How to grow potted Panax notoginseng so it thrives
Panax notoginseng is a perennial upright herb in the Araliaceae family, genus Panax. It is distributed in Yunnan, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Sichuan and other places, and its root is used as medicine. It has notable effects of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, reducing swelling and relieving pain, and enjoys the fine reputations of "jin bu huan" and "divine herb of the southern country." It is the most precious among traditional Chinese medicines. Below, let us take a look at how potted Panax notoginseng should be planted to do well!
Growth habits of Panax notoginseng
It likes a warm, shady and moist environment, fears severe cold and intense heat, and is also afraid of too much water. The soil should be loose red soil or brown-red soil, slightly acidic, with an annual average temperature of 16.0-19.3°C being suitable. If the temperature remains above 30°C for 3-5 consecutive days during the growing period, the plants are prone to disease. The cultivation site should preferably be an east-facing slope, with a slope of 5-15° being suitable. Planting in low-lying land makes root rot likely.
Propagation methods of Panax notoginseng
1. Seed selection: Panax notoginseng is propagated by seed. Select seeds set by three-year-old plants. When a large number of fruits mature and turn red in November to December, collect the seeds, remove the fruit skin, and immediately carry out winter sowing with plump, mature seeds free of pests and diseases. If there is no time to sow, spread the fruits in a sieve at a thickness of about 3 cm and keep them in a ventilated, cool place for 7-10 days. For seeds to be transported elsewhere, remove the fruit skin, wash them clean, mix in twice their volume of wet sand, and store them in a wooden box.
2. Land preparation: For the sowing site and transplanting site of Panax notoginseng, choose loam or sandy loam with high, dry terrain and good drainage, a sunny gentle slope (slope 5-15 degrees), or virgin wasteland. In autumn, plow repeatedly, then plow 3 times and harrow 3 times, harrow the soil fine, and then make beds 25-35 cm high and 100-120 cm wide. Shape the bed surface like a comb back, with drainage ditches 45-60 cm between two beds.
3. Sowing: Before sowing and planting Panax notoginseng, apply 3000-5000 kg of decomposed organic fertilizer per mu, and add 25-35 kg of superphosphate or calcium magnesium phosphate fertilizer. Spread the fertilizer evenly on the bed surface, then turn it into the soil layer 4-6 cm deep. In the south, winter sowing is mostly used, by dibbling, with a row spacing of 6 cm and a plant spacing of 5-6 cm. After sowing, cover with fine fertilized soil, just enough to cover the seeds. Cover with weeds on top to prevent the bed soil from crusting. Seedlings emerge in about 3 months and are all out in 4 months. If spring sowing is carried out in the north, the seeds must be stored in wet sand and sown as germinated seeds, and seedlings emerge 1 month after sowing.
How to plant potted Panax notoginseng?
1. Watering: After sowing Panax notoginseng, seedlings do not emerge until March to April. During this period, artificial watering is needed (if the soil has nighttime moisture, it may also be left unwatered). The method requires using a sprinkler head to pour until water runs across the bed surface. Generally, water thoroughly 2-3 times a month until the rainy season arrives.
2. Light: One- and two-year-old Panax notoginseng requires a relatively low light transmittance, generally about 10%, while three-year-old Panax notoginseng requires a relatively strong light transmittance, about 15%. By adjusting the light transmittance of the shade shed, the goal of increasing individual root weight can be achieved.
3. Topdressing: The budding stage (June) and flowering stage (September) of Panax notoginseng are peak fertilizer absorption periods, and at this time Panax notoginseng should be topdressed. Topdressing should mainly be farmyard manure, supplemented with a small amount of compound fertilizer.
Note: The cultivation period of Panax notoginseng requires a relatively moist environment. The normal growth of Panax notoginseng requires maintaining 25-40% soil moisture, and requires the relative humidity of the potting soil to reach 70-80%. Manual regulation of water is mainly in winter and spring. At this time, the weather is clear, sunshine is abundant, rainfall is scarce while wind speed is high, evaporation is strong, and soil moisture decreases rapidly. At this time, in addition to artificial irrigation, appropriate management must also be noted, using covered bed-surface grass for shade to maintain humidity.