What is the best month for transplanting Forsythia
A detailed introduction about the best month for transplanting Forsythia and the precautions for planting it, related to green plants. Let's follow the editor to take a look!
I. Morphological characteristics of Forsythia:
Forsythia is a deciduous shrub that can grow up to 3 meters tall. The stems are erect, the branches are hollow and often drooping, with hollow internodes without pith. The leaves are opposite, petiolate, ovate, with serrated edges, pointed apex, rounded or cuneate base, and some form ternate compound leaves. The flowers bloom before the leaves, are bright yellow, 1-3 per axil, with 4-lobed petals, elliptical in shape. The capsules are ovate, 2-locular. The seeds have wings. The flowering period is April to May, and the fruiting period is June to September. There are many varieties of Forsythia, including Forsythia in the Northeast, ovate Forsythia, golden bell Forsythia, weeping Forsythia, and variegated Forsythia.
II. Cultivation methods
1. Cultivation: The common methods for cultivating Forsythia include sowing, dividing, and cutting.
① Sowing: Collect Forsythia seeds in August to September, select mature fruits, dry them in the sun, tap them to remove impurities, and obtain pure seeds. Store them at 5-10°C, and around March 10 of the following year, start germination (25-35 days before sowing). The method is to soak the seeds in a 1:2000 gibberellin alcohol solution for 3-4 hours to break dormancy; then mix them with wet river sand at a 1:1000 weight ratio and place them at a temperature of 10-20°C for about 30 days to germinate. Then, sow them in prepared beds 120 cm wide and 15 cm high, at a depth of 2 cm, with a row spacing of 30 cm and 3 rows per bed. Water promptly, remove weeds, and the plants can grow to 60-90 cm in the first year.
② Dividing cultivation: Before the ground freezes in autumn, cut the dense Forsythia into groups of 3-5 branches from the mother plant, soak them in a rooting hormone solution for 3 minutes, and immediately plant them in prepared holes, watering thoroughly to survive the winter. This can also be done in spring when the soil has thawed to about 35 cm, using the same method for dividing and transplanting.
③ Cutting cultivation: After flowering, select vigorous two-year-old branches from the mother plant, cut them into 35-40 cm sections, soak the lower morphological end in a rooting hormone solution for 10-20 minutes, and then insert them into the prepared beds with a spacing of 10 cm between plants and 25 cm between rows. Use iron rods or thin bamboo as arch-shaped supports, cover with plastic film, and provide appropriate shading, watering sufficiently. The survival rate is over 95%. They can be transplanted the following year.
2. Management: Forsythia is a temperate plant that prefers warm and humid climates but is also cold-resistant, enjoys sunlight, and can tolerate shade. It is not very strict about soil requirements, can tolerate drought and poor soil, and grows normally in neutral, slightly acidic, or alkaline soils. When cultivating, choose a sunny and well-drained area, apply 2 kg of farm manure per hole at planting, and usually no topdressing is needed; in special cases, if there is signs of weak growth, topdress with manure after the leaves fall and water thoroughly. After flowering, cut off the withered and dense branches to promote the growth of new branches; old branches can be pruned during the dormant period, cutting 10-20 cm from the ground for renewal. Forsythia has strong antibacterial and insecticidal properties and rarely suffers from diseases and pests.
Currently, there is a shortage of Forsythia supply in the medicinal market, and prices are rising. Farmers can plant large areas of Forsythia on barren hills and land returned to forests, which can be used to harvest Chinese medicinal herbs and also greenify barren hills. III. Applications 1. Medicinal: Forsythia is slightly cold and bitter in nature, and its function is to clear heat, detoxify, reduce swelling, and dissipate knots, mainly used to treat symptoms such as restlessness during febrile diseases, erysipelas, carbuncles, boils, and scrofula. Forsythia fruit contains forsythol and other components, and Forsythia decoction has a strong killing effect on various pathogenic microorganisms. Forsythol is most effective against Staphylococcus aureus and dysentery bacillus, and it has a strong inhibitory effect on influenza virus. In recent years, traditional Chinese medicine often combines Forsythia with other herbs to treat breast cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, lung cancer, and skin cancer with good results. Forsythia can be processed into various medicines, tablets, or capsules.
2. Ornamental: Forsythia blooms early in spring with yellow flowers, with串串 bell-shaped flowers hanging all over the branches, resembling yellow ribbons, golden and dazzling. It is suitable for planting in parks, schools, courtyards, hotels, tourist areas, beside houses, and roadsides. It can be planted singly or in groups. If planted with Prunus triloba, Caragana sinica, Syringa oblata, and other plants with similar flowering periods, the colors of red, yellow, and pink intermingle, creating a striking and vibrant scene, highly favored by citizens.
3. Edible: Forsythia seeds can be extracted for edible oils.
4. Beauty: The flowers and unripe fruits of Forsythia, after boiling for 20 minutes, can be used to wash the face every morning or before bed, which has a good effect of sterilizing, acaricidal, and skin care. Long-term use can eliminate facial freckles, butterfly spots, reduce acne, and wrinkles.
The above information about the best month for transplanting Forsythia and the precautions for planting Forsythia is provided for green plant enthusiasts, hoping to solve your problems in green plant and flower management.