What are the methods for planting hawthorn trees? The benefits of drinking it as an infusion and its ripening season

The hawthorn tree is a deciduous tree with leaves that are nearly ovate, and it has strong adaptability; even on thin mountain soil, it grows and develops better than other fruit trees. So do you know what the methods for planting hawthorn trees are? What are the benefits of drinking it as an infusion? In which season does it ripen? According to Uncle Chen, a farmer who has grown hawthorn trees year-round, he told us that the hawthorn tree usually blooms from May to June, fruits from August to October, and ripens in October in autumn.

I. What are the methods for planting hawthorn trees

1. Hawthorn trees can be grown from seed. Usually, wild hawthorn is used (harvested early; after extracting the seeds, they are immediately treated by scalding with water and sun-drying. The method: first wash the seeds clean, put them into water at 60°C and scald them for half an hour, stirring at all times during this period so the seeds are heated evenly. Then take out the scalded seeds and soak them in cold water for 5 days, then take them out and sun-dry them until they split open.

2. If using purchased seeds, they should be soaked in water for 24 hours, rubbed and washed, and then put into water at 60°C and scalded. During the day, spread the seeds on a concrete yard or stone slab to sun-dry them, and at night soak them in water again, repeating this until more than 50% of the seeds have split open, then carry out sand storage stratification.

3. The temperature for sand storage is 0-5°C. After 80 days of stratification, the seeds can be germinated and sown in the field to cultivate rootstock seedlings. Then plant them separately in the nursery according to seedling size. Before planting the seedlings, plow and turn the soil, apply organic fertilizer, and make beds with good soil moisture. Water promptly after planting and strengthen management.

4. After hawthorn saplings are planted, roots develop rather late in the same year. Therefore, in the year of planting, aboveground growth is relatively weak; after the second year, once the seedlings have recovered, the growth becomes vigorous, and thereafter it becomes more vigorous year after year. However, when pruning, you must not make large cuts and leave everything just because growth is vigorous, or even fail to prune the extension shoots, as this will affect the tree structure and the firmness of the framework, and affect the reasonable distribution of fruiting branches. Although it may bear fruit earlier, the fruiting area will be small and the yield low.

6. The hawthorn tree has strong adaptability; even on thin mountain soil, its growth and development are better than those of other fruit trees. In hawthorn orchards with better fertilizer and water conditions, it is easy to obtain high yields year after year, and alternate bearing is also unlikely to occur. After hawthorn saplings are planted, they can produce a full yield in 5 years. The phenomenon of failing to bear fruit at the proper age, as with apple trees, is relatively rare.

Because the hawthorn tree forms flower buds easily and bears fruit early, during the young tree period, if it bears too much fruit, alternate bearing is likely to occur. For mature large trees, since the tree body stores more nutrients, as long as it does not bear too much fruit, alternate bearing generally does not occur.

II. What are the benefits of drinking hawthorn slices as an infusion

Many friends only know that hawthorn slices can be infused in water, but they are not clear about the specific benefits of hawthorn slice infusion. In fact, drinking hawthorn slices as an infusion instead of tea over the long term can help regulate high blood pressure and blood lipids, provide antioxidant effects, and promote diuresis, and it also has considerable medicinal value!

Promotes digestion: Hawthorn slices are rich in nutrients, containing abundant carbohydrates, protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin C and other nutrients. After eating, they have the effect of promoting salivation, stimulating appetite, and aiding digestion. They can remove greasiness, promote gastrointestinal peristalsis, expel toxins from the body, and make the skin healthier and clearer. If you feel bloated in the stomach and intestines, drinking hawthorn slice infusion will relieve this condition.

Lowers blood lipids: In addition to the above effects, hawthorn slices also have the effect of lowering blood lipids. People with high blood lipids can appropriately eat some hawthorn, but people with qi deficiency should try to avoid it or eat less hawthorn.

Promotes diuresis: Hawthorn slice infusion also has a diuretic effect, so people with constipation can appropriately drink a little more. However, if you have a stomach condition such as gastric ulcer, it is best to drink less.

Experts recommend a daily hawthorn dosage of 25 grams. If the hawthorn tea is combined with cassia seeds, which can lower blood pressure, and fleeceflower root, which has antioxidant properties, the effect will be better.