How to raise Melaleuca (planting and maintenance of Melaleuca)

Melaleuca, also known as bottle brush wood, Jinbao tree and so on. It is an evergreen shrub or small tree of Myrtaceae. Its flower shape is extremely strange, spike-shaped and colorful. It can be used for flower arrangement, and it is also the first choice for garden appreciation, street landscape and community greening. After pruning, it can also be used as windbreak forest, green forest or potted plant to make high-grade bonsai. Let's take a look at Melody's cultivation methods!

Growth habit of Melaleuca Melaleuca

Melaleuca likes warm and hot climate, can withstand scorching sun and heat, is not cold and shade-tolerant, likes fertile and moist acidic soil, and can also tolerate thin and dry soil. Slow growth, strong germination, pruning resistance and wind resistance. In the north, only potted plants can be planted in high-temperature greenhouses. The seedlings can overwinter in the local open field, and can tolerate the low temperature of-10℃ and the high temperature of 45℃. The suitable growth temperature is about 25℃, and the requirement for moisture is not strict, but it grows faster under wet conditions. Because it is extremely drought-tolerant and barren, it can also be cultivated in barren hills or forest parks in the suburbs of cities and towns.

Propagation method of Melaleuca Melaleuca

1. Cutting method: Cut semi-mature non-flowering lateral branches in March, with a little mature branches at the base of 10 ~ 12 cm/year, cut in semi-sandy mud, set up a shed to keep humidity, take root in about 40 days, and put them into a pot after the root groups grow vigorously.

2. Sowing method: Harvest the ripe fruits in April, mix the seeds with fine sand and sow, cover with fine soil to keep the humidity, germinate in about 35 days, and interplant the seedlings in time. When the height of the seedlings is about 15 cm, put them in a pot filled with soil and choose a big pot to grow.

Cultivation method of Melaleuca Melaleuca

1. Sowing: The soil planted with Melaleuca should not be too wet or too dry. The size of the soil ball should be 40 ~ 50 cm in diameter and 30 ~ 40 cm in column height, which is cylindrical, and the bottom of the pot should not have a shape. Immediately after seedling raising, it should be wrapped with straw or other materials and lightly unloaded to prevent soil balls from being scattered and exposed, which is an important link for survival.

2. Planting: 80x80 cm holes suitable for Melaleuca trees. To apply the base fertilizer well, topdressing it to the end according to soil miscellaneous fertilizer 1: 1, add 5 cm of pure land for tamping, and remove the soil ball bag to prevent the roots from contacting the fertilizer. Put the plants in the holes and fill them in layers so that there is no gap at the bottom. Irrigation should be done immediately after planting.

3. Pruning: The water balance of Melaleuca trees will not return to normal soon after transplanting, and pruning before emergence is an effective measure to reduce water transpiration. It is beneficial to maintain the water balance in plants, especially in the hot summer with large evaporation, and pruning is more important. The cut branches and leaves account for about one-third of the whole plant, mainly internal branches (shady branches) and newly extracted shoots. When transplanting in winter and spring, the top branches with flower buds should be kept, so that they can bloom in summer after transplantation and receive greening effect.

4. Water: After planting Melaleuca, water 1 ~ 2 times a day, and all soil layers should be thoroughly watered. At the same time, spraying water on branches and leaves to keep plants moist plays an important role in reducing water transpiration and maintaining water balance in plants. Spraying water on branches and leaves is another important link in survival after planting. Some plants have loose soil and can survive by spraying some water on their branches and leaves. They should be transplanted in June-September, when the weather is hot and the evaporation of water is large, so the number of spraying water on branches and leaves should be increased appropriately.

5. Fertilization: Fertilization of Melaleuca Melaleuca is very important for the rapid recovery of plants. After planting 15 days, nitrogen fertilizer can be applied thinly, and high-quality organic fertilizer can be applied once a month later. In the future, high-quality organic fertilizer can be applied every year 1 ~ 2 times. After the flowering period every year, pruning once, controlling the growth height and keeping the tree beautiful can promote the germination of more new branches.

6. Pests and diseases: The main disease of Melaleuca Melaleuca is stem rot, so it is advisable to pull out the diseased seedlings and spray Bordeaux mixture for control. Pests include cutworms, crickets, green weevils and so on. , can be used to control trichlorfon 1000 times solution or dichlorvos 1000 times solution, spray 1 time for 7 days, 2 ~ 3 times in a row.