Mei is a hybrid of plum and apricot.

Yangmei is even worse.

Plum blossom, also known as "Five Blessed Flowers", is a famous traditional flower in China, symbolizing happiness, happiness, longevity, smoothness and peace. Plum blossom is not only elegant and elegant, which makes poets and painters in ancient and modern times admire it, but also is respected by the world for its ice muscle jade bone and lingering fragrance. There are also many China literati's love and praise for Mei.

Mei, with her noble, strong and modest personality, gives people the motivation to make progress. In the cold, plum blossoms bloom first, and the world is alone in spring. Therefore, plums are often regarded by the people as an auspicious symbol of spreading good news in spring.

Brief introduction of plum blossom

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The plum blossom, the first of the twenty-four flowers, has green ice branches, elegant shadow, beautiful fragrance and early flowering. "Xiang Xuehai dares to produce thousands of flowers, and a tree will spring first." Known as the flower base. The lofty character and loyalty of "knowing far away is not snow, only fragrance comes" symbolizes the spirit of our descendants of the dragon. Plum blossom cultivation began in Shang Dynasty and has a history of nearly 4000 years.

Mei is the birthday girl among flowers. In many parts of China, the Millennium Gu Mei is still preserved. In Huangmei County, Hubei Province, there is a golden plum, which is 1600 years old and still in bloom. Plum blossoms are in full bloom in the snow, the fragrance is lingering in the cold, the image of iron bones and ice hearts, and the image of high morality and integrity inspires people to strive for self-improvement and persevere in welcoming the arrival of spring. "Wind and rain send spring home, flying snow welcomes the spring. It is already a cliff full of ice, and there are beautiful flowers, which do not compete for spring. They only reported the spring solstice, and she was laughing at it. "

Plum blossoms are native to China and mainly cultivated in the Yangtze River valley and southwest China. I like a warm and humid climate, and I want to grow in a sunny, ventilated and cool place, which is resistant to waterlogging and drought. Plum blossom is a world-famous ornamental flower, especially its charm. Whenever it is sparse in late winter and early spring, its fragrance will overflow far away. In China, it is called "Three Friends of Old Cold" together with Matsuzaka. Plum blossoms and plums can be used as medicine, and plum blossoms can be taken instead of tea. Fruit element is known as "healthy food" and can be processed into various dried fruits, and the list is endless.

Morphological characteristics of plum blossom

Small deciduous tree, as high as 10 m, often with thorns and a round crown. Dry brownish purple, with many longitudinal stripes, green branchlets or green background, glabrous. Flowers are mostly 1-2 per node, mostly sessile or short-stalked, pink or white, 2-3 cm in diameter, fragrant, mostly in early spring, with 5 petals, often nearly round; 5 curved pieces, mostly purple; Stamens are numerous, free, densely pilose in locules, rarely 2-5 (centrifugal skin) or absent, superior in locules, long style. Drupe is subglobose, about 2-3 cm in diameter, yellow or yellowish green, densely pubescent and sour; The nuclear membrane has pits and sticks to the pulp, and the fruit matures in April-June.

The plant height is about 10m, and the trunk is brownish purple with multiple longitudinal lines. Branchlets are green. Leaf blade broadly ovate to ovate, margin serrate.

65438+ 0 ~ 2 flowers per node, sessile or short-stalked, the original species is pale pink or white, and the cultivated varieties are purple, red and colored spots to yellowish colors, which bloom in early spring. Plum blossom can be divided into true plum, apricot plum and cherry plum.

The origin and habit of plum blossom

Plum originated in China, and wild plum first evolved into ornamental plum, which is a branch of plum. China wild plum has four sub-centers, namely, eastern Sichuan and western Hubei mountainous areas; Southeast Hubei, northeast Jiangxi, Anhui and Zhejiang mountainous areas; Guangdong and Guangxi, southern Jiangxi mountainous areas and Fujian and Taipei areas. This is a deciduous tree. Meixi has a warm climate, and its flowering period is particularly sensitive to climate change. Meixi has a high air humidity, but it avoids heavy rain during flowering.

Plum blossoms can grow well in areas where the annual rainfall is above 1000mm, and the requirements for soil are not strict and relatively poor. Active tree species, like sunshine and good ventilation. It is a long-lived tree species. The flowering period in the Yangtze River basin is from February to March.

The classification of plum blossoms can be divided into three lines, namely, true plum line, apricot line and plum line. Under it, it is mainly divided into five categories according to the branch posture.

The first kind is called straight plum. Branches are straight or inclined. This is the oldest and most gorgeous member of the Mei family, which is divided into nine categories, such as plum and palace powder.

The second class name is weeping plum. Branches droop naturally or obliquely, and there are five kinds of drooping branches such as pink flowers.

The third class name is Long Youmei. Branches naturally twist like dragons, only 1 (dragon and plum) and 1 (jade butterfly and dragon pattern).

The name of the fourth class is Xingmei. In Song Dynasty, Fan Chengda recorded the interspecific hybridization between Nami and apricot for the first time in Li Shu. Flowers, leaves and branches live among apricots.' Apricot' is not fragrant or slightly fragrant (non-apricot), and its receptacle is enlarged. There are single apricot and plum types and late spring types.

The fifth category is cherry plum, which is an artificial hybrid of purple leaf plum and Gongfen plum. It's a purple leaf safflower with double petals and big flowers, which is cold-resistant.

History of plum blossom cultivation

Plum is a unique traditional flower and fruit in China with a history of more than 3,000 years. The Book of Books says, "To make a soup, you will only salt plums." "Book of Rites Neize" contains: "Peach, plum and egg salt". The Book of Songs Nan Zhou says: There are plum blossoms, but there are actually seven sorrows! Mei is also mentioned in Qin Feng Zhongnan, Martin's Tomb Gate and Cao Feng's Dove. According to the records in the above-mentioned ancient books, plums were used to replace cheese as seasoning in ancient times, and they were indispensable things for sacrifice, cooking, gifts and so on. At least 2,500 years ago, wild plums were introduced and domesticated, making them domestic plums-fruit plums. 1975, an archaeologist in China discovered plum pits in the bronze ding of Shang Dynasty in Yinxu, Anyang, indicating that plums had been used as food as early as 3,200 years ago.

The rise of ornamental plum blossoms began in the early Han Dynasty. "Miscellanies of Xijing" contains: A forest garden was built in the early Han Dynasty, and different trees were offered in the distance, including Zhu Mei and Mei in marriage. At this time, the plum blossom varieties with strong ornamental and ornamental properties may belong to Jiang Mei and Guanfen, and a layer of blush is sprinkled on one side of the plum blossom. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Yang Xiong wrote Shu Du Fu: cherry blossoms, plum blossoms and magnolia trees. It can be seen that plum has been used as a garden tree species for urban greening about 2000 years ago.

Characteristics and uses of plums

Plum blossom is a deciduous tree in Rosaceae and a famous ornamental tree. Among deciduous ancient fruit trees, plum trees germinate the earliest, flowering first and then growing leaves. Flowers are solitary or put together, mostly white or reddish, and some are red.

Flowers have fragrance. Drupe is spherical, commonly known as plum, and tastes sour. Plums can be used to make preserves and jams; Immature plums are processed into "black plums", which can be used in medicine or drinks.

Modern pharmacological analysis shows that Chimonanthus praecox contains borneol, eucalyptus oil essence and linalool. Chinese medicine believes that Chimonanthus praecox is slightly sweet, pungent and cool, and has the effects of relieving summer heat, promoting fluid production, stimulating appetite, relieving depression, detoxifying and promoting granulation, and relieving cough. Indications: dizziness, vomiting, fever, polydipsia, qi stagnation, stuffy stomach and cough. People often give wintersweet soup to babies, which has the effect of clearing away heat and detoxifying.

Pest control of plum blossom

Common diseases and insect pests of plum blossom include powdery mildew, anthracnose, perforation, plaster disease, gummosis, aphids, scale insects, moths, spiny moths, noctuids, dead leaf moths, leaf curl moths and so on. Planting should be prevented from being too dense to facilitate ventilation and drainage and prevent the occurrence of pests and diseases.

Flowers-a gentleman wearing flowers

Scientific name: plum blossom

English name: Mumeplant Japanese apricot

Alias: Chun Mei, Mei and Mei Hua.

Family name: Rosaceae

Morphological characteristics: the plant height is about 10m, the trunk is brownish purple, and there are many longitudinal lines. Branchlets are green. Leaf blade broadly ovate to ovate, margin serrate. 65438+ 0 ~ 2 flowers per node, sessile or short-stalked, the original species is pale pink or white, and the cultivated varieties are purple, red and colored spots to yellowish colors, which bloom in early spring. Plum blossoms can be divided into departments, classes and types. Such as real plum, apricot, cherry plum, etc. Subtype classification

Origin and Habit: Plum blossom originated in China, and wild plum first evolved into ornamental plum, which is a branch of plum blossom. China wild plum has four sub-centers, namely, eastern Sichuan and western Hubei mountainous areas; Southeast Hubei, northeast Jiangxi, Anhui and Zhejiang mountainous areas; Guangdong and Guangxi, southern Jiangxi mountainous areas and Fujian and Taipei areas. This is a deciduous tree. Meixi has a warm climate, and its flowering period is particularly sensitive to climate change. Meixi has a high air humidity, but it avoids heavy rain during flowering. Plum blossoms can grow well in areas where the annual rainfall is above 1000mm, and the requirements for soil are not strict and relatively poor. Active tree species, like sunshine and good ventilation. It is a long-lived tree species. The flowering period in the Yangtze River basin is from February to March.

Propagation and cultivation: grafting is commonly used in propagation, and the rootstocks are mostly plum, peach, apricot, apricot and apricot. Plum blossoms should be cultivated in the open space on sunny or semi-sunny slopes with a spacing of 3 ~ 5m. Usually in the growing period, that is, from autumn to early winter, fertilizer is applied three times, such as cake fertilizer compost, manure and so on. Apply quick-acting fertilizer before budding; After the new shoots stop growing (from the end of June to the beginning of July), appropriate water control and fertilization are applied to promote flower bud differentiation.

Plum blossoms are suitable for bonsai cultivation. Put the plants that have been cultivated in the ground for several years in a flowerpot. Pot soil should be soft, loose and fertile, and it should be trimmed before and after planting.

Common diseases include perforation, anthracnose, powdery mildew, dead branch gummosis, dry rot gummosis and so on.

Application: in gardens, green spaces, courtyards and scenic spots, it can be planted alone, in clusters, in groups, etc. It can also be planted naturally in front of houses, on slopes, between rocks and on roadsides. If evergreen trees or dark buildings are used as the background, the beauty of plum blossoms can be set off. Such as pine, bamboo and plum, with pine as the background, bamboo as the guest scene and plum as the main scene. In ancient times, it was emphasized that "plum blossoms around the house" and "going upstairs to see plum blossoms" were all for the best viewing effect. In addition, plum blossoms can be arranged into Meiling, Mei Feng, Meiyuan, Meixi, Meijing and Meiwu.