The planting environment for organic Apocynum tea is not demanding, mainly requiring attention to its propagation methods, field management, and pest control. Understanding these issues allows one to attempt cultivating this Apocynum tea.
Apocynum Tea - Plant and Growth Characteristics: Plant height 100-200 cm, the whole plant contains sticky white milk. The main root is thick and dark brown. The stem's sunny side is usually purplish-red, the stem bark is tough, making it a good wild fiber material. Leaves are opposite, blade ovate-lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, tip has a short pointed spine, entire margin. Cyme terminal; calyx and corolla both 5-lobed, corolla narrowly bell-shaped, short hairs inside and out; the five anthers of the stamens adhere to form a cone shape. Follicle long horn-shaped, up to 20 cm long. Seeds numerous, topped with a cluster of white, slender hairs.
Apocynum has low environmental requirements. It grows in large patches in saline-alkali and sandy wasteland areas, tolerant to cold, drought, alkali, and wind, suitable for various climates and soils.
Apocynum Tea Cultivation Techniques
1. Propagation Methods
Organic Apocynum tea is divided into seed propagation and asexual propagation.
(1) Seed propagation can be further divided into direct seeding and seedling raising.
Direct seeding: Apocynum seeds are small, with 2000 seeds per gram. After germination, they struggle to emerge, so direct seeding is best done on sandy loam with light salt-alkali content. Prepare the ground and make beds in early April, water thoroughly, sow 7.5 kg per hectare, mix with wet sand for sowing, cover shallowly with soil about one finger deep. Avoid surface soil compaction causing lack of seedlings or death. After seedlings emerge, weed and loosen soil, strengthen management. Can keep over 150,000 seedlings per hectare, remaining seedlings can be transplanted elsewhere.
Seedling raising: In northwest areas and places with strong winds, dry soil in early spring is not suitable for direct seeding, seedling raising and transplanting is preferred. Select fertile, loose soil, apply sufficient base fertilizer, make small beds, water thoroughly, soak seeds for germination. When white root tips appear, remove seeds and spread out, maintain temperature around 20°C. Once buds grow, sow, cover with soil about 0.5 cm, then cover with millet root stubble to allow watering and prevent soil compaction. After emergence, remove root stubble. After 5 pairs of true leaves, transplant.
(2) Organic Apocynum Tea Asexual Propagation
Root segment propagation: Both the taproot and horizontal roots of Apocynum can be used for propagation. Cut them into 10-15 cm segments, each with adventitious buds. Select 1 or 2 fresh, non-rotten root segments, place into 10-12 cm deep soil holes, cover with soil. Row and plant spacing 60 cm * 30 cm or 40 cm * 40 cm. Best planted in early spring or early winter. About a month after spring planting, they can sprout and grow seedlings.
Division propagation: Shovel off the clumps emerging from near the ground root area, with some fibrous roots, for division and transplanting. After planting, keep soil moist to encourage new roots. Division should be done in spring and autumn; high summer temperatures result in low survival rates.
2. Field Management
After Apocynum emergence, weed and thin seedlings early, apply ammonium sulfate once. After 5 pairs of true leaves, transplant and finalize planting. Avoid excessive seedling numbers per hectare. As a perennial root plant, its horizontal roots continuously produce new seedlings. In fertile land, exceeding 1.5 million plants per hectare leads to natural internal regulation, later causing massive seedling death, weakening the field. Under wild conditions, 450,000 to 750,000 plants per hectare are saturated. Generally, keep below 900,000 seedlings per hectare. If too many, remove some for ventilation and light penetration, ensuring normal growth.
3. Pest and Disease Control
(1) Stem Spot Disease
Black spots appear on stems and leaves. Severe infection causes large areas of seedling and field plant death. In early stages, spray Bordeaux mixture for control.
(2) Rust Disease
Prone to outbreak from August. Spray 25% triadimefon 1000 times solution.
Apocynum Tea Identification Appearance Color:
1. Appearance
Good Apocynum tea products appear green and uniform in color. Inferior products are blackish-brown and uneven in color, mainly due to using overly old leaves. Also, inferior products may show small white spots on the surface, indicating lack of alkali treatment, which can harm the mouth and gastrointestinal tract.
2. Smell:
Good Apocynum tea has a fresh, grassy scent; long inhalation refreshes the mind. Inferior tea has a pungent, dry grass smell; long inhalation causes dizziness.
3. Infusion Color:
Good Apocynum tea infusion is green. Inferior tea infusion is yellowish-brown. (Note: color at normal dosage).
4. Taste:
Good Apocynum tea tastes fresh and slightly salty. Inferior tea tastes astringent and bitter.
5. Ingredients:
Good Apocynum tea uses 100% raw Apocynum leaves without other ingredients, ensuring quality. Inferior tea mixes in other components, some add green tea, some black tea, some Ginkgo leaves, some hops, etc. This seemingly enhances effect and caters to preferences but damages the purity and efficacy of Apocynum tea.
6. Type:
Whole Leaf Tea: Good Apocynum tea consists of whole leaves. All high-grade teas in China are made from whole leaves, beloved for millennia.
Bagged Tea: Belongs to the lowest quality category in tea, cheapest in price. In terms of efficacy, it is also the poorest. Currently, many bagged Apocynum teas are sold on the market.
Apocynum Tea - Side Effects: Using Apocynum reasonably according to traditional Chinese medicine compatibility is appropriate. But it must not be used as a health food or ordinary tea for regular brewing.
Its harm to the human body mainly manifests as damage to the liver and kidneys, similar to long-term antibiotic use. This damage is irreversible. Especially for kidneys, long-term consumption as regular tea can lead to renal failure and uremia.
Similar situations occur with "Houttuynia cordata" and "Andrographis paniculata" in TCM application. The best approach is to use it according to prescription, timed and quantified, with regular check-ups. Be aware of the indicators.
The above introduces organic Apocynum tea planting measures, hoping to be helpful.