How to Plant Cedar Seeds? A Detailed Guide to the Latest Planting Methods
Cedar is one of the five most famous landscape tree species in the world, and it is the backbone tree species most widely planted in urban landscaping in our country. Seed sowing and cutting propagation are mainly used for raising seedlings. In recent years, cedar seedlings have been very popular, there is a large gap in supply, and prices have remained high. Cultivating cedar seedlings has very high market prospects. Now let us take a look at how to plant cedar seeds!
Cedar Seedbed Treatment
Choose a loose, fertile sandy loam nursery site with convenient drainage and irrigation, and plow it deeply in early winter. This not only improves the physical and chemical properties of the soil, but also freezes underground pests to death and reduces the occurrence of seedling diseases the following year. While plowing, apply 250 kg of cake fertilizer and 50 kg of superphosphate per mu, and rake the fertilizer evenly into the soil. This ensures that the seedlings have sufficient nutrients after sowing.
Cedar Seed Treatment
Cedar seeds generally number about 6000-8000 per kg, with many empty seeds, so seed selection is needed to remove the empty ones. Before sowing, the seeds should be soaked to promote germination. Soaking in cold water for 96 hours gives the best effect. Alternatively, soak in warm water at 45-50°C for 24 hours each. After soaking, disinfect with 0.1% potassium permanganate for 30 minutes, then rinse clean with water, dry, and sow. Never sow while still wet.
Sowing Cedar Seeds
Cedar sowing is generally carried out before the spring equinox, and earlier is better than later. Drilling is preferred, with row spacing of 10-15 cm and plant spacing of 4-5 cm. The seeds should be inserted upright in the sowing furrow, and the large end of the seed must face upward. The sowing rate is 15-20 kg per mu. After sowing, cover with 1-2 cm of yellow subsoil or burnt mud ash. Then cover with a thin layer of rice straw, and sprinkle water on it with a watering can to keep the bed surface moist. After about 3-5 days, the seeds begin to stir, and seedlings emerge one after another in about half a month. The emergence period lasts more than 1 month, and the germination rate can generally reach 90%.
Cedar Seedling Management
To prevent newly emerged cedar seedlings from being lost to rain, and to manage the temperature inside the shed well, ventilate when the temperature inside the shed remains at 15-20°C. On sunny days when the outside temperature is above 15°C, the film can be uncovered during the day and covered again at night. When more than 70% of the seedlings have emerged, remove the rice straw in batches, build a frame in time, and cover with a shade net or reed curtain for shade. Cedar has few pests and diseases, especially few fatal ones. In spring, mainly prevent aphid damage. This pest is very common in the Yangtze River Basin and will eat the tender tips of cedar, causing the loss of apical growth dominance of the main trunk. Preventing this pest is very simple: once signs of pest damage are found, promptly spraying a phosphorus-containing insecticide can solve it.