Detailed Explanation of the Key Points of Fast Propagation of Purple Loosestrife by Cuttings
Purple loosestrife can be propagated by sowing, division, cuttings and other methods. Commercial production mostly uses softwood cuttings, which can yield a large number of finished seedlings in a short time for landscaping projects.
I. Preparation of the cutting bed: To improve the transplant survival rate of purple loosestrife, container seedlings are now mostly used. After years of trials, we adopted the method of rooting cuttings directly in nutrition pots. The seedbed is generally made 1.5 m wide and of unlimited length, with a depth of preferably 20 cm to 30 cm. In dry, water-scarce areas, plastic film is laid to prevent seepage. The size of the nutrition pots depends on the actual application. Purple loosestrife is highly tolerant and widely adaptable, with no strict requirements for the substrate; for ease of handling by workers, loose, non-clodding soil is best. After the nutrition pots are filled with soil, they are placed on the seedbed ready for use, and the seedbed with the pots in place is irrigated and soaked in preparation for cuttings.
II. Cuttings: Purple loosestrife should be propagated by softwood cuttings, because branches that have flowered have already become woody and are not easy to root after cuttings. After the plant sprouts, the softwood grows rapidly and the branches are thick; cut the cuttings before lateral buds appear, generally about 20 cm long. To prevent the cuttings from dehydrating, in practice you should cut and insert at the same time, and it is best if the cuttings do not wilt.
III. Cutting time: For large-scale production, this can be achieved by strengthening the management of the seedling nursery. Throughout the entire growing season of purple loosestrife, cuttings are continuously taken for propagation. The specific cutting time is fairly flexible and mainly depends on the growth of the mother plants. In northern regions, cutting generally starts in mid-May, when the branches of outdoor mother plants have grown to more than 30 cm, taking the main shoots for cuttings. After taking the shoots, management of the seedling nursery should be strengthened, with timely weeding, fertilizing and watering. When the lateral buds have grown enough to be used, continue to take cuttings.
IV. Off-season cuttings: In late June, most purple loosestrife plants have reached the flowering stage. At this time, if production requires it, the part above the flower buds of the plant can be cut off with flat shears, and fertilizer and water management strengthened to promote the plant to grow new soft shoots, which can be taken as cuttings.
V. Management after cutting: Purple loosestrife soft shoots rooted in water recover quickly and do not wilt. If the sunlight is too strong at the time of cutting, shade treatment can be applied for one week. Later management should ensure the seedbed does not lack water; roots form about 15 days after cutting, and a plant is formed in 20 days. (The author's workplace is the Agriculture Bureau of Anxin County, Baoding City)
Cuttings taken on May 16
All survived by June 1
Fast Propagation Technology of Purple Loosestrife by Cuttings
Purple loosestrife can be propagated by sowing, division, cuttings and other methods. Commercial production mostly uses softwood cuttings, which can yield a large number of finished seedlings in a short time for landscaping projects.I. Preparation of the cutting bed:
To improve the transplant survival rate of purple loosestrife, container seedlings are now mostly used. After years of trials, we adopted the method of rooting cuttings directly in nutrition pots. The seedbed is generally made 1.5 m wide and of unlimited length, with a depth of preferably 20 cm to 30 cm. In dry, water-scarce areas, plastic film is laid to prevent seepage. The size of the nutrition pots depends on the actual application. Purple loosestrife is highly tolerant and widely adaptable, with no strict requirements for the substrate; for ease of handling by workers, loose, non-clodding soil is best. After the nutrition pots are filled with soil, they are placed on the seedbed ready for use, and the seedbed with the pots in place is irrigated and soaked in preparation for cuttings.
II. Cuttings:
Purple loosestrife should be propagated by softwood cuttings, because branches that have flowered have already become woody and are not easy to root after cuttings. After the plant sprouts, the softwood grows rapidly and the branches are thick; cut the cuttings before lateral buds appear, generally about 20 cm long. To prevent the cuttings from dehydrating, in practice you should cut and insert at the same time, and it is best if the cuttings do not wilt.
III. Cutting time:
For large-scale production, this can be achieved by strengthening the management of the seedling nursery. Throughout the entire growing season of purple loosestrife, cuttings are continuously taken for propagation. The specific cutting time is fairly flexible and mainly depends on the growth of the mother plants. In northern regions, cutting generally starts in mid-May, when the branches of outdoor mother plants have grown to more than 30 cm, taking the main shoots for cuttings. After taking the shoots, management of the seedling nursery should be strengthened, with timely weeding, fertilizing and watering. When the lateral buds have grown enough to be used, continue to take cuttings.
IV. Off-season cuttings:
In late June, most purple loosestrife plants have reached the flowering stage. At this time, if production requires it, the part above the flower buds of the plant can be cut off with flat shears, and fertilizer and water management strengthened to promote the plant to grow new soft shoots, which can be taken as cuttings.
V. Management after cutting:
Purple loosestrife soft shoots rooted in water recover quickly and do not wilt. If the sunlight is too strong at the time of cutting, shade treatment can be applied for one week. Later management should ensure the seedbed does not lack water; roots form about 15 days after cutting, and a plant is formed in 20 days.
Cultivation Techniques of Crape Myrtle
Cultivation Techniques of Crape Myrtle---Crape myrtle, also known as "hundred-day red", was praised by a poet: "Who says a red flower cannot last a hundred days? The crape myrtle often blooms for half a year." It blooms from midsummer until mid-autumn. Ornamental cultivation in our country has a long history of 1500 years. Crape myrtle, also known as "mantanghong" and "itchy tree", is a deciduous shrub of the genus Lagerstroemia in the family Lythraceae, or grown as a small tree by arboricultural training. When planted in the ground, the plant height can reach 3 m to 6 m or more. The bark is grayish-green and flaky; after peeling off, the trunk is smooth, and when lightly scratched by hand, the whole plant trembles slightly, hence the name "itchy tree". The young branches are slightly four-angled. The simple leaves are opposite, elliptical to obovate, some oblong-elliptical, smooth and hairless, with only slight down on the main veins of the leaf underside, and very short petioles. The panicle is terminal at the tip of the current year's branch, 6 cm to 20 cm long; the flowers are red, pink, violet, white and other colors, about 3 cm to 4 cm in diameter, with wrinkled petals, a green and smooth calyx, and numerous stamens of uneven length; the flowering period is from July to October. The capsule is round or elliptical, containing many seeds, and matures from September to October. The seeds remain on the branch tips throughout the winter.
There are about 40 cultivars of crape myrtle. Common cultivated cultivars include Cuiwei, a shorter plant with lighter leaf color, weak growth vigor and light purple flowers; Yinwei, with white flowers slightly tinged with pale lilac; and Hongwei, with peach-red flowers.
Crape myrtle is native to central China and is widely cultivated in both northern and southern regions. It is a subtropical sun-loving tree species. It prefers a sunny, warm and humid climate, is slightly tolerant of semi-shade, drought-resistant and waterlogging-resistant, tolerant of extreme heat, and also has a certain cold resistance, so it can overwinter outdoors in most northern regions. For ground planting, it requires deep, fertile, well-drained neutral light loam, and grows poorly in clay. For pot cultivation, a loose, fertile sandy culture soil containing humus is needed.
Crape myrtle is usually propagated by hardwood cuttings in spring and softwood cuttings in summer. For spring hardwood cuttings, collect the previous year's plump, robust branches before sprouting in early spring, cut them into 20 cm sections, and follow the buried-stem cutting method introduced in the previous issue's article "Hibiscus Cultivation"; the survival rate can approach 100%, and when divided and planted in the same year, the plant height can reach about 1 m. When the rainy season comes, softwood cuttings can be taken in summer, using semi-mature branches of the current year, 10 cm to 15 cm long, removing the lower leaves that would enter the soil, with the cutting depth not exceeding 1/3 of the total length; the following spring, divide the seedlings and pot them or plant them out in the ground.
The miniature crape myrtle introduced in recent years is only 20 cm to 30 cm tall. Sow indoors in pots in early spring, prick out seedlings into small pots with an inner diameter of 10 cm, and when the seedlings are about 10 cm tall, pinch them to promote branching; in the same year, a small potted flower with a full shape and abundant leaves and flowers can be produced, suitable for thousands of households and for display on courtyards and balconies.
For ordinary (large) crape myrtle cultivars planted out in the garden, the first step is to establish the trunk, keeping a 30 cm to 40 cm main trunk and cutting it short, so that lateral branches emerge from the main trunk and the plant does not grow into a bush. In addition to applying an appropriate amount of base fertilizer at planting, another topdressing should be applied after autumn each year, and attention should be paid to appropriate watering in dry seasons. Crape myrtle tolerates pruning, and attention should be paid to continuous branch renewal. Flower buds form at the tips of the current year's new shoots. After autumn each year or before sprouting in early spring, evenly thin and shorten the branches, keeping only 1 to 2 buds at the base; the new shoots will sprout robustly and bloom abundantly. After the summer flowers fade, cut the flowering branches short, and new shoots can sprout again to bloom again in autumn.
For pot cultivation of ordinary crape myrtle cultivars, after potting, all branches should be cut short, leaving only 1 to 2 lateral buds per branch, so as to form a full and dwarfed plant shape. Old stumps can also be dug up, and after moderate shaping and pruning of the roots and branches, potted to make bonsai for viewing.
Crape myrtle flowers mostly in midsummer, when few flowers are in bloom, opening under the scorching sun, making people feel refreshed at once. In addition, crape myrtle has strong resistance to sulfur dioxide, hydrogen fluoride and chlorine in the air, making it a good environmental protection tree species.