What are the spring pruning and fertilizing methods for Rhodiola?

Rhodiola is a widely used medicinal herb with beauty and skin-care effects. It can be used as a skin-care product and can also be eaten, so it is loved by many women. Spring is the season for pruning and fertilizing Rhodiola, so what are the spring pruning methods for Rhodiola? How should it be fertilized in spring?

1. Spring pruning methods for Rhodiola

1. Thinning branches. First cut off dead branches, diseased and pest-infested branches, damaged branches, thorn-like branches and crossing branches, then thin out overly dense fruiting branches. When thinning fruiting branches, first remove shaded branches, downward-facing branches and thin weak branches; then remove upward-facing branches and middle branches; if still too dense, thin the side branches again, so that after pruning the distance between fruiting branches is 5-6 cm, and all are plump, strong white-stem branches with strong fruiting capacity.

2. Handling water sprouts. For water sprouts growing at the drooping part of scaffold branches, keep them as extension branches of the scaffold branches and cut them back appropriately, so that the branch vigor and extension direction remain stable; for water sprouts with space nearby, cut them back appropriately and train them into fruiting branch groups, enlarging the canopy and increasing the fruiting area; for water sprouts with no use value, cut them off from the base.

3. Renewing and rejuvenating fruiting branch groups. Rhodiola fruiting branch groups mostly bend and droop after bearing fruit for 2 years, and their fruiting capacity decreases. For such fruiting branch groups, cut them back leaving 3-5 cm; after sprouting in spring, select a healthy bud with a suitable growth direction and position, and train it into a new fruiting branch group through pinching.

4. Renewing and cultivating fruiting branches. Rhodiola fruiting branches have different fruiting capacities depending on the variety; some can bear fruit for two consecutive seasons, while others can bear fruit for only one season, or only bear small and few fruits at the tip. The characteristics of weak fruiting branches are grayish-brown branches and obvious very short branches.

Such fruiting branches must be cut back and renewed in time. The editor of Bangnong Network reminds that generally they are cut from the drooping and bending part of the fruiting branch; thick ones are cut back by 1/2, weak ones by 2/3, and extremely weak ones are cut back leaving only 5-6 cm; the degree of cutting back should be lighter rather than heavier.

2. Planting and fertilizing methods for Rhodiola

1. Large nutrient uptake. In order to meet the needs of the growth and development of its aboveground and underground parts and to provide a large amount of fruit year after year, the seedlings must absorb a large amount of nutrients from the soil every year, especially adult seedlings, which absorb even more.

2. Continuous nutrient consumption. Rhodiola has a long growth cycle; generally the same plant continues to grow on the same plot for more than ten years. Because Rhodiola is fixed in position and continuously absorbs nutrients, certain nutrient elements in the soil are often excessively consumed. Therefore, they must be replenished in time through fertilization. Otherwise, deficiencies of certain trace elements (such as iron, boron and zinc) will occur and affect fruit yield and quality. Rhodiola gardens should pay attention to appropriately applying large amounts of biological organic fertilizer, suitable for the specific soil agrochemical characteristics and the trace element needs of Rhodiola seedlings.

3. The need to store nutrients before winter. Rhodiola seedlings store large amounts of nutrients in their roots, branches and trunks; in addition to carbohydrates, these also include nitrogen-containing compounds and various mineral elements. Seedling sprouting, flowering and growth in early spring mainly consume the nutrients stored in the tree body. Therefore, after fruit harvest and before leaf fall, base fertilizer should generally be applied early, mainly organic fertilizer, combined with some nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium chemical fertilizers, so that the rich nutrients stored in the tree body can be used in early spring of the following year. This has a certain effect on increasing flowering and fruit-setting rates, promoting robust branch growth, enlarging fruit and increasing yield. The editor of Bangnong Network notes that applying base fertilizer early also helps overcome the alternate bearing phenomenon of fruit trees.

4. Strong ability to absorb deep nutrients. Fertilization of seedlings must pay attention to this characteristic. At the same time, seedling roots are not well developed, while the longitudinal fertilizer-absorbing ability of horizontal rhizomes is strong, and their adaptability to external environmental conditions is stronger than that of field crops or vegetable crops. Especially adult seedlings can absorb certain nutrients from the lower soil layer to supplement the deficiency of nutrients in the upper soil layer. When fertilizing fruit trees, not only the surface soil should be considered, but also the soil nutrient status of the layer where roots are largely distributed; fertilizer should be applied to a certain depth to facilitate the root system of Rhodiola growing and rooting toward fertilizer, facilitate root absorption and improve fertilizer utilization and survival and yield-increasing efficiency.

5. Nutritional characteristics of the annual cycle. Seedlings are perennial crops, and their annual cycle nutritional characteristics are: in the early growth stage (sprouting, flowering and rapid growth of branches and leaves), nitrogen demand is highest, then the required amount begins to decline, and after fruit harvest a certain amount of nitrogen is still needed; phosphorus content increases somewhat during the growth period, but the required amount changes little until the later stage; potassium content is relatively high in the early growth stage, and the peak potassium uptake is in the middle growth stage.