Wintersweet Seed Prices and Planting Methods Explained in Detail

Wintersweet is a traditional precious ornamental flower and tree native to China, also known as golden plum, wintersweet, wax flower, etc. It is a deciduous shrub plant of the genus Chimonanthus in the family Calycanthaceae. Its flowers are fragrant and beautiful, suitable for courtyard planting, and also suitable for ancient stump bonsai, flower arrangement and modeling art. Its roots and leaves can also be used medicinally. Let's take a look at wintersweet seed prices and planting methods together below!

How much is wintersweet seed per jin?

The price of wintersweet seeds is about 80-120 yuan per jin, but the price varies greatly depending on the seed variety, quality and purchase quantity. Wintersweet is native to central China. It likes sunlight but is also slightly shade-tolerant, relatively cold-tolerant and drought-tolerant, hence the saying "wintersweet that cannot die of drought." It has no strict requirements for soil quality, but well-drained light loam is suitable. Cultivated varieties include Qingkou wintersweet, Chaiyouxin wintersweet, Gousheng wintersweet, etc.

When are wintersweet seeds planted?

1. Spring sowing: In spring, first soak in warm water for 24 hours, put into a germination box for germination, then make furrow sowing in sandy loam, water thoroughly, and seedlings will emerge in 15-20 days.

2. Autumn sowing: Usually harvested after the fruit matures from July to August. Take the seeds out of the fruit receptacle and sow at any time. Seedlings will emerge in more than 10 days after sowing.

What planting methods are there for wintersweet?

1. Open-field planting: Before spring germination, choose neutral or slightly acidic sandy soil with deep soil layers, shelter from wind and facing the sun, and good drainage. Place decomposed barnyard manure, bean cake, etc. at the bottom of the hole as base fertilizer. After covering the base fertilizer with a layer of soil, place the plant with a soil ball into it, fill with soil, tread firmly, and water.

2. Bonsai cultivation: Choose loose, fertile, well-drained sandy soil as the culture soil. Place a layer of gravel over the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot. In early winter, choose a small plant with full flower buds and dig it up with soil to plant in the pot. After flowering, it can be displayed for viewing. Usually place it in a sunny place for maintenance.

Wintersweet planting and management methods

1. Watering: For wintersweet, usually watering to maintain half-moist soil is best. Pay attention to drainage in the rainy season, water in time in the dry season, keep the soil moderately dry during the flowering period, and do not water too much. For potted wintersweet, in spring and autumn, do not water until the pot soil is dry; in summer, water once each morning and evening.

2. Fertilizing: After wintersweet flowers fade, apply decomposed organic fertilizer once. From the growth season after new leaves sprout in spring to June, apply decomposed cake fertilizer water once every 10-15 days. During the flower bud differentiation period from July to August, apply a mixed liquid of decomposed organic fertilizer and phosphorus-potassium fertilizer. Apply organic fertilizer once more after autumn.

3. Shaping

① Tree form: During the seedling stage of wintersweet, select and keep one thick branch without pinching to cultivate it into a trunk. When the trunk reaches the expected height, pinch it to promote branching. When the branches grow to 25 cm, pinch again to form a crown. Prune off branches sprouting from the base at any time.

② Clump form: During the seedling stage of wintersweet, pinch to promote branching. After the crown clump forms, during the dormant period, cut off the tender tips of strong branches, and shorten weak branches by leaving 2-3 buds at the base. In mid-June of that year, pinch the new branches once. After basically taking shape, prune frequently to maintain the established form.

4. Pruning

① Bud removal and pinching: When the leaf buds of wintersweet sprout about 5 cm, remove excess tender buds that are dense, inward-facing, and close to the ground. During the vigorous growth period from May to June, pinch the tips. In the rainy season, promptly cut off miscellaneous branches, useless branches, disorderly branches, and branches that block wind and light.

② Pre-flowering pruning: For wintersweet after leaf fall and before flower buds swell, leave one more pair of leaf buds above the flower buds on long branches, cut off the upper part without flower buds, and thin out dead branches, diseased and insect-damaged branches, overly weak branches, and dense, leggy flowerless branches and root suckers not used for renewal.

③ Post-flowering supplementary pruning: For wintersweet after flowering, supplementary pruning should thin out senescent branches, dead branches, overly dense branches and leggy branches, etc., and retract weak main branches or branch groups. For main branches that are too high, too long, or too strong, retract at a larger moderately vigorous oblique branch to control branch height, branch length and branch vigor.

6. Diseases and pests

① Anthracnose: Thoroughly remove diseased fallen leaves, destroy them in a centralized manner, reduce infection sources, and spray 50% thiophanate-methyl 800-1000 times liquid, or 50% carbendazim wettable powder 1000 times liquid.

② Black spot: Remove diseased fallen leaves, destroy them in a centralized manner, reduce infection sources, and spray 50% carbendazim wettable powder 1000 times liquid, or 65% zineb 500 times liquid, or 0.3 degree Baume lime sulfur mixture.

③ Aphids: Cut off branches with eggs, destroy them in a centralized manner, and spray 10% imidacloprid wettable powder 6000 times liquid, or 70% menazon wettable powder 1500-2000 times liquid, or 50% malathion emulsifiable concentrate 1000-1500 times liquid.

④ Red-necked longhorn beetle: Use a stick to tap the branches and trunk to promptly catch and kill adult beetles that fall to the ground. When frass holes are found, use wire to pierce and kill the larvae inside, or insert cotton balls dipped in dichlorvos into the frass holes, seal the openings with yellow mud, and fumigate to kill them.

⑤ Japanese wax scale: Spray 2.5% deltamethrin or Kung Fu emulsifiable concentrate 4000-5000 times liquid, 10% cypermethrin emulsifiable concentrate or 20% fenvalerate emulsifiable concentrate 3000 times liquid for control.