A Detailed Guide to the Latest Planting Methods for Agastache rugosa Seeds
Agastache rugosa, also known as he xiang, cang gao, shan hui xiang and so on, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Schizonepeta in the Lamiaceae family. The dried above-ground parts of the plant can be used as medicine; they are harvested when the branches and leaves are luxuriant, sun-dried by day and smothered by night, repeated until dry. It has the medicinal effects of aromatically transforming turbidity, harmonizing the middle and stopping vomiting, and releasing the exterior and relieving summer-heat, and its cultivation value is extremely high. Now let us take a look at how to plant Agastache rugosa seeds!
Growth Habits
Agastache rugosa prefers high temperatures and a sunny, well-lit environment, and grows poorly in shaded places. Areas with an average annual temperature of 19-26°C are more suitable for its growth; when the temperature is above 35°C or below 16°C, growth slows or stops. It likes to grow in humid, rainy environments and is afraid of drought, requiring annual rainfall of more than 1600 ml. It is not demanding about soil and can grow in general soils, but deep, fertile and loose sandy loam or loam is best. It is afraid of waterlogging; when planted in low-lying land prone to water accumulation, the roots rot easily and the plant dies. Seeds have a lifespan of 2-4 years, so seeds from the previous year can be sown. Seed germination requires light conditions, the suitable germination temperature is 18-22°C, and germination takes 7-10 days.
Land Preparation and Sowing
For the Agastache rugosa seedbed, it is best to choose a plot of loam or sandy loam with convenient drainage and irrigation, easy management, and medium-to-high fertility. Apply 22.5 tons per hectare of decomposed barn manure as base fertilizer in combination with plowing. Then open furrows, break up the clods finely, and form a turtle-back-shaped seedbed with a 1.5-meter-wide border ditch. Water the bed surface moist with 7.5 tons per hectare of decomposed human and animal urine, mix the seeds with fine sand or plant ash and evenly broadcast them on the bed surface, then cover with about 1 cm of fertile soil made of fine soil:plant ash = 1:0.5. Finally, use bamboo strips or small branches to build small arches spaced about 80 cm apart on the bed surface and cover them with plastic film to keep warm and raise seedlings. Generally, each hectare of field requires 120-150 sq m of seedbed and 2.25-2.7 kg of seeds.
Temperature Management
After sowing Agastache rugosa seeds, when the temperature is maintained at 20-25°C, seedlings emerge in 10-15 days. When the emergence rate reaches 70%, remove the film. The suitable growth temperature is 18-25°C. For Agastache rugosa sown in spring of the same year, when the seedlings are 12 cm tall and the main stem has 5 pairs of leaves, branching begins to occur at the leaf axils at the base. After June, as the temperature rises and the rainy season arrives, Agastache rugosa enters a period of vigorous growth.
Water and Fertilizer Management
Both the stems and leaves of Agastache rugosa are used as medicine, so it is best to apply “complete fertilizer” (including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium), such as human and animal manure, oil cakes, etc. The first topdressing is after loosening the soil when the seedlings are 3 cm tall, applying 1.5-2 kg of decomposed dilute human and animal manure water per sq m. After that, when the seedlings are 7-10 cm, 15-20 cm, and 25-30 cm tall, respectively, after intertillage and weeding, apply 1500 kg of decomposed human and animal manure water per mu each time, or apply 10-12 kg of diammonium phosphate per mu. Water after fertilizing. Once the rows close, no more topdressing is applied.
Intertillage and Weeding
When Agastache rugosa seedlings are 3 cm tall, thin out the overly dense seedlings in time so that each seedling has a nutritional area of 4 sq cm, or carry out seedling separation with a plant spacing of 6-8 cm. For hole-sown Agastache rugosa, leave 3-4 plants per hole; for drill-sown, thin to a plant spacing of 10-12 cm, with the two rows staggered when finalizing the stand. Where seedlings are missing, replant on cloudy days, and water once with dilute human and animal manure water after planting to help them survive. Before the first harvest, carry out intertillage and weeding 2-3 times, respectively when the seedlings are 3 cm, 12-15 cm, and 21-24 cm tall. When the seedlings are 25-30 cm tall, after the second harvest, earth up 6 cm to protect the roots.