How to Grow Chinese Fringe Flower (Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum)? A Detailed Guide to the Latest Cultivation Methods

The Chinese fringe flower is also known as red fringe flower, red loropetalum, red jimu flower, and so on. It is an evergreen shrub or small tree of the genus Loropetalum in the witch hazel family (Hamamelidaceae), with bark that is dark gray or light grayish brown, leathery alternate leaves, dense branches and lush foliage, and a graceful form. It tolerates pruning and wiring, and can be used for hedges or for making stump bonsai. When it blooms, the whole tree is covered in red flowers, which is extremely spectacular. Now let us take a look at how to grow the Chinese fringe flower!

Growth Habits of the Chinese Fringe Flower

The Chinese fringe flower is mainly distributed in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and areas to the south, and is also found in northern India. It is produced in Liuyang City and Changsha County in Hunan, and Suzhou, Wuxi, Yixing, Liyang, Jurong and other places in Jiangsu. It likes light and tolerates slight shade, but in shade the leaf color easily turns green. It is highly adaptable and drought tolerant. It likes warmth and tolerates cold. It has strong sprouting and branching ability and tolerates pruning. It tolerates poor soil, but grows best in fertile, moist, slightly acidic soil.

Propagation Methods of the Chinese Fringe Flower

1. Grafting: Grafting mainly uses two methods, cut grafting and bud grafting, and can be carried out from February to October. Cut grafting is best done before bud break in spring, while bud grafting is best done in September to October. Using medium and small plants of white fringe flower (Loropetalum chinense) as rootstock for multi-head grafting, with strengthened water, fertilizer and pruning management, they can leave the nursery within 1 year.

2. Cuttings: Cuttings can be taken from March to September. Use loose loess as the cutting medium, ensure the cutting medium is well aerated and permeable and the air humidity is high, keep it warm but avoid direct sunlight, and at the same time pay attention to ventilation in the cutting environment. Under warm and moist conditions, the cuttings form a red callus in 20 to 25 days, and after 1 month they grow 3 to 9 new roots that are 0.1 cm thick and 1 to 6 cm long.

3. Sowing: Sow in spring and summer. The seed germination rate is high, and they germinate about 25 days after sowing. In 1 year they can grow to 6 to 20 cm tall and produce 3 to 6 branches. The new roots of seedlings are red and fleshy, so careful management is required in the early stage until the root system becomes woody and turns brown, only then can more extensive management begin. Because of its long seedling stage, slow growth, and the appearance of white fringe flower seedlings (atavism), sexual propagation is generally not used for nursery production, but rather for breeding research on the Chinese fringe flower.

Cultivation and Management of the Chinese Fringe Flower

1. Fertilizing: Before transplanting the Chinese fringe flower, choose base fertilizer mainly of decomposed organic fertilizer, combined with broadcast or hole application of compound fertilizer, and be careful to mix it thoroughly to avoid damaging the roots. During the growing season, use a neutral foliar fertilizer diluted 800 to 1000 times for foliar topdressing, spraying 2 to 3 times per month to promote new shoot growth.

2. Watering: In the plum rain season in the south, the Chinese fringe flower should be kept well drained. In hot and dry seasons, watering should be guaranteed once in the morning and once in the evening, with water sprayed at noon to lower the temperature. In northern regions, because the soil and air are dry, water must be given in time to keep the soil moist. In autumn, winter and early spring, pay attention to spraying water to keep the leaves clean and moist.

3. Pruning: The Chinese fringe flower has strong sprouting ability and tolerates pruning. Carrying out light and moderate pruning in growing seasons such as early spring and early autumn, together with normal water and fertilizer management, allows it to bloom after about 1 month, with a concentrated flowering period. This method can promote new branches and new leaves, make the tree shape more beautiful, extend the red period of the leaves, and can promote or control the flowering period. It is especially suitable for Chinese fringe flower bonsai participating in flower exhibitions and trade fairs, as it can enhance the exhibition effect and promote product sales.

4. Shaping

① Artificial spherical form: The Chinese fringe flower is extremely tolerant of pruning and wiring for shaping, and the tree shape mostly adopts the artificial spherical form. During the growing season, remove the mature leaves and branch tips of the Chinese fringe flower, and after about 10 days of normal management, new tender shoots can emerge again, producing bright red new leaves.

② Natural clumping form: The Chinese fringe flower has strong sprouting and branching ability, and can naturally grow into a clumping form.

③ Single-trunk round-headed form: Select one thick, strong branch to train as the trunk, remove the other branches, and when the trunk reaches a certain height, cut it back to set the trunk height. On it, select one robust, upright, upward-growing branch as the extension branch of the trunk, that is, train it as the central leader. Afterwards, select and keep 4 to 5 strong main branches evenly arranged around the central leader, with the branches distributed in a staggered manner up and down.

Cultivation Methods of the Chinese Fringe Flower

1. Specimen planting: Choose a tall and full plant and plant it alone in an important position or a focal point of view, such as near an entrance, in a courtyard or on a lawn, forming a scene on its own, and pay attention to creating a strong contrast with the surrounding landscape to achieve the effect of “a single red among ten thousand greens”, so that it can serve as the central focal point of the landscape or guide the line of sight.

2. Group planting: Plant Chinese fringe flower balls and other plants in clusters dotted through garden green spaces, which both enriches the landscape colors and enlivens the garden atmosphere. If planted in groups with green tree species, it can add beauty to what is already beautiful. Planting mainly Chinese fringe flower balls in groups and patches forms a scenic forest; its unique leaf color and form are beautiful in all four seasons, and its landscaping effect is far better than that of a purely green scenic forest.

3. Mass planting: Use one-year-old small Chinese fringe flower seedlings planted densely in green spaces to form color blocks. They can be combined with golden privet, spring-flowering azaleas, summer-flowering azaleas, golden elm, golden-edged boxwood, and so on. Not only can the contrast in leaf color form a color contrast, but the flowering periods can also be staggered. For this type of use, it is best to choose the Tougu Hong series.

4. Spherical form: Prune the Chinese fringe flower into spherical shapes and arrange them in green belts. They are mainly divided into two types, rough balls and fine balls. Rough balls are mainly formed after 1 to 3 years of pruning and shaping, and are mainly used in larger green spaces with somewhat extensive management. Fine balls require at least 3 years of pruning and shaping, and are mainly used in refined gardens such as villa courtyards. For this type of use, it is best to choose the Tougu Hong series.

5. Color hedges: Plant Chinese fringe flowers densely to form color hedges that serve to enclose and divide space. The specifications of the seedlings should be selected according to the specific use of the color hedge. For example, in green spaces, a 70 to 80 cm color hedge can be chosen to divide space, while color hedges higher than 2 m are mostly used around the outer edges of green spaces to serve as a green wall.

6. Color sculptures: Directionally cultivate or shape the Chinese fringe flower into green sculptures such as animals or geometric forms, and place them in green spaces as garden features. For this type of use, it is best to choose the Tougu Hong series.

7. Stump scenery: Taking advantage of the fast growth, large leaves, and sparse branches of the Shuangmian Hong series of Chinese fringe flower, directionally cultivate it into large stump scenery for use in the landscaping of high-end gardens, and it can also be used as the focal point of a flower bed for arranging the scene.

8. Street trees: Through pruning control, the Chinese fringe flower can be trained into a small colorful-leaf tree, or it can be trained by grafting onto white fringe flower. It is mostly used as a street tree in residential communities. For this type of use, it is best to choose the Tougu Hong series.