This cane-like plant can be harvested for 5 years after a single planting, earning farmers 20,000 yuan per mu

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Hemu Report aims to share and popularize information about various plants and their uses, for reference only. If medicinal use is needed, it is recommended to consult a professional physician to avoid problems!

In the past, many farmer friends only knew how to work hard in the fields, toiling all year round yet unable to earn much money. With the development of the social economy, some quick-witted farmer friends, after coming into contact with the outside world, began to change their thinking and no longer limited their sights to traditional planting projects. Relying on the local geographical environment and vegetation resources, they found a new path to wealth. Today we will talk about a common plant in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, which resembles a cane yet has considerable economic value.

The Yunnan region is relatively hot and humid, with abundant water resources and equally rich vegetation resources. There is a perennial native plant there whose flowering is quite distinctive: beneath the pure white flowers is a spike-shaped inflorescence. If all the leaves are stripped off, it looks just like a cane, and local farmers call it "Old Mother's Cane." This name has a strong rustic flavor, but its flowers are a very popular "cut flower (referring to fresh flowers cut from a living plant)" variety in the city.

Yunnan has an extremely large variety of flowers and is a nationally famous center for flower cultivation and distribution, which has also brought business opportunities for "Old Mother's Cane."

The scientific name of Old Mother's Cane is red bract closed-sheath ginger (Costus woodsonii). It can bloom all year round and can be harvested repeatedly for cut flowers, with a yield of about 20,000 stems per mu, making it a very high-yielding cut flower. Usually 10 stems make a bundle, and one bundle generally costs around 10 yuan. After simple processing, it can be transported to the flower market for sale. Although flower prices fluctuate every day, on average, farmers can still earn 20,000 yuan per mu per year by growing it. Moreover, red bract closed-sheath ginger can be sold not only as cut flowers but also made into dried flowers.

Because its spike-shaped inflorescence is leathery and low in water content, it is very suitable for making dried flowers, and the production process is relatively easy, so this is also a channel for farmers to increase their income. Red bract closed-sheath ginger is relatively simple to grow and can survive by cuttings; new plants generally grow in about 15 days, with a very high survival rate. It can be planted in any season except winter, and cut flowers can be harvested in the same year it is planted. Moreover, because it is a perennial plant, the underground perennial roots sprout every year, so one planting can be harvested for 5 years, making it a very worry-free and labor-saving plant.

Red bract closed-sheath ginger is also simple to manage. Pay attention to water and fertilizer management during the flowering period, and extensive management otherwise can still achieve high yields. Friends in the south, do you know this plant?

Text/Hemu Report, Images/Internet

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