What are the varieties of Podocarpus? What trees are used to graft Podocarpus?

Podocarpus is also known as Tushan, Podocarpaceae, an evergreen coniferous tree. Podocarpus is up to 20 meters tall, with a breast diameter of 60 centimeters. The bark is gray or gray-brown, and the branches are spreading or obliquely spreading, dense, and like warm and humid climates. It has strong adaptability to soil. Podocarpus is distributed in many provinces and regions of China and is cultivated in gardens as an ornamental tree. Because of its fine and uniform material and easy processing, it can be made into furniture, utensils, stationery and agricultural tools. Today we want to share with you what varieties of Podocarpus are there.

Contents of this article

1. What are the varieties of Podocarpus?

2. What tree is used for grafting Podocarpus?

3. How to care for Podocarpus

What are the varieties of Podocarpus

1. Podocarpus shortleaf. Podocarpus shortleaf is a small evergreen coniferous tree of the Podocarpus genus of the Podocarpaceae family. It is often shrubby, with dark brown to black brown old trunks, and the outer bark peeling in longitudinal strips and falling off in sheets. The branches are short and soft, gray-green, and have poor branching ability. It is native to the mountainous areas of Yunnan, China, and is now mainly used for potted ornamental plants in various parts of the north and south.

2. Narrow-leaved Podocarpus. Narrow-leaved Podocarpus is an evergreen shrub or small tree of the genus Podocarpus in the Podocarpaceae family. Its leaves are slender and linear, usually 5 to 9 cm long and 3 to 6 mm wide, with the tip gradually narrowing to a pointed tip and a wedge-shaped base. It is produced in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong and other provinces and regions, and is also distributed in Japan.

3. Podocarpus columnaris. Podocarpus columnaris belongs to the Podocarpus genus of the Podocarpaceae family. It has small leaves with pure or round tips. It is mainly produced in Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Sichuan and other places. It likes warm, humid and semi-shady environments, has slightly poor cold resistance, is afraid of waterlogging and direct sunlight, and requires fertile, well-drained sandy loam.

4. Golden Diamond Podocarpus. Golden Diamond Podocarpus is a seedling variant of Podocarpus roxburghii in Lanyu, Taiwan. Its branches are upright and flexible, and its leaves are densely spurred, showing small-leafed plants. Its top buds are beautiful lotus stamens, and its leaves are golden yellow with full color. It is a very rare Podocarpus variety. However, as it is a bud mutation variety, it is easy to mutate during the breeding process, and is generally propagated by grafting to maintain its variety characteristics.

5. Hainan Podocarpus. Hainan Podocarpus is a plant of the genus Podocarpus in the Podocarpaceae family. It is distributed in Myanmar, Vietnam and Hainan in mainland China. It has tufted phyllotaxus and linear single leaves. The leaves are more pointed towards the tip and narrower towards the base. Both the front and back surfaces are smooth and leathery. The veins are only obvious in the middle rib. The leaves are dark green on the front and green on the back. It has no petioles or leaf trails. It has small yellow-green flowers with inconspicuous colors. It blooms in spring and is propagated by sowing or cuttings.

What tree is used for grafting Podocarpus

1. Research has found that different varieties of Podocarpus and Podocarpus chinensis native seedlings all grow well when grafted.

2. Podocarpus macrophyllus (Thunb.) D.Don, also known as Tushan, is an evergreen coniferous tree of the Podocarpaceae family and the genus Podocarpus. It is up to 20m tall and has a breast diameter of 60cm. The bark is gray or gray-brown, with shallow longitudinal cracks and falls off in thin flakes. The branches are spreading or obliquely spreading and are relatively dense.

3. The leaves are spirally arranged, linear-lanceolate, and slightly curved. Male cones are spike-shaped and axillary, with several triangular bracts at the base; female cones are solitary in the leaf axils, with stalks and a few bracts at the base. The seeds are oval, with rounded tips. When ripe, the fleshy aril is purple-black with white powder. The receptacle is fleshy and cylindrical, red or purple-red. The flowering period is April-May, and the seeds mature in August-September.

How to care for Podocarpus

1. Soil

2. Watering

3. Fertilization

Experience steps:

Soil: Podocarpus is not demanding on soil and prefers to grow in fertile, loose, well-drained soil. General garden soil can be used for cultivation, and nutrient soil can also be used for cultivation.

Watering: Podocarpus is relatively drought-resistant, so when we water it, we only need to follow the watering principle of "better dry than wet". If it is a potted Podocarpus, remember to take drainage measures as it is best, as Podocarpus is afraid of waterlogging.

Podocarpus does not like concentrated fertilizers, and it is also necessary to apply thin fertilizers multiple times during the growing season. When repotting Podocarpus, apply decomposed organic fertilizer as the base fertilizer for Podocarpus.