Is the zelkova an evergreen or a deciduous plant?

Zelkova is also known as the chicken-fat tree, combining ornamental and medicinal value. Although it grows slowly, its wood is very good, so it is planted in most parts of our country. So is the zelkova an evergreen or a deciduous plant?

1. Is the zelkova an evergreen or a deciduous plant?

The zelkova is a deciduous tree plant. The tree reaches up to 30 m tall, and the bark is white-gray or brown-gray. The leaves are as thin as paper, ovate, elliptical, or ovate-lanceolate. It generally blooms in April and bears fruit in October. The male flowers it produces have very short stalks, while the female flowers have no stalks. At present, it is planted in Shaanxi, Gansu, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, and other places in our country.

2. What are the cultivation methods for zelkova?

1. Choose the soil

To cultivate zelkova, you must choose places such as plains or bottomlands, because the soil layers in these places are relatively deep, loose, and fertile, and more importantly, they have good drainage, which is very suitable for the growth of zelkova.

2. Planting

When planting, the size of the row spacing needs to be determined according to the planting density, and the time is chosen in the first and middle ten days of March each year. When planting, the zelkova sapling must be placed in the middle of the dug soil hole. First cover it with one third of the soil, lift the zelkova sapling upward a little so that the roots can be placed freely, and then continue to cover it with soil. After planting, it needs to be watered thoroughly, and then the soil around it should be tamped down.

3. Watering

After planting, it must be watered thoroughly three times in a row. After that, whether watering is needed can be decided according to the weather conditions and the dryness of the soil. Generally, when the weather is especially dry, in addition to watering, the crown should also be sprayed with water. The purpose of doing this is to lower the temperature and at the same time maintain air humidity.

4. Trunk water retention

To prevent water evaporation and sunburn to the zelkova from the scorching summer sun, straw rope can be used to wrap from its root upward, until both the trunk and the main branches are wrapped with straw rope. After that, remember to spray water frequently to keep it moist until the zelkova sapling has truly survived, and then the straw rope can be untied.

5. Set up supports

To prevent the newly cultivated zelkova plant from swaying and being blown over by the wind, supports need to be set up to stabilize it and prevent the roots from loosening, which would affect its survival.

6. Prune the sprouts

After May, many sprouts will grow on the trunk, which will consume a lot of nutrients. At this time, the excess sprouts must be removed to increase its survival rate.