How to grow potted Jerusalem cherry? A few care methods to teach you
A reader from Ninghai County, Zhejiang wrote in to ask: Jerusalem cherry planted in the ground grows lush branches and leaves and bears abundant fruit even without management, while potted Jerusalem cherry, despite careful management, only blooms and bears little fruit. I wonder what the reason is? How should it be managed?
Answer: Jerusalem cherry is an upright small shrub in the Solanaceae family, native to tropical Eurasia. When Jerusalem cherry is planted in the ground, conditions such as soil, water and fertilizer, and light are all favorable for the plant's normal growth, flowering, and fruiting, so it can grow lush branches and leaves and bear abundant red fruit even without careful management. Potted plants, however, are limited by the growing container and constrained by climatic factors; too much water easily leads to root rot, leaf drop, or flower drop, while soil that is too dry easily causes the root system to shrink, the plant to wither and drop leaves, making normal flowering and fruiting difficult. Especially during the flowering period, if the potting soil alternates between dry and wet unpredictably and the fertilizer concentration is uncontrolled, it very easily leads to blooming without setting fruit, or blooming with little fruit. Potted Jerusalem cherry requires loose, fertile, well-drained sandy loam rich in organic matter, with 5% composted cake fertilizer or chicken and duck manure added. During the growing season, loosen the soil and fertilize once every half month. When the plant reaches about 10 cm tall, pinch off the growing tips to encourage branching. When the temperature reaches above 30°C, it can be moved to a well-ventilated greenhouse or under tree shade with about 40% shading. When the plant enters the bud stage, add 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate to the organic fertilizer solution applied, which can promote abundant bud formation and flowering. Pause fertilizing during the flowering period, and at the same time control watering, try not to spray water, just enough to keep the potting soil moist; this avoids washing away pollen and also prevents flower and fruit drop.
When its fruit grows to the size of a mung bean, resume applying cake fertilizer water, increase the amount of watering, and at the same time give appropriate foliar spraying. From fruit set to before the fruit colors, apply 2 to 3 topdressings of quick-acting phosphorus fertilizer, such as a 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution, which can help make the fruit more brightly colored. When its fruit reaches 0.5 cm to 0.6 cm in diameter, appropriately thin out overly dense small fruits, and remove diseased and pest-damaged fruits, which can make the fruit on the potted plant evenly distributed and uniform in size, thereby improving the ornamental value of the potted plant.
How to grow Jerusalem cherry in pots
A reader from Ninghai County, Zhejiang wrote in to ask: Jerusalem cherry planted in the ground grows lush branches and leaves and bears abundant fruit even without management, while potted Jerusalem cherry, despite careful management, only blooms and bears little fruit. I wonder what the reason is? How should it be managed?
Answer: Jerusalem cherry is an upright small shrub in the Solanaceae family, native to tropical Eurasia. When Jerusalem cherry is planted in the ground, conditions such as soil, water and fertilizer, and light are all favorable for the plant's normal growth, flowering, and fruiting, so it can grow lush branches and leaves and bear abundant red fruit even without careful management. Potted plants, however, are limited by the growing container and constrained by climatic factors; too much water easily leads to root rot, leaf drop, or flower drop, while soil that is too dry easily causes the root system to shrink, the plant to wither and drop leaves, making normal flowering and fruiting difficult. Especially during the flowering period, if the potting soil alternates between dry and wet unpredictably and the fertilizer concentration is uncontrolled, it very easily leads to blooming without setting fruit, or blooming with little fruit. Potted Jerusalem cherry requires loose, fertile, well-drained sandy loam rich in organic matter, with 5% composted cake fertilizer or chicken and duck manure added. During the growing season, loosen the soil and fertilize once every half month. When the plant reaches about 10 cm tall, pinch off the growing tips to encourage branching. When the temperature reaches above 30°C, it can be moved to a well-ventilated greenhouse or under tree shade with about 40% shading. When the plant enters the bud stage, add 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate to the organic fertilizer solution applied, which can promote abundant bud formation and flowering. Pause fertilizing during the flowering period, and at the same time control watering, try not to spray water, just enough to keep the potting soil moist; this avoids washing away pollen and also prevents flower and fruit drop.
When its fruit grows to the size of a mung bean, resume applying cake fertilizer water, increase the amount of watering, and at the same time give appropriate foliar spraying. From fruit set to before the fruit colors, apply 2 to 3 topdressings of quick-acting phosphorus fertilizer, such as a 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution, which can help make the fruit more brightly colored. When its fruit reaches 0.5 cm to 0.6 cm in diameter, appropriately thin out overly dense small fruits, and remove diseased and pest-damaged fruits, which can make the fruit on the potted plant evenly distributed and uniform in size, thereby improving the ornamental value of the potted plant.
What should be noted when growing Jerusalem cherry in pots?
When Jerusalem cherry is planted in the ground, conditions such as soil, water and fertilizer, and light are all favorable for the plant's normal growth, flowering, and fruiting, so it can grow lush branches and leaves and bear abundant red fruit even without careful management. Potted plants, however, are limited by the growing container and constrained by climatic factors; too much water easily leads to root rot, leaf drop, or flower drop, while soil that is too dry easily causes the root system to shrink, the plant to wither and drop leaves, making normal flowering and fruiting difficult. Especially during the flowering period, if the potting soil alternates between dry and wet unpredictably and the fertilizer concentration is uncontrolled, it very easily leads to blooming without setting fruit, or blooming with little fruit.
Potted Jerusalem cherry requires loose, fertile, well-drained sandy loam rich in organic matter, with 5% composted cake fertilizer or chicken and duck manure added. After the seedlings are transplanted into pots, spraying with Xin Gao Zhi Mo can effectively prevent above-ground moisture from evaporating and seedling moisture from transpiring, isolate pests and diseases, shorten the recovery period, and help them quickly adapt to the new environment and grow healthily.
After surviving the recovery period, carry out normal watering, just enough to keep the potting soil moist, and loosen the soil and fertilize once every half month. Give sufficient light, and when the plant reaches about 10 cm tall, pinch off the growing tips to encourage branching. Spraying Cu Hua Wang No. 3 can transform the plant's vegetative growth into reproductive nutrition, inhibit excessive growth of the main shoot, and promote flower bud differentiation. When the plant enters the bud stage, pause fertilizing, and at the same time control watering, try not to spray water, which can avoid washing away pollen. Spraying Zhuang Guo Di Ling thickens the fruit stalk, increases nutrient transport, and prevents flower and fruit drop. When the fruit grows to the size of a mung bean, resume applying cake fertilizer water, increase the amount of watering, and at the same time give appropriate foliar spraying. When its fruit reaches 0.5 cm to 0.6 cm in diameter, appropriately thin out overly dense small fruits, and remove diseased and pest-damaged fruits, which can make the fruit on the potted plant evenly distributed and uniform in size, thereby improving the ornamental value of the potted plant.
Potted Jerusalem cherry is prone to anthracnose during high summer temperatures. It mainly damages leaves but can also damage stems. There are two types of symptoms: one occurs on the leaves. In the early stage of the disease, circular spots appear on the leaves, changing from circular reddish-brown to grayish-white, then to dark brown, and producing black dots arranged in concentric rings, which are the pathogen's acervuli. This disease occurs on leaf margins and leaf tips, and in severe cases the leaves wither, turn black, and die. The pathogen is a fungal disease, and the fungus overwinters as mycelium in infected plant debris or in the soil. Old leaves begin to develop the disease from late April to early May, the disease progresses faster between June and July, and is more severe during the rainy season; new leaves begin to develop the disease from August. When potted flowers are placed too densely and leaves overlap, the disease spreads easily, but disease resistance differs among varieties.
Control methods:
1. Disease control:
①. Select excellent disease-resistant varieties.
②. In the early stage of the disease, cut off diseased leaves and burn them promptly to prevent the pathogen from spreading, avoid placing plants too densely and avoid overhead watering, and always maintain ventilation and light.
③. In the early stage of the disease, spray with 50% carbendazim wettable powder at 700-800 times dilution or 75% chlorothalonil at 500 times dilution.
2. Pest control:
The main pest of Jerusalem cherry is aphids, which are small, green or black, and often gather in groups on the tender branches and leaves of many flowers to suck nutrients.
Control method: spray with 40% omethoate emulsifiable concentrate at 2000 times dilution or 50% dichlorvos emulsifiable concentrate at 1500-2000 times dilution.