English name: Mumeplant Japanese apricot

Alias: Chun Mei, Hong Mei, Qing Mei, Hua Mei, Sour Mei.

Family name: Rosaceae

Plum blossom, also known as Chun Mei and Hongmei. Rosaceae, cherry blossoms, deciduous trees, few shrubs. The height can reach 5-6 meters. Crown spread, bark light gray or light green. Branchlets are slender, pointed, green and glabrous. Leaves broadly ovoid or ovoid, with serrate edges, tapering at the top or tail tip, broadly cuneate at the base, and pubescent when young or along veins.

There are many cultivated varieties and varieties, including single petals, semi-double petals and double petals. There are white, pink, crimson and green calyx on the tree, and the branches are drooping.

Sexual preference is warm and humid climate, sunny and not cold-resistant. It can safely overwinter above -7℃ and has low requirements for soil. The slightly acidic soil with loose topsoil and slightly sticky subsoil is suitable, barren-resistant, avoiding water accumulation and prone to waterlogging and rot.

[Propagation and cultivation]

Propagation methods such as grafting, cutting and layering are commonly used, especially grafting. Grafting takes 2 ~ 3-year-old seedlings such as peach, mountain peach, apricot and plum as rootstocks. Branch grafting or abdominal grafting can be carried out before germination in spring, and bud grafting can be carried out in July and August. Grafted seedlings can blossom after 1 ~ 2 years of cultivation.

Plum blossoms planted in the field should be planted in holes, and decomposed organic fertilizer should be applied in the holes as base fertilizer, and then the base fertilizer should be supplemented once a year in late autumn and early winter, and the quick-acting fertilizer should be added once before flowering in spring. The watering amount of potted plum blossom should be properly controlled before the flower bud is about to form, and only a small amount of water should be poured when the branches are slightly wilting, and effective phosphorus and potassium fertilizer should be added to promote the flower bud differentiation. In the summer when flower buds are differentiated, we should apply more fertilizer and less water. Potted plum blossoms are changed every 1 ~ 2 years.

In cultivation, plum blossoms need pruning and shaping. Pruning is suitable for thinning and light pruning, and plastic surgery is generally natural and happy, with three branches. Prune diseased branches, dead branches and long branches before flowering; After flowering, adjust the whole tree shape and cut some branches. Cut the branches that are too long. Excessive axillary buds should also be removed in time during the growth process. The outer buds or lateral buds should be selected for bud retention, and the inner buds should be removed. Potted plum blossoms should be cut again and dwarfed.

[Features and uses]

Plum blossoms bloom in early winter or early spring, with elegant colors and beautiful branches, and are often used as flower border layout materials. The bonsai is natural and quaint, and has more ornamental value.

Plum blossom is a traditional precious flower in China, which has been cultivated for more than 3,000 years. My city regards plum blossom as the city flower. Recently, my town responded to the call of "Green Meizhou" by the municipal party committee and municipal government, built a forest siege project, and reclaimed and planted a thousand acres of plum gardens in Tang Chao village. Relying on the influence of Tang Chao's ancient beauty for thousands of years, we will build new tourist attractions. The technical points of planting plum blossoms in the open field are introduced as follows:

First, the site conditions are plum blossom-shaped, warm, sunny, drought-resistant, barren and waterlogging-resistant, and the requirements for soil are not strict, and it can grow well in clay, loam, sandy loam and slightly alkaline soil with good drainage. It is best to choose sandy loam with more humus on the sunny or semi-sunny slope of leeward.

Second, the construction preparation plum trees are small deciduous trees, which can be densely planted as needed, and the plant spacing is generally 3-5 meters. Plum blossom is a shallow-rooted tree species, and its roots are distributed in the surface soil layer of 40 cm, so the specifications of tree holes are generally 50cm×50 cm×40cm.

Third, the selection of seedlings There are more than 300 plum varieties in China, which are divided into 3 species, 5 categories and 18 types. There are more than 200 species suitable for planting in Meixian County, and seeds can be selected according to needs. In line with ecological requirements, it is better to choose 2-year-old grafted seedlings in suitable places and trees. For example, if you choose Prunus mume, you can use Nanhuagong powder and compound green grass calyx. Plum with drooping branches can choose double green drooping branches and bright red drooping branches. Powder cinnabar, Xue Mei, etc. Can be used to select early flowers; The selected flowers can be pink, small palace sand and so on.

4. The planting time can be from 1 1 to March of the following year. In our county, it is generally better to plant before winter, which is beneficial for plum blossom to take root and grow ahead of time. When planting, mixed fertilizer should be applied to the dug tree holes. If the soil is too sticky, fine sand, broken straw or coal ash should be added into the tree hole to facilitate drainage. Before planting, it is necessary to trim the long roots, and if possible, it is best to dip the roots in mud before planting. Rooting powder, carbendazim and plant growth regulator can be added into the slurry. The planting depth is the same as the original seedling. After planting, when the seedlings grow to 50-70 cm, they should be watered and cut. In order to prevent strong wind from shaking, it can be fixed with triangular bamboo poles.