How to grow Fragrant Wood (Anacardiaceae)? What to watch out for, what to do about leaf drop, and how it differs from Pepperwood

Fragrant Wood is a shrub or small tree in the Anacardiaceae family, also known as Fragrant Tree, Fine-leaf Kai Wood, Fragrant Leaf, Purple Oil Wood, and Tiger Spot Sandalwood. It is most often planted in courtyards and gardens, or grown as an indoor bonsai, making it an important decorative choice for the home environment. So what are the growing methods and precautions for Fragrant Wood? What should you do if it drops leaves? What is the difference between it and Pepperwood?

Introduction to the Fragrant Wood plant

Fragrant Wood has a columnar form of about 2 m; at its tallest, Fragrant Wood can grow to 10 m, and reaching over 10 m makes it a rare variety.

The bark of Fragrant Wood is gray, the branches have brown lenticels, the leaves are pinnate and mostly compound, the leaves are narrow with fine hairs, and the leaflets are leathery and slightly concave. The flowering period is in March, mostly axillary, mainly red and white.

The fruiting period of Fragrant Wood is in September; when ripe the fruit is pink in color, mainly oval in shape, about 5 mm long, and contains seeds the size of a soybean, yellow-brown in color.

Growing methods for Fragrant Wood

1. Best propagation time: both spring and autumn work; generally autumn sowing has a higher germination rate than spring sowing. Before sowing, soak selected good seeds in warm water at an initial temperature of about 20°C for 24 hours; once the seeds swell after absorbing water, remove them and place them under warm, moist conditions to sprout. Generally, the seeding rate is 6 kg per mu.

2. Best growing soil: it tolerates drought and poor soil and prefers soil that does not easily retain water, so the soil must be chosen for good water permeability.

3. Growing humidity requirements: just ensure the soil of Fragrant Wood is dry rather than overly wet.

4. Best growing temperature: seedlings are not very cold-resistant and need protection in North China; the plant can withstand low temperatures of -10°C, so as long as it is kept indoors, winter is no problem.

5. Best growing light: Fragrant Wood likes light and can be sunned every day, but do not expose it to prolonged direct sun. Generally, placing it on a balcony or in a sunny spot indoors is fine. Fragrant Wood is also somewhat shade-tolerant; it is fine if it does not get sun for a few days.

Precautions for growing Fragrant Wood

1. Fertilizer application: Fragrant Wood is quite sensitive to fertilizer, so apply as little as possible or even none to seedlings, to avoid burning the seedlings or causing leggy growth from excessive fertility.

2. Watering key points: do not water Fragrant Wood too frequently; once every 3-5 days is suitable, and each watering must soak through, that is, the water must wet the bottom. Too much watering will cause root rot.

3. Pruning essentials: it grows slowly and is easy to shape; flexibly apply shaping techniques such as coiling, tying, twisting, and pressing, and shape it according to its natural form; after several years of care, an ideal bonsai can be cultivated.

4. Potting soil replacement: Fragrant Wood does not have high soil requirements, and generally does not need repotting much. However, if conditions allow, changing the soil is fine too; just do not damage the roots.

5. Propagation essentials: propagation can be used for garden shrubs and cut branches. Artificial cultivation of Fragrant Wood seedlings mainly uses seed propagation, and cutting propagation can also be used.

(1) Seed propagation: both spring and autumn are suitable sowing seasons; generally autumn sowing has a higher germination rate than spring sowing. Before sowing, soak selected good seeds in warm water at an initial temperature of about 20°C for 24 hours; once the seeds swell after absorbing water, remove them and place them under warm, moist conditions to sprout. Generally, the seeding rate is 6 kg per mu. Notes on seedling management: Fragrant Wood seedlings have three fears: first, fear of waterlogging. The soil should be kept as dry and loose as possible, and generally not watered or watered as little as possible. Second, fear of shade. During the seedling stage, thin the seedlings in time to increase light penetration and ventilation. Third, fear of fertilizer damage. Fragrant Wood is quite sensitive to fertilizer, so apply as little as possible or even none to seedlings, to avoid burning the seedlings or causing leggy growth from excessive fertility.

(2) Cutting propagation: cuttings can be taken in both spring and autumn. During the tree's dormant period, select 1-year-old vigorous branches from a mature mother tree, cut them into cuttings 10 cm to 15 cm long, with the upper cut 1.0 cm to 1.5 cm from a bud and the lower cut 0.3 cm to 0.5 cm from a bud. The cutting medium should preferably be a cutting soil with good permeability, medium water-holding capacity, and a neutral or slightly acidic pH. Before cutting, the medium must be sterilized. Dip the base of the cuttings in 50×10 to 100×10-6 ABT rooting powder solution. The soaking time is 12 to 24 hours. Open a trench and bury them, inserting the cuttings about 2/3 into the soil. After inserting, cover with plastic film to raise air humidity; before rooting, manage them carefully, and rooting begins after about 45 days.

(3) Pest and disease control: if there are scale insects on the branches and leaves or red spider mites on the leaves, spray targeted pesticides for control, such as methidathion and chlorpyrifos for scale insects, and dicofol and hexythiazox for red spider mites, etc.

Why does Fragrant Wood drop leaves? What should you do if it drops leaves?

1. Improper watering. Water is a major nutrient element needed for plant growth, but incorrect watering methods can interfere with plant growth. Fragrant Wood should be watered according to the rule of more water, fewer times. However, if waterlogging occurs, the plant will drop leaves, so just water an appropriate amount.

2. Environment too shady. If Fragrant Wood is placed in a shady spot for a long time, it will affect the plant's own light requirements and it will easily drop leaves.

3. Improper fertilizing. The Fragrant Wood plant itself is quite sensitive to fertilizer, and with too much fertilizer it will shed leaves; you can apply less fertilizer, or even none.

4. Wind and rain. If you are away on a trip, or it is kept outdoors for a long time, the wind can damage the joints of the branches and leaves, making them fall easily.

5. Leaf drop in Fragrant Wood is similar to yellowing leaves in other plants, and it will improve with normal care later on.

Fragrant Wood is suitable for growing in a semi-shady, ventilated environment and needs daily light to supplement nutrients; avoid placing it in a cold, dark indoor spot, such as under an air conditioner. Second, Fragrant Wood easily drops leaves, but new leaves also grow very quickly and it has strong sprouting ability, so there is no need to worry that it will have a major impact on the plant; of course, long-term incorrect care will ultimately cause the plant to die.

The uses of Fragrant Wood

1. Air purification and mosquito repellent effects

The scent given off by Fragrant Wood itself has a “mosquito-repelling” effect.

2. Medicinal value and economic uses

1. The leaves and bark can be used as medicine, with anti-inflammatory, detoxifying, and astringent effects; for diarrhea, decocting the leafy top twigs in water and drinking it works well; after the leaves are dried and ground fine, they can be used as raw material for temple incense, and the fruit contains oils and fats and can strengthen teeth. It is effective for some skin ringworm.

2. The bark can be used to extract tannin, used as a pharmaceutical monomer, in cosmetics, and as a tanning raw material.

3. The wood has beautiful grain and color and is hard and heavy, with good stability after drying. It can replace imported rosewood in making musical instruments, furniture, wood carvings, handicrafts, etc.

4. The leaves can yield aromatic oil, and in folk use the leaves are commonly ground into powder to make “incense”.

5. Fed to pigs, it is a very good feed.

6. Landscaping and potted plants. It purifies the air and repels mosquitoes and flies.

7. Beauty: fresh leaves mashed into a paste and applied to the face can shrink enlarged pores, tighten the skin, and reduce wrinkles, giving the skin a delicate appearance. It can inhibit the activity of tyrosinase and catalase, can also reduce and decolorize melanin, and can effectively scavenge reactive oxygen species, giving a comprehensive whitening effect.

3. Antibacterial effect

Steam distillation (SD) was used to extract the volatile oil from Fragrant Wood leaves, GC-MS was used to analyze the chemical composition of the volatile oil, and the cup-plate method and Alamar blue method were used to test its antibacterial and antitumor activity. The results showed that 29 compounds were isolated and identified from the volatile oil of Fragrant Wood leaves, accounting for 99.54% of the total mass of the volatile oil. The active substances in the volatile oil of Fragrant Wood leaves had strong inhibitory activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), and Rhodotorula glutinis (R. glutinis); they had a significant inhibitory effect on human non-small cell lung cancer (NCI-H460) cell nuclei in vitro, and the inhibitory effect was positively correlated with concentration; when the mass concentration reached 0.1 g/L, the inhibition rate reached 92.56%.

Pepperwood

Main differences between Pepperwood and Fragrant Wood

1. Family and genus: Pepperwood is in the Rutaceae family, Zanthoxylum genus, an evergreen shrub. Fragrant Wood is in the Anacardiaceae family, Pistacia genus, an evergreen shrub or small tree.

2. Leaves: Pepperwood has odd-pinnate compound leaves. Fragrant Wood has even-pinnate compound leaves.

3. Fruit: Pepperwood fruit is green-brown. Fragrant Wood fruit is red.

Simple ways to distinguish Pepperwood from Fragrant Wood

1. Fragrant Wood's leaves are much larger than Pepperwood's, and they are even-pinnate compound leaves.

2. Pepperwood has odd-pinnate compound leaves, and the leaf base has 2 thorns. Fragrant Wood has even-pinnate compound leaves, the leaflet tips are concave, and the small branches are red. Just look directly at whether the very tip of the leaf stalk is a single leaf or a pair of leaves, and that is enough.

How to distinguish Pepperwood from Fragrant Wood by scent

If your sense of smell is sharp, you can also smell the scent they give off to tell them apart well; Pepperwood normally cannot be smelled directly, but if you crush the leaves you will smell a very strong pepper odor.