What is the landscape use of Acer truncatum?
Below is an introduction for netizens about the landscape use of Acer truncatum and the experience in green plant maintenance regarding the planting environment and conditions of Acer truncatum trees. Next, the editor will introduce the information to netizens.
Acer truncatum, just by its name, can make people think of the "Five-star Red Flag," especially in spring and autumn when the leaf color is particularly red. This type of flowering tree species is widely distributed in the Qinling Mountains. I first encountered this tree in 2009 when I worked at a greening company in the northern suburbs of Xi'an. What impressed me the most was that a seedling supplier from Baoji brought a truckload of Acer truncatum with a diameter of 12 centimeters and parked by the roadside waiting for the supervisor to inspect the quality. I casually asked about the delivery price, which was 1800 yuan per tree. Compared to my monthly salary of 2800 yuan at the time, it was indeed shocking! In the following years, I visited many major seedling production areas and gained a deep understanding of many aspects of seedlings. Today,枫林 (Maple Forest) will tell you about the current development status and future prospects of Acer truncatum.
Acer truncatum seedling planting
I. Current development status of Acer truncatum seedlings
1. Sales direction of seeded seedlings
Every mid-November, farmers in Fufeng County, Shaanxi Province, and绛 County, Shanxi Province, start selling Acer truncatum seedlings in bulk. Acer truncatum seedlings are propagated by seed sowing. In arid areas, one-year-old seedlings can grow to about 50 centimeters in height, and in areas with good water and fertilizer conditions, they can reach over 70 centimeters in height. Seedlings with a diameter of less than 2 centimeters are generally sold among farmers, and some out-of-town customers buy small seedlings to plant themselves. The price of small seedlings has been relatively stable. Before the diameter of Acer truncatum seedlings is less than 3 centimeters, almost every tree with a bent shape has to undergo "flat pruning" every year. Seedlings with a diameter less than 0.8 centimeters are more like "buying roots" than "buying seedlings" because these small seedlings will all undergo "flat pruning" after being planted, and the main stem part will be discarded. Due to the soft branches of Acer truncatum, it is difficult to produce high-quality seedlings if the density is not high enough in the early stages of planting.
2. The difficult process of cultivating high-quality seedlings
Why is it difficult? Besides high-quality seedling bases with dense planting, it is rare to see straight-trunked Acer truncatum trees in nurseries with high seedling density, and some trees even with a diameter of 3 centimeters still have bent trunks. To cultivate high-quality, straight-trunked Acer truncatum,枫林's experience is to plant small seedlings at a distance of 0.5 meters by 0.5 meters, then perform "flat pruning" after planting, provide plenty of water and fertilizer, and grow continuously in the same piece of land for 3 to 4 years to cultivate more high-quality Acer truncatum seedlings. By then, the number of "straight-trunked" seedlings with a diameter of 3 to 5 centimeters will increase significantly. Many farmers are reluctant to buy too many seedlings, and many Acer truncatum seedlings planted at a distance of 1 meter by 1 meter are mostly crooked with many branches, making the "branch pruning" work particularly labor-intensive. Therefore, the planting density of seedlings in the early stage directly affects the "yield rate" of high-quality seedlings in the later stage. Currently, the inventory of Acer truncatum seedlings with a diameter of less than 5 centimeters in the seedling market is very high. Seedlings that have not been trained to have high branching will end up as丛生 (clustered) seedlings or low-branching seedlings.
3. The seedling specifications that can truly achieve "large spacing" planting
The most profitable Acer truncatum trees are large-sized seedlings. If you want to make big money in Acer truncatum planting, you need to "put in the effort" in the early stages of nursery planning. According to枫林's experience, to maximize the value of Acer truncatum trees, you should choose to plant trees with a diameter of 5 centimeters when building the nursery initially. Trees of this size have fully lignified trunks, and the possibility of trunk bending in later stages is very small. For planting distances, a row spacing of 5 meters and a plant spacing of 4 meters are best. The branching point should be set at 2.8 meters. Under good water and fertilizer conditions, trees with a diameter of 5 centimeters can reach a diameter of 8 centimeters in 3 years. In August 2019, the price of 8-centimeter high-quality Acer truncatum seedlings was about 380 yuan in Shanxi (with the soil ball on the truck) and about 430 yuan in Fufeng, Shaanxi. Sell a batch when they reach 8 centimeters, and do not replant the empty nursery ground, allowing the remaining trees to grow to a diameter of 12 centimeters. The thicker the tree, the higher the price.
4. Current market status of non-engineering seedlings
Due to the unique characteristics of Acer truncatum, such as drought resistance and strong wind resistance, its usage in greening projects in the northwest region has been increasing in recent years. The required specifications for Acer truncatum in greening projects start from a diameter of 8 centimeters. There is a large inventory of Acer truncatum seedlings below 8 centimeters in diameter, and the price fluctuates greatly. Seedlings with a diameter of less than 3 centimeters are mainly traded among small-scale farmers in different provinces. A large part of the trees with a diameter of 4 to 8 centimeters are purchased by large-scale nurseries for planting large trees, and some are used in greening projects in small and medium-sized cities. This is the current market status of non-engineering Acer truncatum seedlings.
4. Current demand for engineering Acer truncatum seedlings
Seedlings with a diameter of more than 8 centimeters are the specifications that are purchased in large quantities by major city greening engineering companies. Taking the Xi'an market as an example, in 2019, the largest purchase volume was for seedlings with diameters of 8 centimeters, 10 to 12 centimeters, 13 to 15 centimeters, and 18 to 20 centimeters. Among them, the 13 to 15 centimeter specification was the hardest to find. In my nursery in 2018, the "net price" for 8-centimeter Acer truncatum seedlings was 300 yuan per tree, and they were sold out. What is "net price"? It means that the customer hires their own workers to dig and load the trees, and I don't have to do anything. In 2019, customers offered 1480 yuan per tree for 13-centimeter Acer truncatum, but there were no trees available, as we couldn't produce them.
Customers viewing large-sized Acer truncatum seedlings
II. Future development prospects of Acer truncatum
With the increasing number of urban greening projects and the growing demand for large-sized seedlings, the demand for Acer truncatum has also quietly changed. Since 2016, the "multi-trunk clumping" shape of Acer truncatum has started to become popular. By 2018, this type of "clumping Acer truncatum" with a height of 6.8 meters and a crown diameter of 5 meters was priced at over 5000 yuan. At the same time, Acer truncatum with a diameter of 15 to 20 centimeters is in short supply, with many out-of-town merchants coming to buy trees with cash. The market demand for "low-branching" Acer truncatum with a trunk height of less than 50 centimeters is also very strong! Acer truncatum is one of the few types of garden trees that have a market price from seedlings to large trees.
Clumping Acer truncatum base
Conclusion: Acer truncatum is often called "元宝枫" (Yuanbao Maple) because it looks very similar to it. In the hot summer months, only under the Acer truncatum trees is it the coolest. The advantages of Acer truncatum are its drought resistance and ability to grow in poor soil, dislike of waterlogging, and strong resistance to strong winds. When cultivating large seedlings in the early stage, the density should be high; otherwise, the seedlings grown are mostly waste. Due to the closure of information in various seedling production areas, the selling price of seedlings with the same specifications varies. If your nursery is in a remote area, as long as the transportation is convenient, you can still sell the seedlings at a lower price, as the distance and transportation costs are very significant.
The above sharing about the landscape use of Acer truncatum and the explanation of the planting environment and conditions of Acer truncatum trees are for your comprehensive understanding and reference!