Is the soapberry tree an evergreen or a deciduous tree?

The soapberry is native to regions south of the Yangtze River basin in China, as well as various parts of the Indochina Peninsula, India and Japan. Today, it is widely cultivated in areas such as Jinhua and Lanxi in Zhejiang, but not much elsewhere. So, is the soapberry tree an evergreen or a deciduous tree?

1. Is the soapberry evergreen or deciduous

The soapberry is a deciduous tree that can reach a height of over 20 m, with grayish-brown or blackish-brown bark; its young branches are green and hairless. It is commonly cultivated in temple grounds, courtyards and village edges in various places. It likes light, tolerates slight shade, and has fairly strong cold resistance. It is not demanding about soil and can withstand drought. Its sprouting ability is weak, and it does not tolerate pruning. It grows relatively fast and has a long lifespan.

2. Soapberry propagation methods

1. Seedling cultivation

Propagate by seed. Harvest when the fruit ripens in autumn, and promptly remove the skin and clean the seeds. Because the seed shell is hard, they can either be sown in autumn of the same year, or stored in moist sand layers over winter and sown in spring. The nursery site for raising seedlings requires deep, fertile soil with good drainage. For soil preparation, deep plowing and fine cultivation are required, with sufficient base fertilizer applied and drainage ditches opened well.

Sowing is best done by dibbling, with a density of 25 cm between rows and 12 to 15 cm between plants, and a soil covering thickness of 5 cm is best. The seed rate is 50 to 60 kg per mu, and the yield is 10,000 to 12,000 seedlings per mu; the height of seedlings when they leave the nursery is 60 to 100 cm, with a ground diameter of about 0.8 cm. The soapberry has relatively few pests and diseases; during the seed germination stage, the focus is on controlling soil-dwelling pests, and during the seedling stage, the focus is on controlling longhorn beetles.

2. Large seedling cultivation

Choose a good nursery site, apply sufficient base fertilizer, and make beds oriented east-west, with a bed width of 1.5 m and a bed height of 25 cm. From autumn, when the seedlings shed their leaves, until before budding the following spring, select one-year-old seedlings with good tree form, vigorous growth and no pests or diseases, and plant them at a spacing of 60 cm × 80 cm. When lifting and planting the seedlings, protect the terminal buds and root system, and carry as much native soil as possible. After planting, carry out routine field management.