How to propagate Acorus gramineus by division? Detailed method and steps

Acorus gramineus is a perennial herb of the Araceae family and Acorus genus. Because its rhizome has a scent and a certain medicinal value, it is kept by many gardening enthusiasts. The propagation methods of Acorus gramineus include division, cuttings and sowing. The editor will now introduce division propagation of Acorus gramineus.

Acorus gramineus

Acorus gramineus has strong adaptability and a high survival rate. In the north it can be done except in winter, and in warm southern areas it can be done in all four seasons. When digging up clumped seedlings grown in ponds, the seedlings should be dug 15-20 cm beyond the outer ring of seedlings, the old soil removed and washed with clean water, then cut apart with roots in clumps of 3-5 plants or as single plants and planted promptly. If there is no condition to plant them immediately at the time, they can be heeled in in water with coarse sand (builder's sand), or floated briefly on the water surface to keep them from losing water. For the planting soil, you can choose thoroughly sun-dried river mud, pond mud or ordinary garden soil that has been sun-dried or treated with high temperature to kill insects and sterilize. After planting, place in a semi-shaded environment and water immediately, with the water depth no less than 15-30 cm. When divided in spring and summer, new roots can form in 10-15 days. For seedlings grown in water containers, greenhouse ponds, aquariums, etc., pull out the clumped seedlings or take them out of the pot, wash off the old soil, cut them apart as single plants or in groups of 3-5, and replant them and they will survive.

How Acorus gramineus propagates

The propagation methods of Acorus gramineus include sowing, cuttings and division, with division and cuttings being the most widely used.

(1) Division: It has strong adaptability and a high survival rate. In the north it can be done except in winter, and in warm southern areas it can be done in all four seasons. When digging up clumped seedlings grown in ponds, the seedlings should be dug 15-20 cm beyond the outer ring of seedlings, the old soil removed and washed with clean water, then cut apart with roots in clumps of 3-5 plants or as single plants and planted promptly. If there is no condition to plant them immediately at the time, they can be heeled in in water with coarse sand (builder's sand), or floated briefly on the water surface to keep them from losing water. For the planting soil, you can choose thoroughly sun-dried river mud, pond mud or ordinary garden soil that has been sun-dried or treated with high temperature to kill insects and sterilize. After planting, place in a semi-shaded environment and water immediately, with the water depth no less than 15-30 cm. When divided in spring and summer, new roots can form in 10-15 days. For seedlings grown in water containers, greenhouse ponds, aquariums, etc., pull out the clumped seedlings or take them out of the pot, wash off the old soil, cut them apart as single plants or in groups of 3-5, and replant them and they will survive.

(2) Cuttings: Mostly used for aquarium seedlings supplied to the market. When cutting the cuttings, cut at the short stem or the creeping stem leaf node with 2-3 cm of rhizome below, which does not affect the mother plant producing new shoots again after cutting, and the number of new shoots produced increases several times over. The cutting medium is mostly builder's sand, and the containers are mostly 16-20 cm clay pots or baskets woven from metal. During operation, fill the pot about 2/3 with sandy soil, then secure the cuttings in the sandy soil, and after they stand firm and upright, add sandy soil again so that the sandy soil is higher than the growing point of the stem, then place in water keeping the water depth no less than 10 cm, with a water temperature of 24-28 degrees, and roots will form in 15-20 days. After rooting, they can be planted separately or supplied to the market. According to a friend in the south, he used steel mesh floating balls for cuttings, which saves labor and time and makes it easier to adjust the water depth. His method is to choose a piece of 1.2 m x 1.2 m (the size can be adjusted freely) large-mesh galvanized wire mesh, tie 150 plastic clips to the mesh with plastic rope, clip the cuttings onto the clips, tie 1-4 floating balls to each piece of metal mesh, then place it into a pond or pool. Usually roots will form in 20-30 days; take out the metal mesh, remove the cuttings, wash them and plant them, or supply them to the market.

(3) Sowing: The fruit can be harvested after it ripens. After drying in the shade, store dry, or sow immediately after harvesting and removing impurities. Sow in containers and overwinter in a greenhouse, or sow in ponds and overwinter outdoors, and the seedlings emerge the following spring. Dry-stored seeds can be sown between spring and summer. After sowing, keep them moist; once the germinating seeds encounter drought, the young shoots will dry up and cannot be saved. For the sowing soil, choose pollution-free river mud, pond mud or ordinary garden soil that has been thoroughly sun-dried or treated with high temperature to kill insects and sterilize. Cover with soil 1.2 cm thick. The pH of the water should be between pH 5.5 and 7. The seedlings emerge fairly uniformly, and the young plants are planted separately when about 10 cm tall.

An introduction to the effects and functions of Acorus gramineus!

 Writers of past dynasties wrote many poems praising Acorus gramineus. For example, the poet Du Fu's "The wind snaps the green calamus joints, green joints put forth cold calamus," Yao Siyan's "Roots coil like dragon bones, thin; leaves rise like tiger whiskers, long," and Lu You's "Coiling roots and lush leaves, the more you look the better," and other lines all depict Acorus gramineus's gnarled, interlacing roots and its slender, many-jointed, lovely green leaves, which when placed as a pure offering on a desk is of course elegant and full of charm. Today we will briefly introduce the effects and functions of Acorus gramineus.


Effects and functions of Acorus gramineus on the central nervous system:
      Acorus gramineus has a good sedative effect. Both the decoction and the volatile oil can reduce spontaneous activity in mice and eliminate the aggressive behavior of mice kept in individual cages. They can also prolong the sleep time caused by pentobarbital sodium, and have a synergistic effect on subthreshold hypnotic doses of pentobarbital sodium. In addition, they can significantly prolong the anesthesia time of pentobarbital sodium.

      Research shows that asarone in the volatile oil is the effective sedative component, but there is still a sedative effect after removing the volatile oil, suggesting that there is more than one sedative component. The decoction of Acorus gramineus has a certain antagonistic effect on pentylenetetrazole-induced convulsions in mice. Compared with the control group, it can reduce spontaneous activity, delay the onset time of convulsions, and reduce the number of convulsing mice.

      Alpha-asarone in the volatile oil at 140 mg/kg can completely antagonize electroconvulsions in mice, and can also antagonize convulsions caused by intracerebroventricular administration of Ach in rabbits. Tablets made from the water extract of Acorus gramineus rhizome are used clinically to treat epilepsy and other nervous system diseases with good efficacy, and its volatile oil has physiological activity on certain animal models of the nervous system.


Effects on the cardiovascular system:
      The volatile oil of Acorus gramineus (beta-asarone) is commonly used clinically to treat coronary heart disease, cor pulmonale and other cases of chest impediment belonging to phlegm turbidity and qi stagnation. Its mechanism may be related to its ability to increase coronary flow, improve digestive function, relieve asthma and relieve cough.

Effects on the digestive system:
      Oral administration of the decoction of Acorus gramineus can promote the secretion of digestive juices and stop abnormal fermentation in the gastrointestinal tract, and has the effect of relieving spasm of intestinal smooth muscle. The asarone contained in Acorus gramineus can antagonize the excitatory effect of barium chloride on isolated intestinal segments.


Antifungal effect:
      The water infusion of Acorus gramineus (1:3) has varying degrees of inhibitory effect in test tubes on skin fungi such as Trichophyton violaceum, Trichophyton concentricum, Trichophyton schoenleinii, Microsporum audouinii, Microsporum ferrugineum, Microsporum lanosum, Epidermophyton inguinale, Epidermophyton rubrum, Epidermophyton kaufmann-wolf, and Nocardia asteroides.


Cultivation techniques of Acorus gramineus: division planting:
      Division planting is the most commonly used method of peony planting. Seedling production in peony-producing areas basically uses this method of propagation. It has three advantages: first, it flowers earlier than the sowing method; sown seedlings flower in 4-5 years, while divided seedlings can flower the next year; second, division is simple and easy to perform, saves labor in management, and is convenient for wide application; third, it can maintain the excellent traits of the original variety. The disadvantage is that the propagation coefficient is low; a three-year-old mother plant can only be divided into 3-5 daughter plants, making it very difficult to adapt to and meet the needs of modern large-scale production and the continuously rapidly growing domestic and international flower market.

Sowing and planting:
      Sowing is also one of the methods of peony planting. The land for sowing and planting should be given sufficient base fertilizer and deeply plowed and leveled. If the soil is relatively moist and suitable for sowing, beds can be made directly for sowing; if the soil moisture is poor, it should be fully irrigated, and then beds made for sowing. The bed width is about 50 cm, the distance between beds is 30 cm, and the seeds are sown in holes at a row spacing of 6 cm and a seed spacing of 3 cm; if there are enough seeds, broadcast sowing can be used, with a seed spacing of no less than 3 cm; after sowing, cover with moist soil about 2 cm thick. After sowing, cover with plastic film, and remove it the following spring after the shoots emerge. Then rake level the following spring before sprouting.

Cuttings planting:
      If using the method of planting peonies by cuttings, you should choose a nursery site with higher terrain and good drainage for the cutting bed. After loosening the bed soil, spread a 15 cm thick layer of river sand, and the river sand should be disinfected with 0.5% potassium permanganate. The cutting medium can also be vermiculite or perlite. Build a shade shed 1.5 m high over the bed. According to experience in Changchun and other places, cuttings taken in mid-July give the best rooting results. After rooting, reduce the amount of misting and watering, and gradually remove the plastic shed and shade shed. Cutting seedlings grow slowly and need to be covered with soil in the bed to overwinter, then moved to open ground for planting the following spring.