Latest Prices for Wintersweet Seeds and a Guide to Growing Them

Wintersweet is a traditional, precious ornamental flowering tree native to China, also known as jinmei, lamei, and lahua, among other names. It is a deciduous shrub in the genus Chimonanthus of the family Calycanthaceae. Its flowers are fragrant and beautiful, making it suitable for courtyard planting, as well as for old-trunk bonsai and for flower arranging and shaping art. Its roots and leaves can also be used medicinally. Now let us take a look together at the price of wintersweet seeds and how to grow them!

How much does a jin of wintersweet seeds cost?

The price of wintersweet seeds is about 80 to 120 yuan per jin, but prices vary greatly depending on the seed variety, quality, and purchase quantity. Wintersweet originated in central China. It likes sunlight but is also slightly shade-tolerant, and is relatively cold-resistant and drought-resistant, hence the saying “wintersweet never dies of drought.” It is not strict about soil quality, but light loam with good drainage is best. Cultivated varieties include the Qingkou wintersweet, the Chaiyouxin wintersweet, and the Gousheng wintersweet.

When should wintersweet seeds be planted?

1. Spring sowing: First soak the seeds in warm water for 24 hours in spring, place them in a germination box to sprout, then sow them in rows in sandy loam soil and water thoroughly. Seedlings will emerge in 15 to 20 days.

2. Autumn sowing: Harvest is usually carried out after the fruit ripens in July to August. Remove the seeds from the fruit receptacle and sow them right away. Seedlings will emerge in just over 10 days after sowing.

What planting methods are there for wintersweet?

1. Open-field planting: Before spring bud break, choose neutral or slightly acidic sandy soil with deep soil, shelter from wind, sun exposure, and good drainage. Place decomposed manure, soybean cake, and other materials at the bottom of the hole as base fertilizer. Cover the base fertilizer with a layer of soil, then place the plant with its root ball inside, fill in soil, firm it by stepping on it, and water.

2. Bonsai cultivation: Use loose, fertile, well-drained sandy soil as the growing medium. Place a layer of gravel over the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot. In early winter, choose a small plant with plump flower buds, dig it up with soil, and plant it in the pot. After flowering, it can be displayed for viewing, and it should usually be kept in a sunny place for care.

Wintersweet growing and management methods

1. Watering: For wintersweet, it is best to keep the soil at half moisture under normal conditions. Pay attention to drainage during the rainy season, and water promptly during dry seasons. During the flowering period, keep the soil moderately dry and do not water too much. For potted wintersweet, do not water in spring and autumn unless the potting soil is dry; in summer, water once each morning and evening.

2. Fertilizing: After the wintersweet flowers fade, apply decomposed organic fertilizer once. From the time new leaves sprout in spring until June, during the growing season, apply decomposed cake fertilizer water once every 10 to 15 days. During the flower bud differentiation period in July to August, apply a mixed liquid of decomposed organic fertilizer and phosphorus-potassium fertilizer. After autumn, apply organic fertilizer once more.

3. Shaping

① Tree form: During the seedling stage of wintersweet, select and keep one thick, strong branch and do not pinch it back, training it into a trunk. When the trunk reaches the desired height, pinch it back to encourage branching. When the branches grow to 25 cm, pinch them back again to form a canopy, and at any time prune off branches sprouting from the base.

② Clump form: During the seedling stage of wintersweet, pinch back to encourage branching. After the clump canopy forms, during the dormant period cut away the tender tips of strong branches, and shorten weak branches by leaving 2 to 3 buds at the base. In mid-June of the current year, pinch back the new branches once. After the basic form is set, prune regularly to maintain the established shape.

4. Pruning

① Bud removal and pinching: When the leaf buds of wintersweet have sprouted about 5 cm, remove excess tender buds that are dense, inward-growing, or close to the ground. During the vigorous growth period from May to June, pinch back the shoots. During the rainy season, promptly prune off miscellaneous branches, useless branches, misshapen branches, and branches that block wind and light.

② Pre-flowering pruning: After leaf fall and before the flower buds swell, for long branches leave an extra pair of leaf buds above the flower buds, cut off the upper portion without flower buds, and thin out dead branches, pest- and disease-damaged branches, overly weak branches, and dense, leggy, non-flowering branches as well as root suckers not used for renewal.

③ Post-flowering supplementary pruning: For wintersweet, post-flowering supplementary pruning should thin out aged branches, dead branches, overly dense branches, and leggy branches, and cut back weakened main branches or branch groups. For main branches that are too tall, too long, or too strong, cut back to a relatively large, moderate, obliquely growing branch to control branch height, length, and vigor.

6. Pests and diseases

① Anthracnose: Thoroughly remove diseased fallen leaves and destroy them in a centralized way to reduce sources of infection. Spray 50% thiophanate-methyl at 800 to 1000 times dilution, or 50% carbendazim wettable powder at 1000 times dilution.

② Black spot: Remove diseased fallen leaves and destroy them in a centralized way to reduce sources of infection. Spray 50% carbendazim wettable powder at 1000 times dilution, or 65% zineb at 500 times dilution, or 0.3 degrees Baume lime-sulfur mixture.

③ Aphids: Cut off branches with eggs and destroy them in a centralized way. Spray 10% imidacloprid wettable powder at 6000 times dilution, or 70% menazon wettable powder at 1500 to 2000 times dilution, or 50% malathion emulsifiable concentrate at 1000 to 1500 times dilution.

④ Red-necked longhorn beetle: Use a stick to tap the branches and trunks to promptly catch and kill adults that fall to the ground. When frass holes are found, use wire to pierce and kill the larvae inside, or insert a cotton ball dipped in dichlorvos into the frass hole, seal the opening with yellow mud, and fumigate to kill them.

⑤ Japanese wax scale: Spray 2.5% deltamethrin or kungfu emulsifiable concentrate at 4000 to 5000 times dilution, or 10% cypermethrin emulsifiable concentrate or 20% fenvalerate emulsifiable concentrate at 3000 times dilution for control.