uses the characteristic of Chinese toon roots easily forming adventitious buds to propagate seedlings. This is a seedling technique that is easy to operate, requires low investment, has a high survival rate, produces seedlings quickly, and is widely applied. Its key points are: deeply plow the land and apply organic fertilizer, keeping the seedling soil loose and moist; select robust, high-yielding large trees or strong seedlings from the nursery, dig out roots 0.5-1.0cm thick, cut them into 15-20cm segments as cuttings, insert them as soon as they are collected, and cover with 2-3cm of soil; when the seedlings are 10cm tall, select 1 strong bud to set the seedling; during the seedling stage, spray urea 2-3 times, and in September spray phosphorus fertilizer and potassium fertilizer 2-3 times to promote lignification of the seedlings; during the rainy season, drain promptly and loosen the soil; freshly inserted root cuttings should not be watered, to prevent rot.

There are 2 types: softwood cutting and hardwood cutting. The key to softwood cutting lies in the degree of fullness of the cutting tissue. Fully lignified branches root with difficulty or root slowly; if the branches are too tender, they rot easily after insertion. Semi-lignified or mostly lignified branches used as cuttings have a high survival rate. Using sprout branches from the root base or trunk as cuttings makes rooting and survival easier than using branches from the crown.

The specific method is: from late June to early July, select branches on the main trunk 20cm above the ground that have already become lignified, cut them into 20cm or 10-15cm segments, sharpen the lower end into a slanted cut, retain 2 pairs of leaflets at the base of 1-2 compound leaves on the upper part of the cutting, and cut off all other leaves. Dip the cut end of the cutting in 500mg/L NAA or vitamin D12 solution, insert at a density of 40cm×40cm into loose, fertile, moist soil, build a small arched shed over the bed, maintain 85%-90% relative humidity and a temperature of 20-30°C, and roots will form in about 50d. For hardwood cuttings, after Chinese toon drops its leaves in early winter, select 1-2 year old branches, cut them into 15-20cm segments, cut the upper end flat, with the cut about 1.5cm from the topmost bud, and the lower end as a slanted cut. Tie the cuttings into bundles and bury them in a sand pit for the winter, take them out the following spring, soak the lower ends of the cuttings in NAA 500mg/L solution for 2-4h, wash them clean, then insert them into a sunny cold frame cutting bed laid with pure sand, cover with plastic film after insertion, build a small arched shed over the bed, and maintain a temperature of about 25°C and relative humidity above 85%. Through a series of management steps, they can be lifted and planted in the same year or the following year.

Harvesting of Chinese Toon Seedlings

For Chinese toon grown under ordinary cultivation and dwarf dense planting, it generally sprouts before Qingming, and around Guyu the terminal buds can be harvested. This first harvest is called the first-round toon sprouts, which are not only plump and tender but also richly fragrant and of superior quality; afterward, according to growth conditions, harvest the second time after 15-20 days. Newly planted Chinese toon can be harvested at most 2 times, and after 3 years it can be harvested 2-3 times each year, with yield increasing accordingly. As for protected cultivation, by adding heat, it can also be harvested in winter; if not heated, the tree buds can be supplied early in early spring.

After reading the above article, we have learned about the planting methods for Chinese toon seedlings and related knowledge. Summer is not suitable for transplanting plants; if transplanting must be done, special methods are needed for proper care. By planting according to scientific methods, you can increase the survival rate of the trees and cultivate healthy Chinese toon.