Yew, also known as yew, is an evergreen tree in the yew family. It has been on Earth for millions of years and is known as the Living Fossil of Earth and has the same long history as Ginkgo biloba.
Yew is unique from other pine and fir species such as spruce and metasequoia. The overall shape of the tree is beautiful and round, and it is colorful. It is dioecious, and the female plant bears red fruits that look like Christmas trees when ripe.
Yew contains a natural anti-cancer substance, paclitaxel, which is not only enjoyed by the general public, but also highly respected by many scientists.
Yew is a feminine tree species that prefers warm, humid climates and is suitable for growing in slightly acidic or neutral humus soils, slightly shade-tolerant, but not cold and drought-tolerant.
In the urban landscape of the south of the Yangtze River, yew is widely cultivated, such as in Guangzhou, Nanning, Guilin and other places, and Guizhou is also distributed.
In areas such as the north, yew trees cannot grow in the open air, so they cannot be planted in the park landscape and can only be found in potted forms.
Although yew grown well in the open air, potted yew trees are susceptible to environmental differences and improper maintenance, with some potted yew growing for 7-8 years without flowering and fruiting, while others have problems such as dry tips and wilted or dark spots.
These problems are caused by environmental differences and improper maintenance. Next, I will introduce to you the cultivation method of potted yew.
1. Soil requirements.
Relatively speaking, yew is a relatively easy plant to raise, and the soil requirements are not strict. However, when potting plants, you can't directly use the soil that is too sticky, because the soil nutrients are scarce, the permeability is poor, and the potting soil is not easy to penetrate after watering, and it is easy to cause the potting soil to be too wet or waterlogged for a long time, which will lead to rotten roots and yellow leaves.
Household potted yew can be used to mix peat soil, garden soil and river sand as culture soil, which not only ensures that the soil is loose and breathable, but also contains certain nutrients so that the plant can thrive.
Second, the watering method.
Yew prefers a humid environment and has high requirements for air humidity. When maintaining at home, it is necessary to spray water frequently around the potted plants, especially in summer, because the water evaporates quickly and the branches and leaves are easy to dry out and fall, so it is necessary to sprinkle water frequently on the branches and leaves to maintain a high air humidity.
In terms of watering, when the plant is growing vigorously, you can water more water to keep the potting soil slightly moist, and wait until the surface is slightly dry before watering in time. In winter, when the temperature is low, the plants will enter a dormant state, at this time, it is necessary to control the amount of watering, keep the potting soil slightly dry, too frequent watering can easily cause rotten roots and leaves to turn yellow.
3. Fertilization method.
In order for a home-grown yew to grow quickly, it needs to be cultivated on loose, fertile soil and supplemented with nutrients by fertilizing it regularly. If yew is not fertilized for a long time, the nutrients in the potting soil will not be enough, and the growth condition of the plant will become worse and worse, and the leaves will turn yellow and lose vitality.
When fertilizing yew, we should pay attention to the principle of thin fertilizer and frequent application, and grasp the concentration of fertilizer water every time we fertilize to prevent root burning. During the period when the plant is growing vigorously, compound fertilizer can be applied 1-2 times a month. If yew has reached the age of flowering and fruiting, it is also necessary to add some phosphorus and potassium fertilizer before flowering, which can promote the flowering and fruiting of the plant.
Fourth, lighting requirements.
Yew is a negative tree species and is afraid of direct sunlight. When maintaining yew in summer, you must pay attention to shade, otherwise the branches and leaves are easy to be sunburned, resulting in yellow leaves and fallen leaves.
In addition to summer, when maintaining yew in other seasons, you can properly let it receive some scattered light and maintain proper light, which will help the growth of the plant and the green of the leaves.
In addition, whether yew can bear fruit or not also depends on the age and variety of the tree. Some yew trees are shorter and can flower and bear fruit in three or five years, while others take seven or eight years to bloom and bear fruit. In addition to the age of the tree, yew fruiting also requires the pollination of male and female flowers to bear fruit, so it is necessary to raise both a female and a male pot for it to bloom and bear fruit naturally.
The meaning and role of yew.
1.Longevity: Yew is seen as a symbol of longevity. Yew trees can be more than 5,000 years old and are known as longevity trees. Its red fruits are densely covered on the branches, crystal clear, symbolizing auspiciousness and festivity, so it is also called the auspicious tree. According to reports, in a pristine yew forest in the western United States, there is a village of about 100 households, and the youngest elderly person in the village is 95 years old. People in the village enjoy walking and dancing in the yew forest, and no one in the village has ever suffered from cancer, diabetes or high blood pressure, making it the highest life expectancy in the United States. Therefore, placing a few pots of yew at home can make your family healthy and live a long and happy life.
2.Auspicious Happiness: Yew is believed to bring good fortune and happiness. Legend has it that during the centuries when ** religion was prevalent, yew was planted in some sacred places as a symbol of immortality. Today, this ancient tree species still grows in China's feng shui treasures and medieval monasteries. In some parts of China, yew is believed to bring good fortune and happiness, hence the name Feng Shui Sacred Tree. Interestingly, in front of the former residence of Jinggang Mountain, there are two sacred trees, one is a oak tree, and the other is a yew. It seems that yew has a sense of luck in the eyes of many people. Planting a yew tree in your home yard or a small potted yew tree can mean long-term prosperity and peace, and perhaps good luck.
Recommend several modeling methods suitable for yew bonsai:
1.Diagonal drying: suitable for 3-5 year old yew seedlings. Use thick wire with a plastic bag for climbing. Insert one end of the wire into the potting soil and wrap it around the trunk at a 45-degree angle.
When winding, keep the distance between the wires at 1cm, and avoid the drifting branches and auxiliary branches that have been set. For thinner shoots, the wire needs to be replaced.
In addition, it should be noted that the base of the trunk 4-5cm should not be perpendicular to the potting soil, but slightly inclined.
For drifting branches and auxiliary branches, there should be a swing of left and right bending when climbing the main trunk, and the bending degree can be larger or smaller, but it cannot be completely consistent.
All the branches should be slightly raised to facilitate the cultivation of the tip, and finally the diagonal dry knot top treatment should rotate the tip so that the movement can slightly raise the viewing surface.
2.Qu dry style: To make a qu dry yew bonsai, you can refer to Yangzhou two bends and a half style. It should be noted that the koji dry type of yew is the most difficult to make.
First of all, the position of the drifting branches and auxiliary branches should be located at the convex point of the curved trunk.
Then, when climbing the branches, it is necessary to master the principle of bending three inches.
Finally, pay attention to the base bend of the base when climbing the drifting branches and auxiliary branches. Choose 3-5cm to grow upwards first, and then descend to bend left and right.
Note that you should not climb directly on drifting or auxiliary branches, as yew branches are prone to splitting.
3.Cliff style: It is relatively simple to make a cliff-style yew bonsai because yew has the characteristics of strong germination ability and many branches at the base.
As long as there are branches that are long enough, the trunk can be truncated and side branches can be used instead. However, the yew of the small seedlings cannot make a complete cliff effect, and can only do a semi-cliff effect.
When making the cliff pose, pay attention to the angle of the main tip and the branch tip, otherwise the growth rate will be very slow after 3-5 years of cultivation.
4.Waterfront: There are two ways to make waterfront yew bonsai. One is to climb the trunk directly after pruning, and choose the branch close to the base as the top of the floating branch to maintain the center of gravity.
The main trunk sticks out along the edge of the basin, creating a suspended effect. The shape of the entire trunk should be beautifully curved, swinging from side to side, up and down.
Another method is to replace the main trunk with lateral branches. After pruning the trunk, choose the longer branch as the new trunk. Both methods require pruning with two branches, one long and one short, staggered at the base. As long as this condition is met, making a waterfront bonsai will be easy and simple.
The flower language of yew.
There are two theories about the flower language of yew. One theory is that yew represents elegance and pride. Because yew trees can grow up to 15 meters tall, it is rare to see such tall trees even in Europe, so the towering image of yew trees looks arrogant and elegant.
Another theory is that yew has represented longing and lovesickness since ancient times. I tend to say this, on the one hand, based on the characteristics of the yew appearance, one or two points of red hidden among the green leaves, like a shy woman or three or five clusters together, like a lovesick girl expressing inner warmth.
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