Cultivation and Management of Rhododendron in Belgium

Belgian rhododendron, also known as western rhododendron. It has a large number of flowers, long flowering period and fast growth. It is a kind of precious flower introduced from Holland and Belgium in recent years. Belongs to the rhododendron family, evergreen shrub.

1. Flower habits: Belgian rhododendron is an acidic flower with well-developed and small fibrous roots. when planting, it is appropriate to choose loose and permeable soil, and humus soil under the forest is the best. Like the environmental conditions of high temperature and humidity when growing.

Second, cutting propagation: Belgian rhododendron has a long growing period and can be cut all the year round, usually the best in spring and autumn.

1. Make a bed: the bed is 15 cm high, 1 m wide and 10 m long. remove weeds, tree roots and stones, smash the soil to make the bed model, and then lay a layer of humus soil 2 cm thick to compact. then spread a layer of sifted yellow soil with a size of 0.2 mm ~ 0.3 mm, with a thickness of 1.5 cm ~ 2 cm, drenched through water and set aside.

two。 Picking branches: the semi-lignified branches of the same year are collected from the sturdy mother plant as cuttings. If the branches are too long, the next section can be removed.

3. Cutting: the length of the cutting is 6 cm ~ 8 cm, the top 3 ~ 4 leaves are retained, and the cutting depth is 0.5 cm ~ 1 cm. If it is too deep, it is easy to cause water accumulation and rot at the base of the cuttings, affecting rooting; too shallow is easy to lose water and wilt. The row spacing should be 2 cm × 3 cm.

4. Post-cutting management: soak through water after cutting, cover with film seal, cover with a shading net (summer cuttings cover two layers), keep the high temperature and humidity in the bed, press the nursery bed every 3 ~ 5 days to observe the humidity, if the humidity is not enough, it should be drenched in time, and sealed immediately after dripping. Generally, the new roots can grow in 20 ~ 30 days, and the seedlings can be transplanted and planted in 45 ~ 50 days. Through the experiment, according to the above technical measures, the survival rate of cuttings is about 90%.

Third, cultivation management: Belgian rhododendron flower cultivation techniques are more complex, strict requirements for fertilizer and water, and management measures are different in different seasons. Generally speaking, it is necessary to avoid water in the rainy season, shade in summer, prevent cold in winter, and manually control the flowering period to be accurate.

1. Soil disinfection: the growth of Belgian rhododendron requires not only loose and acidic soil, but also strict soil environmental conditions. During soil preparation, 1.5 jin of carbofuran per mu and potassium permanganate solution diluted 1000 times per mu were used for soil disinfection to control tigers, crickets, mole crickets and diseases, and pot soil could be fumigated with steam or disinfected with potassium permanganate before planting, so that the soil could meet the requirements of cleanliness, hygiene and free of diseases and insect pests.

two。 Fertilizer and water management: Belgian rhododendron grows fast, has many branches and leaves, has a long growth period, and needs plenty of fertilizer and water. According to its fine fibrous root, foliar fertilizer is the main fertilizer, supplemented by peanut bran as the base fertilizer. At present, there are mainly Ye Mianbao, Green Fenwei Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ, Aiduoshui, Gaochengling and so on on the market, which can be used interchangeably. Do thin application, generally fertilize once a week, spray bacteria twice a month, and combine sterilization when applying foliar fertilizer. At the same time, depending on the greenness of the leaves, 5% ferrous sulfate is sprayed to supplement acid. Water conditions are also very important for its growth, except in rainy days, generally planting seedlings are drenched with water every two days, potted seedlings are drenched once a day, and indoor furnishings are not dry and drenched.

3. Shade: Belgian rhododendron is a semi-shady flower, planted outdoors, there must be shading facilities in summer, shading is about 75%, if the balcony is planted in the west, you can move into the shade in the afternoon. The rainy season should be managed for shelter. Long-term exposure to rain will lead to stagnant water in the roots, fallen leaves, and even rotten roots and death.

4. Reasonable pruning: as a mother tree, it can be cut many times a year. As an ornamental planting, pruning twice a year, the first time after the Spring Festival flowers, cut off all flower stalks, and reasonable shaping and pruning; the second time before the end of June of the lunar calendar, cut off all the terminal buds, each branch should be neatly pruned, do not miss pruning, combined with shaping; irregular flower buds are usually trimmed. It can achieve the ideal pruning effect of luxuriant branches and leaves, reasonable tree shape and neat buds.

5. Cold protection: do a good job of cold prevention in winter, plant in the open air, and cover it with film at night.

6. Pest control: common diseases and insect pests of Belgian rhododendron flowers are: ground tiger, aphids, wood borer, leaf-eating moths, which can be controlled by carbofuran, methamidophos, dimethoate and other drugs.