Detailed Explanation of Cedar Planting Techniques and Cultivation Management Key Points
Cedar is an evergreen tree of the genus Cedrus in the pine family (Pinaceae), also known as incense cedar, pagoda pine, and foreign cypress. It is one of the world's famous ornamental garden tree species, deeply favored for its graceful tree form, majestic bearing, and tall, straight trunk. It has strong dust-proofing, noise-reducing, and sterilizing abilities, and is widely used in landscaping. Let's take a look at cedar planting techniques below!
Cedar Growing Environment
Cedar grows vigorously in mild, cool, and moist climates on deep, well-drained acidic soil. It requires a mild, cool, and moist climate and deep, well-drained soil. It prefers full sunlight and is also quietly tolerant of shade. It grows in acidic and slightly alkaline soils at elevations of 1300-3300 m. It is found in the northern warm temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest region, the southern warm temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest region, the mid-subtropical evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved forest region, and the evergreen broad-leaved mixed forest region. It prefers a warm temperate to mid-subtropical climate with annual rainfall of 600-1000 ml, and grows best in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China.
Cedar Propagation Techniques
1. Sowing: Cedar sowing can be carried out in mid-to-late March, with a sowing rate of 75 kg per hectare. Sowing can also be done earlier to increase seedling disease resistance. Choose sandy loam with good drainage and aeration as the seedbed. Before sowing, soak the seeds in cold water for 1-2 days, then dry them before sowing. They begin to germinate after 3-5 days, and this can last for about 1 month, with a germination rate of 90%. During the seedling stage, attention should be paid to shading and to preventing and controlling damping-off disease and cutworm damage. One-year-old seedlings can reach 30-40 cm in height and can be transplanted in the spring of the following year.
2. Cuttage: Cedar cuttage propagation can be carried out in both spring and summer. In spring, it is best before March 20; in summer, late July is ideal. In spring, cut strong one-year-old branches from young mother trees and treat them with rooting powder or 500 mg/L naphthalene acetic acid to promote rooting. Then insert them into well-aerated sandy loam, water thoroughly, and set up a double-layer shade shed for shading. In summer, it is advisable to select semi-lignified branches of the current year as cuttings.
3. Transplanting: Propagated cedar seedlings can be transplanted after remaining in the bed for 1-2 years. Transplanting is carried out in February to March. The plants need to be moved with a soil ball, and a support stake should be set up. The row spacing for the first transplanting is about 50 cm, and for the second transplanting it should be expanded to 1-2 m. During the growing period, 2-3 topdressings should be applied. Seedlings are susceptible to pests and diseases, especially damping-off disease and cutworms, which are the most severe. Other pests include white grubs, bagworms, pine tussock moths, pine tip borers, red wax scale insects, and termites, which should be controlled promptly.
Cedar Planting Techniques
1. Pot selection: For cedar, purple clay pottery pots are suitable, and glazed pottery pots can also be used. For large bonsai, deep round pots can be used, and various carved stone pots can also be used, but the root base must be fixed with metal wire. For medium bonsai, begonia-shaped or trough-shaped pots are suitable. For small seedlings planted together in a forest style, shallow carved stone pots such as white alum stone or marble can be used.
2. Soil: Cedar can use loose, well-drained, slightly acidic sandy loam. For pot cultivation, commonly used soil is aged garden soil or leaf mold mixed with sand.
3. Planting: For cedar, spring from March to April is suitable, and after autumn is also acceptable. Cedar seedlings dug from the ground must retain native soil to help survival. Also prune away dead roots, spread out the fibrous roots, cover with fine soil, gently shake the pot, and press firm with a bamboo stick so that the pot soil and root system are firmly attached. For the planting position, it is better for the main trunk to lean to one side.
4. Shaping: The shaping and styling of cedar bonsai is mainly by wiring, supplemented by pruning. Wiring is suitable in winter and spring, and palm fiber is often used for wiring. Cedar has an upright trunk and horizontally spreading side branches, so the side branches are often bent into an S shape. The main trunk is generally not bent, naturally forming a large tree type as it grows upward, with an extremely plain and beautiful posture. It is also possible to take 5-7 small seedlings of the current year, plant them together at varying heights in a forest style, with dancing branches and leaves, giving a distinctive charm.
5. Tree form: The cedar tree body is tall and upright, with side branches spreading horizontally and drooping. When making bonsai, its natural form must be used. Tree forms such as straight trunk style, double trunk style, slanting trunk style, and forest style are good. Through wiring and pruning, the branches and leaves can be made into layered or cloud-like forms. After years of maintenance, it can become an excellent bonsai combining hardness and softness with an elegant posture.
Cedar Planting Precautions
1. Cedar is a shallow-rooted plant. When planting, the soil pit must not be dug too deep. Deep planting violates the normal growth pattern of cedar. The root system grows best and has the highest activity only in places close to the soil surface.
2. After transplanting cedar trees, yellowing leaves and poor vigor are generally due to iron deficiency. Foliar fertilization is generally used. In areas where pine needles turn yellow due to severe iron deficiency, iron fertilizer must be applied in combination with soil application. Commonly used iron fertilizers include ferrous sulfate, ferrous ammonium sulfate, ferrous ammonium sulfate, and synthetic chelated iron such as ferric citrate, EDTA-Fe, and EDDHA-Fe. In most cases, soil application is not very effective, so iron fertilizer can be mixed with organic fertilizer and applied in furrows or holes.
3. Cedar fears water and is not afraid of drought. Even one instance of waterlogging can cause lifelong damage to cedar. From then on, its growth rate is greatly reduced, its color also becomes yellowish, and in severe cases a small amount of pine needles fall off, and the cedar may even die quickly. For nursery planting, deep ditches must be dug in the field to ensure that there is no standing water or waterlogging in the field even during the rainy season. For engineering planting of cedar, the cedar must be planted in a place relatively higher than the road surface and the green island surface, and the surrounding area must be guaranteed to have no water accumulation.
4. In early spring, the aboveground temperature is high while the underground temperature is low. The aboveground part begins to grow first, while the underground part is affected by temperature and delays absorbing water and nutrients from the soil, resulting in nutrient deficiency. Through its own signal transduction and regulation of the internal environment, the plant decomposes chlorophyll in the leaves to supply nutrients to the growth center. That is, at this time the nutrients for plant growth come from the leaves rather than the roots. The leaves lose chlorophyll while retaining xanthophyll and carotenoids, thus appearing yellow. If the external environment does not improve, shoot dieback may occur.
Cedar Cultivation Techniques
I. Cedar Habits
Cedar is native to India, Afghanistan, and the western Himalayas, distributed at elevations of 1200-3000 m, with the most suitable growth at 1800-**** m. Cedar has a relatively long lifespan, reaching 600-700 years in its place of origin. The tree height can reach more than 70 m, and the diameter at breast height is 3-4 m. The trunk form is straight, the timber is hard and dense, with little warping and cracking, aromatic, durable, and the tree posture is majestic and verdant. Together with the Norfolk Island pine and the Japanese umbrella pine, it is one of the world's three famous precious ornamental tree species, and it is also a precious timber tree species.
Cedar has a relatively wide range of adaptation to climate and can grow from the subtropics to the southern part of the cold temperate zone. In areas with annual rainfall of 600-1000 mm, it grows relatively well in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Cedar has strong cold resistance. In 1995, the absolute minimum temperature in Nanjing reached -15.9°C, and no frost damage occurred. However, it adapts poorly to hot and humid climates and often grows poorly. Cedar is a sun-loving tree species. At the young stage it can tolerate a certain amount of shade, while large trees require relatively sufficient light, otherwise they grow poorly or wither. Cedar prefers deep, fertile, well-drained soil and can also adapt to poor, gravelly land, but it fears water. In low-lying waterlogged areas, places with excessively high groundwater levels, or impermeable places, it grows poorly or even dies. Cedar has weak wind resistance and poor smoke resistance, and is relatively sensitive to the harmful gas sulfur dioxide. When young leaves are unfolding, if air humidity is high, the young leaves are easily harmed by sulfur dioxide. When harmed, the young leaves wither rapidly, and even the whole plant may die. Cedar propagation methods mainly include sowing, cuttage, layering, and grafting. The main methods used are cuttage and sowing. Cedar seedlings propagated by sowing have advantages such as uniform branches, strong sprouting ability, good tree form, and strong resistance to adverse environments, and are mother trees for collecting cuttings in cuttage propagation.
II. Cedar Bud Seedling Transplanting
Cedar side branches spread horizontally, the crown resembles a pagoda, the posture is majestic, and it is evergreen all year round, making it one of the elegant ornamental tree species. Cedar generally uses seedling young trees for transplanting. In order to expand the seed source and meet market demand, a new seedling transplanting technique is introduced here - bud seedling transplanting.
1. Building a Hotbed
Choose sandy loam with high, dry terrain and sunny exposure to build the hotbed. The bed width is 1 m, and the length depends on the amount of seed. The hotbed is 30-40 cm above the ground, with the middle of the bed surface slightly higher. The surroundings can be built with bricks or piled with mud, and clean fine sand is spread inside. Bamboo arches are set up above the hotbed and covered with agricultural plastic film.
2. Seed Treatment
Cedar seeds contain many empty grains, so seed selection is needed to remove the empty grains. Before sowing, soak the seeds in cold water for 1-2 days, then soak them in a 0.3-0.5% potassium permanganate solution for half an hour to 1 hour.
3. Suitable Sowing
The sowing period for hotbed sowing is slightly earlier than for direct seeding in the field. Generally, sowing is from late February to early March. Before sowing, water the hotbed thoroughly, then evenly sow the seeds on the sand. Be sure to place the large end of the seeds upward, and after sowing cover with 1.5-2 cm of sand. Sow one or two seeds per square meter. Keep the hotbed constantly moist, and control the temperature within 30°C. When the weather turns warm and the temperature is too high, uncover the plastic film promptly and spray water to maintain moisture.
4. Bud Seedling Transplanting
The seeds emerge from about late March to late April. In mid-to-late April, the cotyledons of the seedlings are fully expanded. At this time, the seedling height is 4-7 cm, the main root length is 4-8 cm, and lateral roots have not yet emerged or have just begun to grow. Such bud seedlings should be transplanted promptly to the field or containers. When transplanting, gently dig the bud seedlings out of the sand bed and place them in a seedling container previously filled with clean water. To transplant into the field, use a sword-shaped bamboo stick 2 cm wide, insert it into the soil, and open a slit slightly deeper than the bud seedling roots, then immediately place the bud seedling roots into it. If transplanting into containers, use bottomless plastic bags 20-25 cm high and 7-10 cm in diameter, fill them with nutrient soil, and arrange them neatly on a 1 m wide seedbed. When transplanting bud seedlings, it is important to ensure the soil is neither too dry nor too wet, and the bud seedlings should be small rather than large. Generally, 10-15 days after transplanting, the seedlings successively grow new roots. The row spacing for field transplanting is 30 x 30 cm.
5. Seedling Stage Management
Seedling stage management should grasp the following key points: (1) A 1 m high shade shed should be built over the transplanting bed. Cover early and uncover late on sunny days, and remove it in mid-to-late August. (2) The soil moisture in the seedbed should not be excessive, and waterlogging must be avoided. Drain promptly during the rainy season. (3) Prevent and control underground pests such as white grubs and cutworms, as well as damping-off disease. (4) Frequently loosen the soil and weed the seedbed.
III. Cedar Sowing and Seedling Raising
Cedar has traditionally been propagated by cuttage, with a low survival rate. In the past two years, some units have adopted cedar seed sowing to raise seedlings and have gained some experience. The key points are as follows:
1. Choose the nursery site well. Cedar seedlings fear drought and waterlogging, so the nursery site for raising seedlings should be selected and built in a place with convenient irrigation and drainage, slightly acidic soil, and deep, fertile sandy soil. Never raise seedlings on vegetable plots or old nursery land that has been used for many years.
2. Prepare the land carefully. When plowing the nursery land, apply sufficient cake fertilizer or decomposed barnyard manure as base fertilizer. If using good farmland for seedling raising, additionally apply 100 jin of calcium magnesium phosphate fertilizer per mu. Before the final plowing and harrowing, broadcast 2-3 jin of dexon or 20-30 jin of ferrous sulfate per mu for soil disinfection, then make seedbeds with deep ditches and high ridges. The bed surface should be finely leveled and built into a turtle-back shape. On the prepared bed surface, spread a 3-5 cm thick layer of relatively fertile, loose, sieved mountain virgin soil free of pathogens.
3. Sow carefully. Before sowing, the seeds should be soaked to promote germination. Soaking in cold water for 96 hours gives the best effect. Alternatively, soak in 45-50°C warm water for 24 hours each. After soaking, disinfect with 0.1% potassium permanganate for 30 minutes, then rinse with clean water, dry, and sow. Never sow while wet. The sowing time is generally before "Spring Equinox," and earlier is better than later. Drill sowing is preferable, with row spacing of 10-15 cm and plant spacing of 4-5 cm. The seeds should be inserted upright in the sowing furrow. The sowing rate is 15-20 jin per mu. After sowing, cover with 0.5-1 cm of yellow subsoil or burnt mud ash.
4. Cover the seedling beds. Doing a good job of covering the seedling beds after sowing is a key measure for successful cedar seedling raising. After sowing, not only should soil be covered, but also a thin layer of langyi grass or rice straw should be placed on top, and then water should be sprinkled on it with a watering can to keep the bed surface moist. When more than 70% of the seedlings have emerged, remove the covering grass. To prevent newly emerged seedlings from being lost due to rain, a low plastic film shed should also be set up immediately after covering with grass, and the temperature inside the shed should be well managed. When the temperature inside the shed remains at 15-20°C, ventilation should be carried out. On sunny days when the outside temperature is above 15°C, the film can be uncovered during the day and covered well at night. When the seedlings grow true leaves, remove the low shed and then set up a tall shade shed.
Cultivation and Management Techniques for "Cedar"
I. Cedar Habits
Cedar is native to India, Afghanistan, and the western Himalayas, distributed at elevations of 1200-3000 m, with the most suitable growth at 1800-**** m. Cedar has a relatively long lifespan, reaching 600-700 years in its place of origin. The tree height can reach more than 70 m, and the diameter at breast height is 3-4 m. The trunk form is straight, the timber is hard and dense, with little warping and cracking, aromatic, durable, and the tree posture is majestic and verdant. Together with the Norfolk Island pine and the Japanese umbrella pine, it is one of the world's three famous precious ornamental tree species, and it is also a precious timber tree species. Cedar has a relatively wide range of adaptation to climate and can grow from the subtropics to the southern part of the cold temperate zone. In areas with annual rainfall of 600-1000 mm, it grows relatively well in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Cedar has strong cold resistance. In 1995, the absolute minimum temperature in Nanjing reached -15.9°C, and no frost damage occurred. However, it adapts poorly to hot and humid climates and often grows poorly. Cedar is a sun-loving tree species. At the young stage it can tolerate a certain amount of shade, while large trees require relatively sufficient light, otherwise they grow poorly or wither. Cedar prefers deep, fertile, well-drained soil and can also adapt to poor, gravelly land, but it fears water. In low-lying waterlogged areas, places with excessively high groundwater levels, or impermeable places, it grows poorly or even dies. Cedar has weak wind resistance and poor smoke resistance, and is relatively sensitive to the harmful gas sulfur dioxide. When young leaves are unfolding, if air humidity is high, the young leaves are easily harmed by sulfur dioxide. When harmed, the young leaves wither rapidly, and even the whole plant may die. Cedar propagation methods mainly include sowing, cuttage, layering, and grafting. The main methods used are cuttage and sowing. Cedar seedlings propagated by sowing have advantages such as uniform branches, strong sprouting ability, good tree form, and strong resistance to adverse environments, and are mother trees for collecting cuttings in cuttage propagation.
II. Cedar Bud Seedling Transplanting
Cedar side branches spread horizontally, the crown resembles a pagoda, the posture is majestic, and it is evergreen all year round, making it one of the elegant ornamental tree species. Cedar generally uses seedling young trees for transplanting. In order to expand the seed source and meet market demand, a new seedling transplanting technique is introduced here - bud seedling transplanting. 1. Building a hotbed. Choose sandy loam with high, dry terrain and sunny exposure to build the hotbed. The bed width is 1 m, and the length depends on the amount of seed. The hotbed is 30-40 cm above the ground, with the middle of the bed surface slightly higher. The surroundings can be built with bricks or piled with mud, and clean fine sand is spread inside. Bamboo arches are set up above the hotbed and covered with agricultural plastic film. 2. Seed treatment. Cedar seeds contain many empty grains, so seed selection is needed to remove the empty grains. Before sowing, soak the seeds in cold water for 1-2 days, then soak them in a 0.3-0.5% potassium permanganate solution for half an hour to 1 hour. 3. Suitable sowing. The sowing period for hotbed sowing is slightly earlier than for direct seeding in the field. Generally, sowing is from late February to early March. Before sowing, water the hotbed thoroughly, then evenly sow the seeds on the sand. Be sure to place the large end of the seeds upward, and after sowing cover with 1.5-2 cm of sand. Sow one or two seeds per square meter. Keep the hotbed constantly moist, and control the temperature within 30°C. When the weather turns warm and the temperature is too high, uncover the plastic film promptly and spray water to maintain moisture. 4. Bud seedling transplanting. The seeds emerge from about late March to late April. In mid-to-late April, the cotyledons of the seedlings are fully expanded. At this time, the seedling height is 4-7 cm, the main root length is 4-8 cm, and lateral roots have not yet emerged or have just begun to grow. Such bud seedlings should be transplanted promptly to the field or containers. When transplanting, gently dig the bud seedlings out of the sand bed and place them in a seedling container previously filled with clean water. To transplant into the field, use a sword-shaped bamboo stick 2 cm wide, insert it into the soil, and open a slit slightly deeper than the bud seedling roots, then immediately place the bud seedling roots into it. If transplanting into containers, use bottomless plastic bags 20-25 cm high and 7-10 cm in diameter, fill them with nutrient soil, and arrange them neatly on a 1 m wide seedbed. When transplanting bud seedlings, it is important to ensure the soil is neither too dry nor too wet, and the bud seedlings should be small rather than large. Generally, 10-15 days after transplanting, the seedlings successively grow new roots. The row spacing for field transplanting is 30 x 30 cm. 5. Seedling stage management. Seedling stage management should grasp the following key points: (1) A 1 m high shade shed should be built over the transplanting bed. Cover early and uncover late on sunny days, and remove it in mid-to-late August. (2) The soil moisture in the seedbed should not be excessive, and waterlogging must be avoided. Drain promptly during the rainy season. (3) Prevent and control underground pests such as white grubs and cutworms, as well as damping-off disease. (4) Frequently loosen the soil and weed the seedbed.
III. Cedar Sowing and Seedling Raising
Cedar has traditionally been propagated by cuttage, with a low survival rate. In the past two years, some units have adopted cedar seed sowing to raise seedlings and have gained some experience. The key points are as follows: 1. Choose the nursery site well. Cedar seedlings fear drought and waterlogging, so the nursery site for raising seedlings should be selected and built in a place with convenient irrigation and drainage, slightly acidic soil, and deep, fertile sandy soil. Never raise seedlings on vegetable plots or old nursery land that has been used for many years. 2. Prepare the land carefully. When plowing the nursery land, apply sufficient cake fertilizer or decomposed barnyard manure as base fertilizer. If using good farmland for seedling raising, additionally apply 100 jin of calcium magnesium phosphate fertilizer per mu. Before the final plowing and harrowing, broadcast 2-3 jin of dexon or 20-30 jin of ferrous sulfate per mu for soil disinfection, then make seedbeds with deep ditches and high ridges. The bed surface should be finely leveled and built into a turtle-back shape. On the prepared bed surface, spread a 3-5 cm thick layer of relatively fertile, loose, sieved mountain virgin soil free of pathogens.