Planting method of Houttuynia cordata Thunb

The cultivation of Houttuynia cordata Thunb is a perennial herb, suitable for planting in the south of the Yangtze River, the whole plant has a special fishy smell.

Habits: like moist, born in the ridges of the fields, ditches and back-shaded mountain grass, but also trailing.

Land selection: it is better to use rich sandy soil and humus soil.

Cultivation and reproduction: there are two methods. One is rhizome propagation: in the early and middle of March, the rhizome is dug out before the plant germinates new seedlings. Cut into 10-12  long segments, each with 2-3 nodes and beard roots. According to the row spacing of 30 , open a shallow trench with a depth of 3-4.5 , put the cut rhizome into the ditch according to 15  spacing, cover the soil for 6-10 , after a little suppression, water to keep the soil moist, and seedlings can emerge after 20 days. Second, cutting propagation: in the summer high temperature season, cutting in the open nursery bed. Select the stout aboveground stem and cut it into cuttings with 3 or 4 nodes. Two sections are inserted into the soil.

Management: after being plugged in, set up a shed to shade the sun properly and keep the relative humidity above 90%. After the cuttings take root and grow new leaves, the awning can be removed gradually and transplanted to the field 10-15 days later. Field management is easy. Houttuynia cordata Thunb is not tolerant to drought, so it is necessary to keep the soil moist during the growing period and pay attention to topdressing. Houttuynia cordata Thunb has few diseases and insect pests. In order to avoid damaging the roots and seedlings, the soil can no longer be loosened, but weeds must be set aside.

Harvest: Houttuynia cordata should be harvested in summer and autumn, with luxuriant stems and leaves, more flowers and spikes, and strong odor (high effective components of volatile oil such as decanoyl acetaldehyde and lauryl aldehyde). Remove the soil, dry it, and tie it into small handfuls.