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How to Grow and Care for Sorbaria sorbifolia

Growing Techniques By Emily Carter 0 views
Flowering Plants

Sorbaria sorbifolia (scientific name: Sorbaria sorbifolia (L.) A. Br) is a shrub in the family Rosaceae, genus Sorbaria, growing up to 2 m tall, with spreading branches; winter buds ovoid, purple-brown, with rounded blunt tips, bearing several alternate exposed scales. Pinnate compound leaves, leaflets opposite, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, apex acuminate, rarely caudate, base nearly rounded or broadly cuneate, rarely oblique, margins sharply doubly serrate, both surfaces glabrous or nearly so, pinnate reticulate veins.

Planting Methods


1. Seed collection and treatment: collect seeds each year from September to October, place the capsules first in a ventilated, cool indoor spot, dry them in the shade, rub them gently, remove the seed coats and impurities, and store them in paper bags.

2. Site preparation and bed making: choose flat, well-drained land as the nursery site, or use a greenhouse for seedling raising. The nursery soil should be loose and fairly fertile. For low-bed seedling raising, the bed surface is 1.0-1.2 m wide and 5-10 m long; deep plow, remove debris and weeds, use carbofuran or phoxim to kill insects, and sterilize the soil with carbendazim. Irrigate thoroughly before sowing.

3. Sowing method: Sorbaria sorbifolia seeds are very small, so sow using the water-sitting method. At sowing time, the soil should preferably be moist but not sticky. Rake the ground level and fine, mix the seeds with soil and broadcast them, then cover with a thin layer of fine soil, preferably forest humus soil, and immediately sprinkle water with a watering can so the seeds and soil bind closely together.

4. Seedling management: after sowing, cover the ground surface with a shade net and sprinkle water 1-2 times daily. Open-field seedlings emerge in 3-5 days, and greenhouse seedlings emerge in 2-4 days. During the emergence period, the soil must be kept moist. After the seedlings have all emerged, gradually reduce the shading time and increase the sunlight time; remove the shade net after about 20 days for greenhouse seedlings, and after about 30 days for open-field seedlings. For open-field sowing, after 1 year the seedlings are 5-15 cm tall, and in the 2nd year they can grow to about 50 cm. Transplant and set out 2-year-old plants at a spacing of 40 cm x 60 cm; they leave the nursery in 4-5 years. For greenhouse seedling raising, plants can grow 30-50 cm tall in the same year, are transplanted to the open field in the 2nd year, and leave the nursery in 3-4 years.

Cultivation Techniques



① Soil: It is not demanding about soil, but grows better and blooms more profusely when cultivated in deep, fertile sandy loam.
② Fertilizing: It has low fertilizer requirements; applying enough base fertilizer at planting time meets its growth needs, and generally no additional topdressing is needed. Afterwards, in combination with winter care, apply base fertilizer once every 1-2 years.
③ Watering: Water promptly during spring droughts; during summer and autumn droughts, water thoroughly to keep the soil from drying out; before winter begins, water once more to protect against freezing.
④ Light: Sorbaria sorbifolia tolerates partial shade, but also grows well in sunlight.
⑤ Pruning: After flowering, promptly prune away remaining flowering branches, diseased and pest-infested branches, and old weak branches to keep the plant shape neat, avoid nutrient consumption, and promote robust growth with abundant flowers and lush leaves.


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