What are the cultivation methods and precautions for Meiren plum (Prunus mume 'Meiren')?
Prunus mume 'Meiren' is a deciduous small tree or shrub in the Rosaceae family. Prunus mume 'Meiren' has high ornamental value and fairly wide uses, and can basically be enjoyed year-round. It can be planted in courtyards and also grown as a potted plant, and is now also widely used as a cut flower. So how should Prunus mume 'Meiren' be cultivated? Today the editor brings you the cultivation methods and precautions for Prunus mume 'Meiren'. Let's take a look below!
1. Planting conditions
Prunus mume 'Meiren' is not very strict about soil requirements, but loam is best. Because Prunus mume 'Meiren' is a hybrid variety, it has a certain tolerance to salinity and alkalinity. But it still needs a certain level of fertility, and the soil should have good permeability and be fairly loose and soft to ensure normal growth of Prunus mume 'Meiren'. Note that Prunus mume 'Meiren' is fairly strong in waterlogging tolerance, so we should plant it in a place with higher terrain that is dry. At the same time, Prunus mume 'Meiren' has a high demand for light and poor shade tolerance; if there is insufficient light, it easily leads to poor growth of Prunus mume 'Meiren'.
2. Propagation methods
Prunus mume 'Meiren' propagation is generally based mainly on two methods: layering and grafting. However, grafting is used more often, and grafting is generally carried out in late autumn after leaf fall or in early spring before the tree body has budded. Peach trees or apricot trees can be used as rootstock, while the scion should mainly be robust, thick branches from within two years that are free of pests and diseases. Cut them short into about 4 full buds to serve as the scion, and the specific grafting methods are further divided into branch grafting and bud grafting. The operation process is similar to grafting in other plants, so no extra elaboration will be made here.
3. Water and fertilizer management
Prunus mume 'Meiren' likes water but is not tolerant of waterlogging, so everyone should pay close attention when watering. Before Prunus mume 'Meiren' overwinters, be careful to water in an appropriate amount of freezing water, and in the following spring also pay attention to green-up water. When watering Prunus mume 'Meiren', do not water too frequently; in summer it can be watered appropriately more. But if there is overcast and rainy weather, then drain promptly to avoid water accumulation causing root rot. Fertilizer is also very important for the growth of Prunus mume 'Meiren'. Before cultivation, apply an appropriate amount of base fertilizer, mainly decomposed farmyard manure. Then during flower bud differentiation, appropriately apply compound fertilizer to promote flowering, and afterward apply less. After each fertilization, water appropriately; do not fertilize too much, to avoid fertilizer damage burning the roots.
4. Precautions
Prunus mume 'Meiren' has a certain cold resistance, but during the seedling stage it is still necessary to pay attention to doing good cold protection work. After reaching maturity, Prunus mume 'Meiren' can overwinter in the open ground, but the temperature should not be too low; keep it around zero degrees to avoid frost damage. At the same time, do good cooling work in summer to prevent excessively high temperatures from causing wilting and yellow leaves in Prunus mume 'Meiren'. As just said, Prunus mume 'Meiren' likes light, so we should also pay attention to maintaining sufficient light, and must not let Prunus mume 'Meiren' remain for a long time in a dark and weakly lit environment; ensure sufficient light duration and intensity.
The above is a brief introduction to the cultivation methods and precautions for Prunus mume 'Meiren'. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and I hope it can help everyone!