Chrysanthemum Propagation Methods
Today's focus is to introduce you to some knowledge about chrysanthemum, a plant in the Compositae family, including its propagation methods. Let's dive in and learn together.
Chrysanthemums are usually propagated by cutting, dividing, grafting, and tissue culture. Among these methods, cutting is the most commonly used. We will discuss each propagation method one by one:
(1) Cuttings can be divided into bud cuttings, softwood cuttings, and leaf bud cuttings. For bud cuttings, cut the plant's basal buds in autumn and winter. The standard for selecting buds is that they should be far from the plant and full. Remove the lower leaves, plant them in flowerpots or beds in greenhouses or greenhouses with a spacing of 3-4 cm between plants and 4-5 cm between rows, maintaining a room temperature of 7-8°C. Plant them outdoors when it gets warm in spring.
Softwood cuttings, this method is widely used, usually done from April to May. Cut 8-10 cm long softwood branches as cuttings, and at a temperature of 18-21°C, they can root in about 3 weeks and be transplanted after about 4 weeks. For outdoor beds, it is best to use coarse sand as the medium, and shading is required. Full sunlight misting beds do not require shading. Leaf bud cuttings involve taking a leaf with an axillary bud from the branch for cutting, and this method is only used for propagating rare varieties.
(2) Division is usually done around Qingming Festival, where the plant is dug up and separated according to the natural shape of the roots, then planted in a pot.
(3) Grafting To make chrysanthemums grow strong and create "Ten Auspicious Ornamental" or large-standing chrysanthemums, you can use yellow wormwood or green wormwood as the rootstock for grafting. Sow the wormwood seeds in late autumn, grow them in a greenhouse in winter, or in a warm bed in March, and then transfer them to pots or plant in the field in late April when the seedlings are 3-4 cm tall. Grafting is done in sunny days from May to June.
(4) Tissue Culture Using tissue culture technology to propagate chrysanthemums has the advantages of rapid propagation, a large number of seedlings, virus removal, and maintaining varietal characteristics. The basic culture medium is MS, supplemented with an appropriate amount of plant hormones and a pH of 5.8. Use the tip of the chrysanthemum stem, tender stems, or flower buds as the explants, cut into 0.5 cm segments and inoculated. The culture room temperature is 25°C + 1°C. Illuminate for 8 hours a day with a light intensity of 3000-4000 lux. After 1-2 months of culture, seedlings can be induced.
The above introduction to the methods of propagating chrysanthemums is provided as a reference and suggestion for everyone.