Growing Techniques and Cultivation Management Methods for Chinese Lobelia
Chinese lobelia (Lobelia chinensis) is a perennial herb in the genus Lobelia, family Campanulaceae. The whole plant can be used as medicine, with effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, and promoting diuresis to reduce swelling, giving it extremely high medicinal value. In addition, its flowers are peculiar, and it is often grown as a potted plant, so how should it be planted? Let's take a look below.
1. Site selection
Chinese lobelia likes humid environments, is cold-resistant and drought-tolerant, and can overwinter naturally in the field. It often grows wild in moist places such as field ridges, grasslands, and stream banks. Therefore, when planting, choose such an environment, preferably loose sandy soil with good drainage. Before planting, clean up the weeds and leftover plant debris from the plot, then deep plow and harrow it fine, apply base fertilizer, and prepare for planting.
2. Propagation
Chinese lobelia can be propagated by three methods: seed propagation, cutting propagation, and division propagation. In production, division propagation is the main method; if the planting scale is large, cutting propagation can also be used. For division propagation, in spring from April to May, after the plant's new shoots emerge, divide it into 4-5 small plants according to the size of the plant, then open furrows and plant at a spacing of 10×25cm or 6×15cm. For cutting propagation, choose the high-temperature period in summer, cut off stems and branches from robustly growing plants, insert them into the soil, keep the soil moist, and control the temperature between 25-30 degrees; after about 7-10 days they will take root and survive, and then be transplanted the following year.
3. Field management
During the seedling stage of the plant, carry out loosening the soil and weeding measures well, and weed in time so as not to affect seedling growth. Loosening the soil can benefit seedling root growth. When weeding, do it by hand as much as possible and use less herbicide, so as to avoid phytotoxicity to the seedlings. When weeding, also apply fertilizer once to promote seedling growth. After harvest in summer, also apply a topdressing of ammonium sulfate and urea once, and in winter apply decomposed fertilizer or compost. During drought, water in time to keep the soil moist; with each fertilization, water appropriately to speed up fertilizer absorption.
4. Pests and diseases
The main diseases of Chinese lobelia are Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium, Pythium, etc., and the insect pests include aphids, thrips, whiteflies, etc. Their prevention and control work should be done well. In addition to pest and disease control, the plant is also prone to lodging, which in most cases is caused by damping-off disease. Pay attention to soil moisture so that the stems are not kept moist for a long time; ventilation can be strengthened, and fungicides can be sprayed regularly.
The above are the growing techniques for Chinese lobelia. I hope they can help you. To learn more about growing knowledge, please stay tuned to us.