How effective is sawdust for growing flowers?
How well does sawdust work for growing flowers.
Sawdust has comprehensive nutrients, a loose texture, retains water and allows air through, and is clean and hygienic. The methods for using sawdust to grow flowers are summarized below.
1. Sawdust can be used as the wrapping medium for air layering of flowering plants such as rhododendrons, kumquats, camellias and osmanthus. The method is: in the plum rain season, choose vigorously growing branches from the previous year, make a ring cut in the bark 10--15 cm from the tip, then wrap with a plastic bag, fill the bag with moist sawdust and mountain soil (mixed half and half), tie both ends tightly, then place the potted flower in a spot with partial shade and partial sun and carry out routine care and management. Roots will form in 2--3 months, and once rooted, the branch can be cut away from the mother plant to become a new flower seedling.
2. Sawdust can be used as the rooting medium for cuttings of flowering plants such as roses, gardenias and pomegranates. The method is: take a plastic film somewhat taller than the cuttings and of a certain length, spread moist sawdust on it (moist enough that no water drips when squeezed by hand), then lay the cuttings on it at intervals of about 2--3 cm, then cover with more moist sawdust, leaving the top 1--2 cm of the cuttings exposed. Finally roll it up and tie it tightly, making each bundle of 10--20 cuttings, and put several bundles into a large plastic film bag, tying the bag opening slightly tight to help keep it warm. Because humidity is easy to control, rooting is faster.
3. Mix sawdust thoroughly with human and animal manure, put it in a plastic bag, tie the bag opening tightly, and place it at a temperature of 30--35°C; after 1--2 months it will ferment and rot. Then air-dry it until semi-dry, mix it half and half with soil, and use it as potting soil to grow flowering plants; they will grow with lush branches and green leaves and produce bright, fragrant flowers. Used as a nutrient soil for raising flower seedlings, it has the wonderful function of promoting vigorous growth of the seedlings.
4. After fermentation and rotting, sawdust has comprehensive nutrients, with no risk of excess nitrogen or deficiency of phosphorus and potassium, and it has a loose texture and moderate moisture, making it a simple soilless culture material, especially suitable for potted asparagus ferns and orchids. Placing such potted flowers indoors is both clean and hygienic and elegant and refined, truly an ideal choice for ornamental enjoyment.
5. Sawdust that has been fermented and disinfected, after its pH is adjusted, can be used as a substrate for the transitional cultivation of test-tube plantlets after they are taken out of the bottles, and its effect is just as good as that of perlite powder.
Besides its many uses in industrial and agricultural production, sawdust also has many ingenious uses in flower cultivation. I wonder how much you have learned.
Sawdust is a cheap soilless culture substrate. If there is a source of sawdust around where flowers are grown, it can be treated by the following methods to turn the sawdust into a very good soilless culture substrate.
For new sawdust shipped from a factory, you should first find out the source of the sawdust. If it comes from wood transported by sea, it may contain excessive sea salt; such sawdust is best not used, and if it must be used, it definitely must be washed with water to remove the salt so that its concentration is below 10 mm/L.
For sawdust confirmed to be non-toxic, it is best to choose a wind-sheltered place with ample sunlight and pile it there for a year, giving it enough time to ferment until the color of the sawdust changes from light to dark. Then turn and sun it several times under the hot sun, using sunlight exposure to disinfect it. Disinfected sawdust should no longer be exposed to rain or contaminated by dirt, and it can be potted and used at any time.
Features:
1: Lightweight
Sawdust substrate is very light, with a bulk density similar to that of perlite and vermiculite. As a substrate for long-distance transport or for growing flowers in high-rise buildings, it is very good.
2: Water absorption and air permeability
Sawdust has good water absorption and permeability. For most plants with thick, strong roots, it readily satisfies their water-to-air ratio, and for plants with fine, slender roots, in the relatively humid south or coastal cities such as Dandong, the water-to-air ratio of sawdust is also very suitable. In the dry regions of the north, because sawdust has good permeability, the roots tend to dry out in the wind, causing the plants to die; in these regions, when using sawdust it is best to use it mixed with peat as a substrate.
3: The chemical composition of some tree species is harmful
The sawdust of most coniferous plants contains harmful substances such as resin and turpentine, and has a very high carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, which is unfavorable to plant growth. But the sawdust of fir is very good, such as spruce and fir.