The Latest Cedar Planting Techniques and Methods Tutorial

Cedar is an evergreen tree of the genus Cedrus in the pine family (Pinaceae), also known as incense cedar, pagoda pine, and foreign cypress. It is one of the world's famous garden ornamental tree species, favored for its graceful tree form, majestic presence, and upright trunk, with strong dust-blocking, noise-reducing, and sterilizing abilities, and is widely used in landscaping. Now let's take a look at cedar planting techniques together!

Cedar Growing Environment

Cedar grows vigorously in mild, cool, and moist climates on deep, well-drained acidic soil. It requires a mild, cool, and moist climate and deep, well-drained soil. It prefers full sunlight but also tolerates shade. It grows in acidic and slightly alkaline soils at elevations of 1300-3300 m. It is found in the northern warm temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest region, the southern warm zone deciduous broad-leaved forest region, the mid-subtropical evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved forest region, and the evergreen broad-leaved mixed forest region. It prefers a warm temperate to mid-subtropical climate with annual rainfall of 600-1000 ml, and grows best in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China.

Cedar Propagation Techniques

1. Sowing: Cedar sowing can be done in mid-to-late March, with a sowing rate of 75 kg/hectare. Sowing can also be done earlier to increase seedling disease resistance. Choose sandy loam with good drainage and aeration as the seedbed. Before sowing, soak the seeds in cold water for 1-2 days, dry them, and then sow. They begin to germinate after 3-5 days, lasting about 1 month, with a germination rate of 90%. During the seedling stage, attention should be paid to shading and preventing and controlling damping-off disease and cutworm damage. One-year-old seedlings can reach 30-40 cm in height and can be transplanted in the following spring.

2. Cuttage: Cedar cuttage propagation can be carried out in both spring and summer. In spring, it should be done before March 20; in summer, late July is best. In spring, cut one-year-old robust branches from young mother trees and treat them with rooting powder or 500 mg/L naphthaleneacetic acid to promote rooting. Then insert them into well-aerated sandy loam, water thoroughly, and set up a double-layer shade shed for shading. In summer, select semi-lignified branches of the current year as cuttings.

3. Transplanting: Propagated cedar seedlings can be transplanted after staying in the seedbed for 1-2 years. Transplanting is done in February to March, and the plants need to be balled and supported with stakes. The initial transplant spacing is about 50 cm, and the second transplant spacing should be expanded to 1-2 m. During the growing period, 2-3 topdressings should be applied. Seedlings are susceptible to pests and diseases, especially damping-off disease and cutworms, which are the most severe. Other pests include white grubs, bagworms, pine tussock moths, pine tip borers, red wax scales, and termites, which should be controlled promptly.

Cedar Planting Techniques

1. Pot selection: For cedar, purple clay pottery pots are preferred, but glazed pottery pots can also be used. For large bonsai, deep round pots can be used, as well as various carved stone pots, but the root base must be fixed with wire. For medium bonsai, crabapple-shaped or manger-shaped pots are suitable. For small seedlings planted together in a forest style, shallow carved stone pots such as white alum stone or marble can be used.

2. Soil: For cedar, loose, well-drained, slightly acidic sandy loam can be used. For pot cultivation, aged garden soil or leaf mold mixed with sand is commonly used.

3. Planting: For cedar, spring from March to April is suitable, and autumn is also acceptable. Cedar seedlings dug from the ground must retain native soil to aid survival. Prune away dead roots, spread out the fibrous roots, cover with fine soil, gently shake the pot, and press firmly with a bamboo stick so that the potting soil and root system are in close contact. The trunk should preferably be positioned leaning to one side.

4. Shaping: The shaping of cedar bonsai is mainly done by wiring, supplemented by pruning. Wiring is best done in winter and spring, mostly using palm fiber. Cedar has an upright trunk and horizontally spreading side branches, so the side branches are often bent into S shapes, while the trunk is generally not bent, naturally growing upward into a large tree form, with an extremely simple and beautiful posture. Alternatively, 5-7 current-year seedlings can be planted together at varying heights in a forest style, with graceful foliage, possessing a unique charm.

5. Tree form: The cedar tree body is tall and upright, with side branches spreading horizontally and drooping. When making bonsai, its natural form must be utilized. Tree forms such as straight trunk style, double trunk style, slanting trunk style, and forest style are good. Through wiring and pruning, the branches and leaves can be made into layered or cloud-like forms. After years of maintenance, it can become a fine bonsai piece that combines strength and softness with an elegant posture.

Cedar Planting Precautions

1. Cedar is a shallow-rooted plant. When planting, the soil pit must not be dug too deep. Deep planting violates the normal growth pattern of cedar. The root system grows best and has the highest activity only when it is close to the soil surface.

2. After transplanting, cedar trees whose leaves turn yellow and do not grow vigorously are generally deficient in iron. Foliar fertilization is generally used. In areas where pine needles turn yellow due to severe iron deficiency, iron fertilizer must be applied in combination with soil application. Common iron fertilizers include ferrous sulfate, ferrous ammonium sulfate, ferrous ammonium sulfate, and synthetic chelated iron such as ferric citrate, EDTA-Fe, and EDDHA-Fe. In most cases, soil application is not very effective. Iron fertilizer can be mixed with organic fertilizer and applied in furrows or holes.

3. Cedar is afraid of water but not of drought. Even a single instance of waterlogging can cause lifelong damage to cedar, after which the growth rate greatly decreases and the color becomes yellowish. In severe cases, the pine needles will shed in small amounts, and the cedar may even die quickly. In nursery planting, deep ditches must be dug in the field to ensure that no water accumulates or ponds in the field even during the rainy season. For engineering planting of cedar, the cedar must be planted in a position relatively higher than the road surface and the green island surface, and the surrounding area must be guaranteed to be free of water accumulation.

4. In early spring, the aboveground temperature is high while the underground temperature is low. The aboveground part begins to grow first, while the underground part, affected by temperature, delays absorbing water and nutrients from the soil, resulting in nutrient deficiency. The plant, through its own signal transduction and regulation of the internal environment, decomposes chlorophyll in the leaves to supply nutrients to the growth center. In other words, at this time, the nutrients for plant growth come from the leaves rather than the roots. The leaves lose chlorophyll but retain xanthophyll and carotenoids, thus appearing yellow. If the external environment does not improve, shoot dieback may occur.