A Detailed Guide to Selecting and Propagating Jing Tao Seeds
Jing Tao (Prunus davidiana, David's peach) is a small tree in the Rosaceae family, native to North China and cultivated across most of Northeast China; it is a small tree valued for its flowers, trunk and bark. Because Jing Tao is one of the earliest flowering tree species in Northeast China, and because its bark turns red and glossy in winter, it is deeply loved by people and widely used in landscaping. So how should Jing Tao seeds be selected? What propagation methods are there? Let's take a look together below.
1. How should Jing Tao seeds be selected?
Before planting Jing Tao, choose larger seeds (260 to 380 seeds per kilogram), and remove particularly small seeds, severely discolored seeds and seeds with insect-bored holes before sowing.
2. What propagation methods are there for Jing Tao?
1. Site selection and land preparation
Choose fertile sloping hillside land or flat land with good drainage, with a pH of 5.5 to 7.0. For ridge cultivation, plow deeper than 18 cm; for bed cultivation, plow deeper than 15 cm. For large-scale propagation, ridge cultivation is best.
2. Sowing and raising seedlings
Autumn sowing is better than spring sowing. Autumn sowing is suitable in mid to late October, and should not be done too early, so as to avoid frost damage when seedlings emerge at the wrong time. Control the sowing depth at 3 to 4 cm. For ridge cultivation, the ridge spacing is 60 to 70 cm, and the plant spacing is about 20 cm. During the seedling stage, transplanting and replanting are needed year by year, with the maximum spread of the side branches as the suitable spacing.
3. Transplanting seedlings and planting out
The physiological activity of Jing Tao is relatively complex; especially after leaf fall in autumn and before complete dormancy, the physiological activity of its root system can still proceed slowly after leaf fall, and the survival rate after transplanting at this time is quite low, mainly caused by the disturbance of root physiological activity from the operation at this time and even by frozen roots after winter sets in. Mid-April to early May in spring is the most suitable period for transplanting Jing Tao, and it should not be transplanted in autumn or winter.
4. Sucker removal and seedling-stage management
Jing Tao seedlings have many sprouting branches, especially two- and three-year-old trees, which have even more sprouting branches. Mechanical damage or excessively large plant spacing often leads to a cluster of sprouting branches at the base of the trunk, some even exceeding the trunk, so timely sucker removal and pruning are needed. If the base is severely damaged, the trunk can be cut off and the largest sprouting branch can replace the trunk. Seedling-stage management of Jing Tao includes water, fertilizer, hoeing, cultivating and weeding, the same as seedling-stage management for other tree species.
The above is an introduction to Jing Tao. Jing Tao is an excellent tree species for viewing flowers and fruit; its fruit is shaped like an apricot and is the ornamental part in early autumn, so protection of the fruit should be strengthened during the growing season. Jing Tao likes light and warmth, should not be over-irrigated, and should be supplied with water as needed. Fertilization can be the same as for other tree species.
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