A Detailed Guide to the Latest Cultivation Methods for the Beauty Plum
The Beauty Plum (Prunus × blireana) is a deciduous small tree of the genus Prunus in the Rosaceae family. Its bright red foliage and purplish-red branches are rarely seen in other plum varieties, and it can be enjoyed year-round. It can be used to decorate courtyards, establish dedicated gardens, or be planted in large numbers as plum gardens and plum streams. It can also be grown in pots to make bonsai for display in major hotels and restaurants, and can further be used as cut flowers and for other decorative purposes. Now let us take a look at the cultivation methods for the Beauty Plum!
Growth Habits of the Beauty Plum
The Beauty Plum has strong cold resistance and is a sun-loving tree species. It grows vigorously and blooms profusely in places with ample sunlight. It has relatively strong drought resistance, prefers high air humidity, and is not tolerant of waterlogging. It is not demanding about soil, but slightly acidic clay loam (with a pH of around 6) is best. It is not tolerant of air pollution and is relatively sensitive to fluoride, sulfur dioxide, and vehicle exhaust. At the same time, it is also extremely sensitive to pesticides such as dimethoate.
Propagation Methods for the Beauty Plum
1. Cuttage: The Beauty Plum generally roots more easily when cuttings are taken in mid-to-late October. Cuttings are usually collected from vigorous branches on the upper part or outer periphery of the canopy. After planting, pay attention to cold and wind protection.
2. Stem grafting: Select a vigorous one-year-old seedling as the rootstock, cut the trunk at 5 cm above the ground, and make a vertical cut on one side of the cut surface. For the scion, it is best to first use healthy 1- to 2-year-old branches from a Beauty Plum tree that are free of pests and diseases, cut them into scions with 3 to 5 plump buds, whittle the lower end into a wedge shape, insert it into the rootstock incision, align the cambium of the rootstock and scion, and then bind tightly with plastic strips.
3. Bud grafting: This is mostly carried out during the growing season, with 1- to 2-year-old seedling rootstocks selected. Cut the bark of the rootstock into a “T” shape, and peel the bark back on both sides along the incision. For the scion, choose a bud from the middle section of a vigorous current-year branch, make a horizontal cut 1 to 2 mm into the xylem above the bud, then cut the bud downward vertically from the scion to form a shield-shaped bud piece. Insert the shield-shaped bud piece into the rootstock incision, align the cambium, and bind tightly with plastic strips.
Cultivation Methods for the Beauty Plum
1. Watering: For plants grown in the ground, water once in early spring each year to revive growth. During the growing season, if it is not overly dry, watering may be skipped, but during high-temperature and drought in summer, appropriate watering is needed to prevent the new leaves from struggling to grow and the old leaves from turning yellow and drying out due to lack of water. Pay attention to drainage on rainy days, especially after prolonged rain or heavy rain; otherwise, soil waterlogging can cause root rot. In early winter, water once more with overwintering water to increase the plant's cold resistance in winter.
2. Fertilizing: The Beauty Plum likes fertilizer. When planting, apply well-rotted organic fertilizer such as chicken and duck manure, pigeon manure, or other barnyard manure as a base fertilizer. When fertilizing, be sure to mix it thoroughly with the subsoil. From June to August, during the flower bud differentiation period, apply a compound fertilizer mainly containing phosphorus and potassium to promote flower bud differentiation. In autumn or early winter, apply cake fertilizer or well-rotted leaf fertilizer in trenches to improve the soil and increase fertility. After application, be sure to water thoroughly once to help the plant absorb it.
3. Pruning: The Beauty Plum is tolerant of pruning, and the tree shape is mostly a natural open-center form. Prune and shape it every winter, cutting off useless large branches, crossing branches, and water sprouts, and shortening overly long branches to maintain a graceful tree shape. After flowering in spring, prune once more, shortening aged branches and leaving only 3 to 4 buds at the base to encourage new branch growth. When new branches grow to about 40 cm, pinch out the growing tips to control branch growth and promote plump axillary buds.
4. Overwintering: The Beauty Plum has a certain degree of cold resistance, but it should still be planted in a sheltered, sunny location as much as possible. For seedlings planted in spring of the current year, in addition to watering with overwintering water, the trunk and main branches should all be painted white. For seedlings planted in autumn, measures such as wrapping the tree body with straw rope and covering the planting pit with plastic film should also be taken. Once seedlings have survived for one year, normal management is sufficient, and overwintering only requires painting the trunk white.
5. Pests: Common pests of the Beauty Plum include aphids, nettle caterpillars, red spider mites, and longhorn beetles. If they occur, broad-spectrum insecticides such as dichlorvos can be used for control, but pesticides prone to causing phytotoxicity, such as omethoate, should not be used. For more stubborn pests such as longhorn beetles, the undiluted trunk injection method can be used.
6. Diseases: Common diseases of the Beauty Plum include leaf spot, leaf shot hole, and gummosis. In addition to strengthening water and fertilizer management, active prevention should also be carried out. In early summer and early autumn each year, spray broad-spectrum fungicides such as chlorothalonil 2 to 3 times consecutively. When diseases occur, broad-spectrum fungicides should also be selected for control, and alternating use is even better. After pruning in winter, collect the cut diseased and pest-infested branches and dead branches and burn them in a centralized manner, and clean up fallen leaves.