How to care for Swertia birmanica
You may not know how to care for Swertia birmanica and its planting techniques in the topic of flowers and plants. Next, the editor of the website will introduce it to the netizens.
Swertia birmanica has high ornamental value. The whole plant of Swertia birmanica is bright red. What issues should be paid attention to when raising Swertia birmanica? Let's take a look together.
Swertia birmanica is a deciduous shrub of the Umbelliferae Cornaceae. The old stem is dark red, and the branches are blood red. The leaves are opposite, elliptical. The corymbose inflorescence is terminal, and the flowers are milky white. The flowering period is from May to June. The fruit is milky white or blue white, and the maturity period is from August to October. It can be propagated by seeding, cutting, and layering. The autumn leaves of Swertia birmanica are bright red, the small fruits are clean white, and the branches are as red as coral after defoliation, making it a rare ornamental stem plant and also a good cutting material. In gardens, it is often planted in lawns or interplanted with evergreen trees to achieve a red and green contrast effect.
Methods of raising Swertia birmanica
1. Habits: Swertia birmanica is extremely cold-tolerant, drought-tolerant, and pruning-tolerant, loves light, and prefers deep, moist but fertile and loose soil.
2. Propagation: Swertia birmanica is propagated by seeding, cutting, and layering. When sowing, the seeds should be sand-stored and sown in spring. Cuttings can be made from one-year-old branches, sand-stored in autumn and winter, and cuttings can be made from March to April of the following year. Layering can be done in May by cutting the branches and burying them in the soil, and after they take root, they are separated from the mother plant and planted in spring.
3. Planting: When planting Swertia birmanica, apply 10-15 kilograms of decomposed manure to each hole as a base fertilizer.
4. Water and fertilizer: Swertia birmanica has strong tolerance, and no special water and fertilizer management is required after it is planted. Water the seedlings before germination in early spring, pay attention to drainage during the rainy season, and apply a dose of farm manure with the frozen water in autumn.
5. Pruning: Before germination in early spring, renewal pruning should be carried out, shortening the branches of the previous year to promote new growth and maintain the red color of the branches. When the old plant shows signs of weak growth over the years, attention should be paid to renewal. Leave 1-2 buds at the base, cut off the rest, and properly thin the new branches after they sprout, which can recover within the year.
The efficacy and uses of Swertia birmanica
The medicinal efficacy of Swertia birmanica: Swertia birmanica can be used as medicine, which can be harvested all year round, cut into sections, dried in the sun, and used. Its most important effects are heat-clearing and detoxifying, and stopping bleeding and dysentery. It is often used to treat diseases such as nephritis, rheumatoid arthritis, otitis media, and hematochezia. It can be taken internally as a decoction, with a dosage of 6 to 9 grams. It can also be processed into fine powder for external use, with particularly good therapeutic effects.
The garden efficacy of Swertia birmanica: Swertia birmanica plays an important role in the horticulture industry. It is often planted in clusters on lawns in some garden scenic areas and is also frequently interplanted with green trees to achieve a visual effect of red and green. Especially after it loses its leaves, the fiery red branches are the most attractive landscape in the garden. The seeds of Swertia birmanica contain a high amount of oil, which can be extracted and used in human industrial production.
Cultivation points
1. Extremely cold-tolerant, drought-tolerant, and pruning-tolerant, loves light, and prefers deep, moist but fertile and loose soil.
2. When planting Swertia birmanica, apply 10 to 15 kilograms of decomposed manure to each hole as a base fertilizer, and apply top dressing every spring or autumn.
3. Renewal pruning should be carried out before germination in early spring, shortening the branches of the previous year to promote new growth and maintain the red color of the branches.
4. When the old plant shows signs of weak growth, pay attention to renewal. Leave 1 to 2 buds at the base, cut off the rest, and properly thin the new branches after they sprout, which can recover within the year.
5. Propagation can be done by cutting, seeding, or layering. Cutting: Cut 1 to 2-year-old healthy branches as cuttings in the late autumn, store them in sand in winter, and insert them into the soil in late March of the following year. After rooting, apply a thin liquid fertilizer once a month. Seeding: Pay attention to sand-storing the seeds for 120 days before sowing in spring. Layering: In early May, cut the branches and then bury them in the soil. After taking root, separate them from the mother plant and transplant them in spring.
6. Prone to stem rot, it can be sprayed with a 4 to 5 degree Baume stone sulfur mixture in March when sprouting, and a 1:1:200 Bordeaux mixture before the rainy season; in autumn, there may be occurrences of dust mites that damage the bark of branches, affecting the ornamental value. Spray 1% carbaryl or 0.5 degree Baume stone sulfur mixture.
The above sharing of how to care for Swertia birmanica and its planting techniques, I hope this article can bring you a little help!