Detailed Explanation of Forsythia Cultivation Techniques: Master the Key Points to Grow Forsythia Well

Forsythiacultivation techniques

Biological characteristics: Prefers a warm and humid climate. Highly adaptable, cold-tolerant and tolerant of poor soil. Prefers full sunlight. Not demanding about soil, able to grow in both humus soil and sandy gravel soil.

Cultivation techniques: Propagated by seed, layering and cuttings. Seed propagation: In the north, sow from late March to early April; in the south, sow in early to mid-March. Before sowing, soak the seeds in warm water at 50°C for 10-12h, remove them, and sow after drying. Alternatively, in September to October, stratify the seeds with moist sand, take them out in spring and sow, which can improve the germination rate. Row spacing about 30cm, cover with soil 1-2cm, then cover with grass to keep the soil moist. When seedlings are 15-20cm tall, thin them, set the plants at a spacing of 10cm, and apply human and livestock manure water as a top dressing; transplant in autumn of the same year or early spring of the 2nd year. Layering propagation: Before the rainy season arrives, bend the longer current-year branches of the mother plant downward, bury them 3-4cm deep in the soil near the mother plant, then irrigate and keep moist regularly; transplant in early spring of the 2nd year. Cutting propagation: After leaf fall in autumn or before budding in early spring, select robust 1-2-year-old branches, cut them to about 20cm long, keep only 2-3 leaves at the upper part and remove the rest. Insert them into the seedbed at a row spacing of 5cm×15cm, leaving 1-2 nodes of the cuttings exposed above the soil; irrigate immediately after insertion and keep moist regularly. After the cuttings have taken root, begin fertilizing 20-30d later, 3-4 times, and they can be transplanted in the same year. When transplanting, dig holes at a spacing of 2m×1.5m, apply a small amount of decomposed compost or barnyard manure, let the roots spread naturally when planting, and firm the soil after covering. The fruit-setting rate of forsythia is very low, so when transplanting, long-styled plants and short-styled plants must be planted alternately to increase the fruit-setting rate.

Field management: During the growing period, reasonable pruning must be carried out, removing weak branches and keeping strong ones, so as to bear more fruit. When pruning in winter, thinning is the main method, with heading back as a supplement. Apart from keeping 3-7 vigorous main stems per clump, the remaining thin, weak, dead and old branches can be cut off as appropriate. After pruning, apply a top dressing or barnyard manure, compost plus superphosphate, etc., by opening furrows beside the plants, applying, then covering with soil. In June, remove excess water sprouts newly emerging from the base, and carry out intertillage, weeding, pinching, etc. according to specific conditions.

Pest and disease control: Diseases include damping-off.