Planting technique of lemon verbena

Lemon verbena, also known as deodorant wood, perfume wood, etc., is a deciduous shrub of Verbenaceae, native to tropical South America. Spanish explorers transplanted it to the warm regions of Europe in the 17th century, although it belongs to Verbenaceae. But verbena is mostly herbaceous, lemon verbena is perennial shrub, let's take a look at lemon verbena planting techniques!

Growth habits of verbena lemon

Lemon verbena prairie is produced in Central and South America, born in the tropics, like warm and humid tropical and subtropical climate, the annual average temperature is about 20 ℃, the annual precipitation is 1200 to 2000 mm, the soil is required to be deep, loose, fertile sandy soil. It is widely cultivated in subtropical to warm temperate areas. it is an aromatic and ornamental plant, and a few species have been introduced in southern Shaanxi.

Planting value of lemon verbena

The aroma of lemon vervain does not disappear after drying, so it is quite suitable for making tea, but it is one of the most popular herbal teas in France, Spain and other places. In addition to making tea, it is usually chopped as stuffing, or mixed with sauces, drinks, and jelly desserts, and some herbal teas with special and temporarily uncomfortable tastes are more refreshing after properly blending lemon verbena. Even pharmacists mix it with some bitter herbs. In addition, the rich essential oils used to be a very popular perfume ingredient, and the refined essential oils are also used in aromatherapy, mainly to relax mental tension and restore energy.

Planting technique of lemon verbena

1. Land selection and preparation: lemon verbena planting chooses loam or sandy loam with thicker soil layer as planting land, ploughing depth of 18cm to 25cm. Apply 2000-2500 kg of fully mature barnyard manure per mu as base manure to make a border with a width of 50 cm and a height of 15 cm, rake the border surface, and leave an operating path of 25 cm to 30 cm between the two furrows, which can also be made into farmland ridges.

2. Sowing at the right time: the sowing time of lemon verbena is from late April to early May. First of all, rake the border soil fine, 5 cm from the border to open a ditch along the border, the row spacing of 25 cm 30 cm, ditch depth 15 cm 2 cm, step flat grid, and then apply a small amount of biological fertilizer as base fertilizer, the amount of 15 kg per mu. Cover the soil with a little fertilizer, spread the seeds evenly, cover the soil with a thickness of 1 to 1.5 cm, slightly suppress, and use 0.5 kg of seeds per mu.

3. Transplanting seedlings: sowing seedlings for 10 to 20 days under normal temperature and humidity, when the plant height is 5 cm. As the whole grass is harvested on the ground, it is not necessary to deliberately leave a single row, but the plant spacing on each row should be kept at about 10 cm, in order to facilitate the space needed for branching and growth and development, and the seedlings can be replanted elsewhere.

4. Weeding and loosening soil: combine weeding to loosen the soil, and properly cultivate the soil in the rhizosphere. When the soil is too dry, it should be watered in time to ensure the normal growth of the plant. Weeding is a regular work of field management, and preventing grass shortage is one of the effective measures to increase yield. Therefore, it is necessary to weed as soon as you see the grass, so that there are no weeds in the field. In rainy season, we should pay attention to field drainage, loosen the soil in time after rain to prevent topsoil from hardening and affect the growth of plants. loosening soil not only increases the permeability of soil, but also reduces the occurrence of diseases, which has the effect of killing two birds with one stone.

5. Harvesting and keeping seeds: good seeds are the basic condition for high yield, so seed fields should be set up separately. The plant spacing is 15-20 cm and the row spacing is 20-25 cm. It is necessary to strengthen field management and properly apply phosphorus and potassium fertilizer before flowering to make the grain full and obtain more improved varieties. When 75-80% of the seeds are mature, cut off the plant and place it in a well-ventilated shade for 4-6 days, then thresh, remove impurities and shrunken grains, and dry for 3-4 days.