What are the seed selection and seedling-raising methods for purple-leaf barberry?
Purple-leaf barberry (Berberis thunbergii f. atropurpurea) is an ornamental flowering shrub with beautiful leaves, flowers and fruit alike, commonly used in gardens as a flowering hedge or planted in clumps at the corners of garden paths. In addition, purple-leaf barberry is also a good material for making bonsai, and it also performs well in terms of medicinal value. Purple-leaf barberry also has strong adaptability and is very easy to grow, so many people like to grow it. So how do you select seeds of purple-leaf barberry? What are the seedling-raising methods? Let's find out together.
How do you select seeds of purple-leaf barberry?
Purple-leaf barberry seeds should be collected after autumn, choosing mature, bright red and plump seeds, and selecting those with an intact appearance, free of disease and pests, and with a high germination rate for sowing. During the sowing period, check at any time whether the seeds have germinated; if the temperature is suitable, in about ten days to half a month the seeds can be seen cracking and sprouting small shoots.
What are the seedling-raising methods?
There are mainly the following three seedling-raising methods, namely sowing seedlings, cutting seedlings and large-seedling cultivation:
1. Sowing seedlings
After collecting the seeds, store them after drying in the shade or store them in sand. In April of the following spring, dry-stored seeds can be soaked in 45°C warm water for two days, then wrapped in gauze and placed in a warm spot. Rinse once or twice a day with warm water; the cloth wrap must be moist and breathable. After about a week, once the seeds begin to sprout, they can be sown. Sand-stored seeds can be sown directly. Barberry can be sown in pots or in the ground. The soil for sowing is best a sandy loam. The covering soil must not be too thick; keep it moist at all times, and if necessary protect it with plastic film. Seedlings emerge after about two weeks.
After sowing is completed, spread a 10cm thick layer of coarse rice husk or a 0.5cm thick straw mat over the bed surface. Spray water onto the covering material, soaking the bed surface soil to a depth of 10cm, then spray water once every 3-5d to keep the bed surface suitably moist. Generally, the seed sprouts emerge in 10-15d.
2. Cutting seedlings
From late June to late July, in conjunction with pruning and shaping of the plants, cut semi-lignified new shoots with a thickness of more than 0.2cm, cut them into cuttings 7-8cm long, tie the prepared cuttings in bundles of 20-25, put them in cold water to soak for 24h, take them out and dry them in the sun for 3-5h, then dip the base 2cm of the cuttings in a 25-50mg/l solution of indolebutyric acid or naphthaleneacetic acid for 24h.
3. Large-seedling cultivation
In early to mid-April, plant seedlings at a hole spacing of 0.3m, with 2-4 seedlings per hole; several seedlings can be held together for planting or spaced 2-3cm apart, and the soil pressed firm. After the plants have grown for about 3 years, thin the seedlings again at a clump spacing of 0.6cm, that is, leaving one clump and digging up one clump for every 2 clumps of seedlings, then replanting at a distance of 0.6m.
After transplanting the seedlings, cut the seedling stems flat at 5cm above the ground surface to encourage more branching. Within 4-5 years after transplanting in the nursery, management such as cultivating and weeding, topdressing, irrigation and pest and disease control should also be carried out. When the crown width and height of the tree ball reach 0.5-0.6m, it can leave the nursery for use in landscaping.
Purple-leaf barberry not only has good medicinal effects but also has good ornamental value. Purple-leaf barberry blazes brilliantly, with fine, dense and thorny branches. It blooms with small yellow flowers in spring, and in autumn the leaves turn red; after the fruit ripens it is also red and beautiful, very attractive. I wonder if any of you have grown it? You are welcome to leave a comment to discuss.
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