Bamboo cypress is named after its leaves are like bamboo and its trunk is like cypress. In addition, there are other aliases, such as Luohanchai, Shanshan and Tiejiashu. Its trunk is straight, its leaves are dark green and its shape is unique. Small and medium-sized seedlings of bamboo and cypress can be potted for viewing, and large plants can be used for landscaping. It is an ornamental plant with great development potential.

Bamboo cypress is an evergreen tree of Podocarpus in Podocarpaceae, with a height of 20 meters and reddish-brown or dark red bark, which is almost smooth. Branches are flat, and the crown is wide and conical; Leaves alternately opposite or nearly opposite, arranged in two rows. The leaves are ovoid, ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate-elliptic, 3.5 cm ~ 9 cm long and 1.5 cm ~ 2.5 cm wide, with an acuminate apex and a wedge-shaped or broad wedge-shaped base. The leaves are dark green, shiny, light green on the back, thick leathery, without midvein, but there are many parallel veinlets. Bamboo and cypress are mostly dioecious plants, and the male inflorescence is spike-shaped, often branched, mostly solitary in leaf axils, and a few are axillary in pairs; The seeds are spherical with a diameter of 65438 0.2 cm ~ 65438 0.5 cm. When mature, the aril is dark purple, with white powder and traces of bracts falling off. The flowering period is from March to April, and the seeds mature from June 65438+ 10 to June 165438+ 10.

Bamboo and cypress are native to Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan and Taiwan Province provinces in China. They like warm and humid semi-cloudy environment, are resistant to shade and are afraid of sun exposure, so they have certain cold tolerance. Bamboo and cypress for potted ornamental purposes can choose 1 ~ 2 years old seedlings. Pay attention to shade from May to September, and put it in a shade shed and other places where there is no direct sunlight for maintenance, so as to avoid strong direct light burning the root neck and causing plant death. During the growing period, the basin soil should be kept moist without water accumulation, and water should be frequently sprayed on the leaves and around the plants to increase the air humidity, so as to make the leaves dark green and bright, and avoid drying the leaf edges due to air drying. Potted plants don't need to grow too fast, so they generally don't need fertilization, but in order to make the leaves dark green, alum fertilizer can be applied two or three times in the peak season. During cultivation, attention should be paid to pruning and shaping, cutting off the branches that affect the beauty of the plant, and removing the aged and yellow leaves to keep the plant beautiful. It can be placed in a bright place indoors in winter, and watering can be controlled. As long as the room temperature is not lower than 0℃, it can safely overwinter. Change the basin once a year in spring, and the basin soil can be made up of humus soil or peat soil 3 parts, garden soil 2 parts and sand 1 part.

In the south, bamboo and cypress trees can be used for landscaping in addition to potted viewing, and planted in parks, courtyards, streets and other places. 1 ~ 2-year-old seedlings have underdeveloped roots and poor stress resistance, so they are not easy to survive after transplanting. Therefore, green seedlings are mostly three or four years old. The planting site should be deep, loose, fertile and well drained, and should not be planted in low-lying areas with accumulated water. It can be transplanted in rainy season or spring. When transplanting, pay attention to bring soil balls and trim branches and leaves to reduce water evaporation and improve survival rate. Pay attention to shade after planting.

Bamboo and cypress are generally propagated by sowing, and the seeds can be sown with the harvest or the following spring. After sowing, cover with 2 cm ~ 3 cm thick soil and cover with straw or weeds. Seeds germinate 20 days after sowing, then gradually remove the cover and emerge after 30 ~ 50 days. Seedlings will die due to imperfect root development, water accumulation, heavy rain, high temperature, exposure and so on. Therefore, management should be extra careful. Bamboo and cypress have good natural self-seeding ability. In the middle of June 5438+ 10, the miscellaneous trees around the mother tree can be cleared, and the topsoil can be loosened and leveled. When the seeds naturally fall to the ground, they will be covered with soil, and a large number of seedlings will grow in the next spring. When the seedlings grow to a height of 20 cm ~ 30 cm, they can be moved to the nursery for maintenance or cultivated as foliage plants in pots.