How to Grow Purple Avens (Geum aleppicum)? A Detailed Guide to Key Cultivation Techniques

The first step is sowing, which can be done in spring and autumn; the spring sowing period is from mid-April to early May, and October is suitable for autumn sowing. The second step is site selection and land preparation: choose low-lying, fertile land, and do a good job of ploughing, levelling and fertilising. The third step is seedling-stage management, ensuring water, light and temperature. The fourth step is transplanting, which can be done in spring, summer and autumn. Finally, do a good job of field management, including weeding, drainage and irrigation, and fertilising.

Key points for sowing Purple Avens:

1. The best time to harvest the seeds is late September; if too late, the seeds fall off naturally and are very difficult to collect. After harvesting, dry the seeds in the shade for later use. Purple Avens seeds are very small, slender, 0.3 cm-0.5 cm long and 0.1 cm thick, and yellow-brown. Fresh seeds can reach a germination rate of about 80%, while seeds kept until the following year have an extremely low germination rate and no productive capacity.

2. For sowing and raising seedlings: because Purple Avens seeds are tiny, they need a certain temperature, humidity and shade during germination, so direct sowing gives poor results and the seedling-raising and transplanting method must be used. Seed pre-germination treatment: before sowing, rinse the reserved dry Purple Avens seeds with clean water, then soak them in a 500 PPm gibberellin solution for 6 hours-8 hours, take them out and mix them with fine river sand at a ratio of 1:2, place them in a plastic basin, keep the temperature at 15°C-22°C and the humidity at 65%, and carry out pre-germination treatment for 5 days-7 days. When 50% of the seeds have broken white, they can be sown. This method works well for spring sowing.

3. Sowing Purple Avens can be done in both spring and autumn, but spring sowing for seedlings is preferable. The sowing time is from mid-April to early May in spring, and October is suitable in autumn. There are two sowing methods: one is sowing in furrows. The method is to open furrows 1 cm deep and 5 cm-6 cm wide on the bed surface at a row spacing of 10 cm, and sow the seeds in rows with a dibber. Then rake the bed surface level, cover with soil 0.3 cm-0.5 cm thick, press firm with a wooden roller, cover with 2 cm of rice straw, and water thoroughly once. The other method is direct sowing on the bed surface, either broadcasting or sowing in rows, then pressing firm with a wooden roller, covering with 2 cm of rice straw, and watering thoroughly once.

Besides its medicinal use, Purple Avens can also be used as ground cover at the edges of lawns.