A Detailed Guide to the Growth Habits and Cultivation Techniques of Taxus cuspidata
Taxus cuspidata, also known as the Japanese yew, is an endangered species and a national first-class protected plant. Because of its enormous medicinal value in cancer prevention and anti-cancer applications and its strong ornamental value, it is universally recognized as the "gold of plants." Since December 2002, when commercial use of wild yew was banned nationwide, artificial cultivation of yew has become the only way to sustainably develop the taxol industry and an important measure for effectively protecting wild resources, with broad prospects.
1. Growth habits
Taxus cuspidata is cold-resistant, shade-loving, moisture-loving, and fertilizer-loving, and it fears drought, waterlogging, and high temperatures. It has a relatively wide adaptability to soil. During dormancy it can withstand low temperatures of -42°C without frost damage, and it does not shed its leaves even when buried under heavy snow. When summer temperatures exceed 30°C, growth slows, and as temperatures continue to rise, growth stops.
Taxus cuspidata grows slowly. At 14 years old, the plant height is about 2 m, and the trunk diameter increases by an average of 0.2 cm per year. Under better cultivation conditions, a 2-year-old cutting seedling planted for 5 years can reach a height of more than 1 m.
Taxus cuspidata is dioecious, with red fruits and green leaves, evergreen in all four seasons. During the growing season it is lush and green, and during dormancy it is dark green. North of the Great Wall, 2-year-old cutting seedlings planted for 4 years begin to bear flowers and fruits. The flowering period is roughly from early April to late April, and the fruit ripening period is from mid-August to early September; if not harvested, the fruits fall off by themselves.
2. Cultivation techniques
2.1 Forest land selection and land preparation: Choose loam soil close to a water source, with flat terrain, good drainage, and fertile texture. Deeply plow and rake the afforestation land, then make beds 133 cm wide.
2.2 Planting density: Density differs for different uses. For bonsai production, plant densely at 4000 plants per mu, with a spacing of 33 cm x 50 cm. For producing landscaping engineering seedlings and medicinal forests, sparse planting is suitable, at 2000 plants per mu, with a spacing of 50 cm x 66.7 cm. After 5 years of planting, remove every other row and sell or transplant them. This leaves 1000 plants per mu, and the spacing becomes 50 cm x 133 cm. To cultivate large-scale engineering seedlings, every other plant can later be removed.
2.3 Seedling transplanting: Choose 2-year-old cutting seedlings for transplanting. Before lifting the seedlings, first wet the seedling bed, dig the seedlings out with a hoe, and when pulling them out keep some soil and maintain the integrity of the root system to ensure a relatively high survival rate. Transplant the seedlings into the bed and water thoroughly to settle the roots.
3. Tending and management
3.1 Cultivate and weed 3-4 times.
3.2 In May, apply urea as a topdressing at 10 kg per mu, and water after topdressing. In autumn, apply barnyard manure, with sheep manure being best, once every 2-3 years at 1.5 t per mu.
3.3 In spring and autumn, water during droughts. Remember: do not act like a diligent gardener "watering diligently with sweat" (frequent watering and excessive water volume are the main reasons for failure with potted yew).
3.4 Shading: Use a shade net with 70% shading, or intercrop with fruit trees, that is, plant Taxus cuspidata between rows of fruit trees, with the fruit trees cultivated in an east-west direction. It can also be intercropped with grain crops, such as planting 1 row of corn and 2-3 rows of Taxus cuspidata, requiring a tall-statured corn variety such as Nongda 3138, planted densely in an east-west direction. When cultivated in green belts between buildings in residential communities and in small amounts behind farmers' houses, shading is not needed.
3.5 The branches of Taxus cuspidata are tough and flexible and do not spring back after being bent, making it suitable for shaping. It can be pruned appropriately into various shapes to cultivate bonsai.
After 9 years of cultivating Taxus cuspidata, no pests or diseases have been observed.