How to grow potted wintersweet? Wintersweet's growth habits and cultivation methods

Placement: Wintersweet bonsai should be placed in a wind-sheltered, sunny spot, avoiding cold winds; in summer it needs slight shading; in winter, potted plants should be moved indoors to overwinter when the temperature drops below 1°C.

Watering: Wintersweet is relatively drought-tolerant, known as the "wintersweet that won't die of drought," but it should not be too dry. Normally the potting soil can be slightly dry; water according to the principle of "water when dry, let dry between waterings" - if you don't water, fine, but when you do, water thoroughly. The dog days are the flower bud formation period, so water cannot be lacking; water once each in the morning and evening. When leaves drop in autumn, the potting soil can be kept slightly drier, watering once every 5-7 days.

Fertilizing: Wintersweet is fond of fertilizer. From April to June, in the early stage of flower bud formation, apply cake fertilizer water once every 10 days. From late June until the start of dog days, apply a dilute fertilizer solution combining nitrogen and phosphorus once a week to promote flower bud formation. During the dog days, apply 1-2 times, with dilute fertilizer. After autumn, apply just once more. When repotting, apply sufficient base fertilizer at the bottom of the pot, such as bone meal or soybean cake.

Pruning: To keep wintersweet branching abundantly and blooming profusely year after year, pruning and bud pinching are extremely important. Pruning is generally done between March and June, and stops after August. After flowering each year, the old flowering branches should be cut short immediately, leaving at most only 15-20 cm per branch. After the new shoots grow 2-3 pairs of buds, pinch off the terminal bud; soon side branches will grow, and after they reach 10 cm, pinch the buds again, repeating this several times until flower buds are basically formed. Also thin out various crossing branches, parallel branches, overlapping branches, opposite branches, water sprouts, and overly dense or weak branches that affect the tree's appearance. There is a gardening saying that "wintersweet never lacks branches," so wintersweet can be heavily pruned.

Repotting: Wintersweet bonsai should be repotted once every 1-2 years, preferably in late winter or early spring after the flowers fade. Before repotting, first remove already sprouted buds; after about 5 days, when the latent buds begin to swell, transplant. When repotting, remove 1/3 of the old soil, cut off rotten and dead roots, and trim away overly long old roots. Replace with frost-crumbled pond mud or humus-rich leaf mold, mixed with an appropriate amount of rice husk ash and sand.

Pest and disease control: Wintersweet has relatively strong resistance to pests and diseases. Occasionally there are pests such as slug moths, bagworms, aphids, and scale insects, which can be controlled by spraying 80% dichlorvos at 1500 times dilution or 90% crystalline trichlorfon at 1000-1500 times dilution.

How to grow wintersweet flowers, cultivation methods and precautions for wintersweet flowers

How to grow wintersweet flowers? Wintersweet is not only an ornamental flower and tree of relatively high value; its flowers contain various aromatic compounds and are one of the floral scents used to make premium scented tea. Since ancient times, many scholars and literati have written numerous poems praising wintersweet. The flower shape of wintersweet is also very beautiful, and the flowering period lasts up to 4 months. Now let's take a look with the editor of Huayu Web at how to grow wintersweet flowers well!

Wintersweet's growth habits

To know how to grow wintersweet flowers, you must first understand wintersweet's growth habits; only by understanding its growth preferences can we grow a wintersweet well. Wintersweet likes sunlight and can tolerate shade, cold, and drought, but dislikes waterlogging. Wintersweet blooms proudly in frost and snow, with yellow flowers like wax and a rich fragrance, and is a major ornamental flower and tree in winter. The tree grows vigorously with abundant branching, and the root crown easily produces suckers. It tolerates pruning and is easy to shape.

How to grow wintersweet flowers? Wintersweet is afraid of strong winds and is relatively cold-tolerant, because it blooms in the cold winter. It can overwinter safely when temperatures are not below -15°C, and can be cultivated in the open ground in areas south of Beijing; if the flowering period encounters a low temperature of -10°C, the flowers suffer cold damage. Wintersweet does not have very high soil requirements; it prefers deep, fertile, loose, well-drained sandy soil. It flowers before leafing out, with a flowering period from November to March of the following year, and the fruit ripens from July to August.

Cultivation methods and precautions for wintersweet flowers

I believe everyone now has an understanding of wintersweet's growth habits. In fact, after knowing wintersweet's growth preferences, it is not hard to know how to grow wintersweet flowers, but you must also care for it according to its growing environment. There are two ways to plant wintersweet: one is ground planting, and the other is pot planting. Usually pot planting is done indoors for ornamental purposes. Now let's take a look with the editor at the precautions in the process of growing wintersweet flowers!

Ground planting

For ground planting of wintersweet, choose a wind-sheltered, sunny spot. Transplanting is mostly done in winter and spring, and the roots of the seedlings must be kept with a soil ball. Before planting, apply sufficient manure, barnyard manure, or decomposed soybean cake as base fertilizer in the planting hole. After applying the base fertilizer, cover it with a thin layer of soil to separate it, then place the seedling and fill with soil. After planting, water promptly and prune appropriately.

Pot planting

For potted wintersweet, the growing medium should be loose, fertile, humus-rich sandy loam. After potting, water thoroughly promptly and place it under a shade frame to recover for about one month, then place it in a courtyard or on a balcony in a spot with ample sunlight for care.

Fertilizing

Ground-planted wintersweet can be managed more extensively. Generally, from June to September each year, apply liquid fertilizer once every 20 days (you can soak bone meal and cake fertilizer in water and apply after fully decomposing), which ensures good development of branches, leaves, and flower buds. For potted wintersweet, topdress frequently to promote the formation of many flower buds, otherwise it will bloom sparsely. Generally, from May to June each year, apply decomposed cake fertilizer water once every 7 days, with a fertilizer-to-water ratio of about 3:10.

From July to August is the flower bud formation period for wintersweet; fertilizing can be done once every 15-20 days, and the concentration of the fertilizer solution should be more dilute, with a fertilizer-to-water ratio of 1:5 as the best. This helps flower bud differentiation. The fertilizer applied must be fully decomposed, otherwise it will cause root rot. After autumn, apply dry cake fertilizer once more to supply the nutrients needed for flowering. After entering winter, let the potting soil be somewhat drier and stop fertilizing, otherwise the flowering period will be shortened.

Watering

For ground-planted wintersweet, water once before early winter, apply fertilizer once after the flowers fade, and water once; normally no watering is needed, and only water an appropriate amount when the weather is too dry. For potted wintersweet, follow the principle of watering only after the soil has dried out; do not water too much, and the potting soil should not be too wet; but it also must not be too dry, because if too dry the flowers will bloom unevenly.

Temperature and light

For potted wintersweet, move it indoors in December. If the room temperature is high, it can bloom before New Year's Day; but if the room temperature is low, the flowering period can be delayed until around the Spring Festival. After flowering, move it to a cool place to prevent it from sprouting new shoots and leaves too early, which would affect flower bud differentiation and be unfavorable for flowering the following year.

Pest and disease control

(1) Diseases. During conventional cultivation of wintersweet, high temperature and high humidity in summer make it prone to bacterial diseases such as brown spot and leaf spot. For control, spray 500 times dilution of carbendazim. In addition, strengthen daily management and do good preventive work.

(2) Pests. Pests that attack wintersweet include mites, leaf-eating insects, and trunk-boring insects. Control methods: for trunk-boring pests, integrated control methods can be used. In early July, the newly hatched larvae have poor resistance to pesticides, so inject 1000 times dilution of 90% trichlorfon into the trunk borer holes to kill the larvae. For wintersweet with low pest density, insert poison sticks into the borer holes. In September, during the peak emergence period of adults, use light traps to kill the adults.

When to prune wintersweet flowers

Wintersweet has strong branching ability, hence the saying "wintersweet never lacks branches." Through timely pruning, more strong flowering branches are induced, making it bloom more. Generally, prune at the right time after the flowers fade and before leaves emerge, cutting off dead branches, overly dense branches, crossing branches, and diseased or pest-infested branches, and leaving 2 to 3 pairs of buds at the base of one-year-old branches, cutting off the upper part of the branch to promote branching.

1. After each new branch grows 2 to 3 pairs of leaves, pinch the growing tip to promote short, sturdy flowering branches and make the plant shape symmetrical and beautiful. Prune after flowering, removing diseased and pest-infested branches, overly long branches, inner branches, and weak branches, mainly to increase ventilation and light penetration; heavy pruning is also possible.

2. In summer, carry out a pruning mainly consisting of cutting back water sprouts, mainly to control vegetative growth, shift vegetative growth toward reproductive growth, and favor more and better flowers. Stop pruning after July. If pruning is not done at the right time, many water sprouts will emerge, consuming nutrients, so that flower bud differentiation is limited and flowering is affected.

3. In winter, carry out a light pruning, mainly cutting off diseased and pest-infested branches, crossing branches, etc., with shaping as the main goal. If making a stump bonsai, you can prune heavily in early spring (March-April) to thicken the trunk and make the canopy sparse. The specific method is to cut relatively thick branches close to the trunk. When small branches grow again, keep a few depending on their form and gradually cut the rest close to the base during the growing season; over several years the plum stump will appear aged and vigorous. During the growing season, minor pruning can be done.

More related knowledge about plum blossoms for flower lovers' reference:

Wintersweet tree planting base shares pruning methods for flowers and plants

Pruning and shaping flowers and trees can regulate growth, flowering, and fruiting; pruning can also improve ventilation and light conditions and promote robust growth of branches, leaves, and flowers. Common methods used in home flower growing include pinching, branch pruning, bud removal, and leaf removal.

(1) Pinching

Often used for herbaceous flower seedlings. After the main stem of a herbaceous flower is removed, it helps promote the sprouting of side buds, increasing branching, achieving the goals of dwarfing the plant and having more branches and flowers. It can also adjust the flowering period. It is often applied to chrysanthemums, salvia, petunias, marigolds, and so on.

(2) Branch pruning

There are two ways to prune branches. One is to remove them from the base of the branch, called thinning. Thinning is cutting off overly dense branches as well as crossing branches, water sprouts, weak slender branches, diseased and pest-infested branches, and dead branches, which helps tree ventilation and light penetration and enhances plant vigor. The other way is to cut the branch shorter, called heading back. Heading back can promote the sprouting of lateral buds on the branch, adjust growth vigor, and favor flowering and fruiting. For roses in winter, leaving branches about 20-30 cm and cutting them back can control plant height and make spring flowering lush and uniform. Cutting back wintersweet water sprouts can promote lateral bud sprouting and form flowering branches for the following year. Different flowers and trees have different growth habits; some form flower buds at the terminal bud of a branch, and some form flower buds at lateral buds, so heading back should also adopt correspondingly different methods.

(3) Bud removal

During the growing season of flowers and trees, adventitious buds often appear. If allowed to grow, they consume nutrients, disrupt the tree shape, and affect ventilation and light penetration, so they need to be removed in the early stage of bud sprouting. For grafted rose seedlings, the buds on the root sprout part are all wild rose, and must all be removed.

(4) Leaf removal

For some foliage plants, such as spider plants, lucky bamboo, Aspidistra, and calla lilies, some old leaves should be removed in time to promote new leaves. For jasmine, after it is moved outdoors in spring, removing old leaves can promote the growth of many new shoots and new leaves, with vigorous growth and many flower buds.

When planting in a courtyard or in pots, space is limited, and it is impossible to let branches and trunks grow freely without restraint. A certain plant shape needs to be maintained, and it is also hoped that the flowers can form a graceful posture with luxuriant branches and leaves. Therefore, the purpose of pruning flowers is not that pruning can promote flowering. What we should insist on is how to maintain a beautiful tree shape without letting pruning hinder flowering.