Does the Chinese yew have seeds? A detailed guide to Chinese yew seeds
The Chinese yew, also known as the yew, Selaginella, and flat cedar, is a tree species endemic to China, found in southern Gansu, southern Shaanxi, Sichuan, northeastern and southeastern Yunnan, western and southeastern Guizhou, western Hubei, northeastern Hunan, northern Guangxi, and southern Anhui (Huangshan), and is cultivated in Lushan, Jiangxi. Let us now take a look at whether the Chinese yew has seeds!
Does the Chinese yew have seeds?
The Chinese yew has seeds. The seeds of the Chinese yew grow in a cup-shaped red fleshy aril, sometimes on a nearly membranous disc-shaped seed receptacle, and are usually ovoid. After the seeds mature in November they can be harvested, then the fleshy seed coat is washed clean and dried, and immediately stratified in wet sand and buried in a shady, dry place, covered with plastic film and a straw mat. In summer and autumn the seeds should be turned twice a month, and by early March of the following year they can be sown for seedling raising.
How are Chinese yew seeds planted?
Chinese yew seeds are generally sown in early spring. After the seeds have been stored for 1 year, when 30% of the seeds have split open and shown white, screen out the seeds promptly, disinfect them in a 0.2% potassium permanganate solution for 10 minutes, then rinse them clean with water, and after the surface water has dried, sow them evenly in furrows. Drill sowing is the main method, with a seed spacing of 5-7 cm, or broadcast sowing may also be used. After sowing, dig up yellow soil from under a pine forest that contains mycorrhizae and has been sieved, and cover the seeds with it, to a thickness such that the seeds are no longer visible. During the seedling stage, pay attention to shading; when sowing, cover with rice straw just until the soil is no longer visible; during the seedling stage, build a shade shed with a light transmittance of 60%. Then lay moss to protect the seedlings, protect the seedbed from sun and rain, and keep the soil loose and moist at all times. The seed germination rate is above 70%.
Cultivation techniques for the Chinese yew
1. Site selection and land preparation: For Chinese yew cultivation, choose loose, humus-rich, neutral or slightly acidic alpine platform land, or brown earth or dark brown earth on both banks of gullies and streams, and plow deep and level it. Dig holes at a plant-row spacing of 0.4×1.0 m or 0.4×0.4 m, with holes 40 cm deep, ready for planting.
2. Seedling transplanting: For Chinese yew grown from seed, after 1-2 years, or for cuttings, after about 1 year, when the seedlings have grown to 30-50 cm in height they can be transplanted. Transplanting is carried out in October-November or February-March before bud break, planting 1 seedling per hole, watering, and providing appropriate shade.
3. Planting management: After the Chinese yew is established, cultivate and weed twice a year; after the woodland closes, generally only winter cultivation and weeding are carried out, and earth up 5 times. Fertilize in conjunction with cultivation and weeding, mainly using farmyard manure. During the young tree stage, prune off sprouts and suckers to ensure the trunk stays straight and grows quickly.