The Latest Planting Techniques and Method Tutorial for Creeping Fig
Creeping Fig, also known as wild ground melon, ground melon vine, ground pomegranate, etc., is an evergreen woody vine of the genus Ficus in the mulberry family, with medicinal and landscaping value; its fruit ripens in June and July each year, and there are two varieties - one with sweet, delicious fruit that can be eaten, and another with no fragrance that cannot be eaten; generally a patch is all of the same variety. Let us take a look together at the planting techniques for Creeping Fig!
The Planting Value of Creeping Fig
Creeping Fig has a neat plant form and is an excellent ground cover plant in garden plant arrangements; it can be used alone for viewing as flower borders or flower clusters, or paired with flowering, colorful-leaved, or autumn-leaved plants as a green background. In places with many weeds, it can be used as a dominant population to suppress weed growth. At the same time, Creeping Fig can also be cultivated as a fruit, suitable for interplanting in orchards to turn traditional single-season orchards into double-season orchards. It can also be used as an ornamental-fruit and ornamental-leaf hanging bonsai; its flexible, emerald-green stems and vines are elegant and graceful, possessing the beauty of “ten thousand strands hanging down like green silk ribbons”.
The Growth Habits of Creeping Fig
Creeping Fig is distributed in the Yangtze River basin and many subtropical provinces and regions of China, such as Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan and southern Shaanxi. It prefers a warm, humid climate and is a sun-loving plant that tolerates partial shade. It grows naturally on hillsides in low mountain areas, beside field ridges, beside ditches, beside thickets, under sparse forests, and along roadsides, often growing in patches.
The Propagation Techniques of Creeping Fig
Creeping Fig is very easy to propagate, and cutting propagation is often used in actual production. Taking the Guilin area as an example, generally from early March to early April, after temperatures rise, is the best period for cutting propagation. Cut 1-year-old branches, 10-15 cm long; the cutting medium is not particular, and fine sand or loam will both do. If rapid growth is not needed, it can also be directly cuttings planted in the location to be greened, with a plant spacing of 15×15 cm; when cuttings are taken in March, the rows can close by the end of May. At the same time, cutting experiments show that a stem segment with one node can potentially develop into a population, because its characteristic of rooting where the node touches the ground makes it very easy to grow new plants.
The Planting Techniques of Creeping Fig
After planting Creeping Fig, attention should be paid to watering and pulling weeds during the seedling stage; after the rows close, watering once a week is sufficient. During the vegetative growth season, the demand for N and P is relatively large. According to its growth and site conditions, some urea or compound fertilizer with high N and P content can be broadcast on rainy days to promote seedling growth. It has strong stress resistance and is suitable for extensive management; after planting, it does not need frequent replacement or regular manual pruning. In communities planted in patches, there are rarely other weeds; diseases and pests occasionally include leaf-eating pests such as bamboo locusts, skull moths, and hawk moths, which need to be controlled early.