Chinese Schizandra is a rather unusual plant for our latitudes, but despite this, it increasingly appears in our gardens. Lemongrass is very attractive, as it grows in the form of a liana, which is convenient for planting in the country, in the yard. Chinese lemongrass is a plant useful to humans, as it contains a large amount of malic and citric acid, sugar, citrine, sterols and carotenoids; Especially prized seeds of Chinese lemongrass, which include essential oils, therefore planting this plant will be a good way not only to decorate your site, but also to improve your health.
The main thing that lemongrass needs is good soil drainage, not too “dense” planting and rather deep pits for planting. Lemongrass especially loves the area of coniferous and broad-leaved forests, low mountain slopes. It is very rare to meet Chinese lemongrass in shady forests. Do not forget that the plant loves warm, sheltered places.
Selection of soil for the miracle plant
Usually gardeners recommend planting Chinese lemongrass in the soil, where they used to grow garden and garden plants. The soil is saturated with their juices and "helps" to grow this miracle plant. Soil should be chosen loose, with good drainage. Too acidic soil will only wilt the plant. In order for your lemongrass to grow and delight you, you need to create conditions close to natural conditions. When planting, try to avoid the uneven consistency of the soil. For good growth, the soil should be moderately moistened.
Did you know? If it is not possible to choose the right soil, then you can create it yourself: with a layer of 50 cm, pour an earthen mixture onto your bed: sod, leaf earth and black earth.
If your soil is clay, it is better to “dilute” it with sand, if there is more sand in the soil - add clay, and if the soil on your site is dry - add a little lime.
How to choose a place to land
Lemongrass Chinese requires compliance with special rules in planting and caring for the plant. The quality of your future plant depends not only on the soil in which you plant your plant, but also on how to choose the right place for Schisandra. Lemongrass should be planted in a place that is well protected from draft and cold wind.
The main thing for proper care of lemongrass is the support, therefore lemongrass grows very well near the fences and arches. It is very important to place lemongrass in a place where there is no shadow, but during the first weeks of intensive growth the plant can be pritenyat for 2-3 hours a day.
Important! Avoid planting lemongrass under the roof, because the water that flows from the roof will only harm the healthy growth of your plant.It is best to plant the plant on the west or east side of the walls of buildings. The landing site must be cultivated and processed in advance. In order for your lemongrass to grow and delight you, the place where it "lives" must be cleared of fallen leaves, as there are many bacteria and fungal diseases in it.
When is it best to plant a plant and why
To help the proper development of the plant, you need to know when to plant lemongrass. The planting time of lemongrass differs slightly depending on the region in which you live: if you are a southerner, it is best to plant the plant in October, for all other regions it is better to plant lemongrass in late April - early May. Such a difference is due to the fact that in the south the earth is in principle warmer, and the seeds that have been planted in autumn pass through a natural stratification.
How to choose the planting material
The seedlings of Schisandra Chinese, as well as the seeds, should be carefully selected, since the health of your plant depends on it. Seedlings are best to choose "adults", which are 2-3 years old, since their root system is more developed. When buying a sapling, pay attention to the fact that the rhizome is not dry and dug along with the ground.
Growing Chinese Schisandra from seeds also requires special selection of planting material. Lemongrass seeds can be purchased at nurseries, in various stores. Healthy seeds are yellow with a glossy shine and a kidney-shaped.
Important! The average weight of seed packaging is about 20 g per 1000 kernels. If the store offered you a package weighing more than 40 g, most likely the seeds are of poor quality.
If you have planted a lot of seeds, and the 5th part has come up somewhere, do not worry: the empty grain is very well developed in the seeds of schisandra, that is, there is no germ or endosperm in the seed. Don't forget that all seeds must be stratified before planting (natural - when landing in the fall; artificial - when landing in the spring).
Scheme of planting Chinese Schizandra
Planting scheme depends on how you decide to plant lemongrass - seeds or cuttings. The first move in vegetative propagation - 15-20 days before planting, dig a hole 40 cm deep, 40–60 cm in diameter, where you will plant lemongrass. Drainage should be poured at the bottom of the pit, and a mixture of sod land, humus and compost should be poured on top. The root neck of the seedling should be flush with the ground.
When growing lemongrass from seed planting scheme is slightly different: first we soak the seeds, then we stratify and plant into the ground by hand, into the grooves.
How to grow lemongrass from seed
Chinese lemongrass seeds and their landing require special preparation and compliance with several rules.
Did you know? In order to determine the quality of the seeds already at the initial stages, one should immediately throw away those that float when soaking — they are empty and will not germinate.
Before planting lemongrass in spring with seeds, they need to be prepared.
Seed preparation and storage
Seed preparation is carried out in two stages: soaking in water (seeds in containers fill with water at room temperature and leave for 7-10 days). After soaking comes the most difficult process, which depends on the emergence of seedlings, - stratification. For this procedure, you need to prepare the sand in advance, disinfect it, add seeds in a 1: 3 ratio. This mixture is stored indoors at a temperature of 18-20 ° C.
The next stage is snow stratification. If you don't have snow, you can replace it: put the seed containers for 2-3 months in the basement, covering the container. If you still managed to find the snow - you need to spill the containers with sand with a layer of snow and keep it in this condition for about a month under the “lid”. If you follow these rules for the preparation, the seeds will germinate and you will end up with a quality seedling.
Sowing seeds of Chinese lemongrass
When planting lemongrass it is necessary to make furrows 1.5-2 cm deep in the ground. From above, these seeds are sprinkled with greenhouse earth and slightly moisturized.
Important!Do not allow excessive irrigation of seeds during planting - they can begin to rot, because they received enough moisture during stratification.
How to care for seedlings for seedlings
Caring for seedlings is timely, regular and not very abundant watering, so that the upper layers do not dry out. Once a week you need to "air" the seedlings and loosen the soil. After about 2 weeks you will notice the first seedlings, after which the seedlings need to be moved to the window, the glass of which should be shaded. Planted seedlings can be after the appearance of 2 adult sheets. In the morning and in the evening, seedlings should be sprayed with water, but not very copiously.
If your plant from the very "germ" gets proper and quality care, that problems with the development of lemongrass will not occur and your plant will delight you with tasty berries and spicy leaves, as well as a pleasant decorative look.
