2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Cunninghamia (lat. Cunninghamia) - a genus of evergreen trees of the Cypress family. Previously, the genus was ranked among the Taxodiaceae family. Today the genus includes only two species, but most botanists consider them to be subspecies of Cunninghamia lanceolata. The genus is named after two naturalists and botanists, James and Allan Cunningham. Natural habitat - the island of Taiwan, mountain moist forests of North Vietnam, South and Central China.
Characteristics of culture
Kunningamia is a coniferous tree up to 50 m high with a pyramidal crown. The trunk is covered with gray-brown, peeling long strips of bark. The branches are drooping. The needles (modified leaves) are light green or dark green, linear-lanceolate, pointed, crescent-needle, leathery, finely serrated along the edge, with a wide base, up to 7 cm long, located on the shoots in two rows.
Cones are oval or spherical in shape, reach 2-2.5 cm in diameter, covered with tiled scales, bent at the ends. Seeds are compressed, yellowish-brown, narrow-winged. The wood of cunningamia is light, soft, has a reddish tint and a pleasant aroma; it is often used for making paper, essential oils and various crafts. Cunningamia cannot boast of winter hardiness. Kunningamia lanceolate can withstand frosts down to -17, 5C, kunningamia Konishi - up to -6, 5C.
Growing conditions
Kunningamia prefers well moist, slightly acidic, clayey or sandy soils. Does not accept swampy, saline, calcareous and alkaline soils. The location is preferably sunny, light shading by plants will not harm. Kunningamia is quite demanding on air humidity, so in Russia it is grown only on the Black Sea coast. Kunningamia lanceolate is a frequent guest of greenhouses and winter gardens.
Subtleties of reproduction
Cunningamia is propagated by seeds, cuttings and root shoots. Sowing of seeds is carried out with freshly harvested seeds in February in heated greenhouses. You should not store the seeds, as they quickly lose their germination. Typically, entries appear in 40-60 days. The optimum temperature for seed germination is 18-20C. Before sowing, the stored seeds are soaked for 3-4 hours in warm water, after which they are laid for stratification, which lasts 1 month. Scarification of cunningamia seeds is encouraged.
Often, cunningamia is propagated by root shoots, less often by shoots that form in the lower part of the trunk. Cutting is not prohibited. Cuttings are cut from semi-lignified shoots. Each stalk should have a heel. To obtain plants with a beautiful pyramidal crown, cuttings are cut from vertical shoots, creeping forms - from lateral shoots.
Growing cunningamias at home
When growing cunningamia as a room crop, it is important to maintain optimal conditions. In the summer season, plants need high humidity. Regular watering and spraying is a prerequisite for the correct maintenance of cunningamias.
With the onset of cold weather, watering of plants is significantly reduced. Indoor temperature in winter should not exceed 20C. In the spring, cunningamia is fed with prolonged-release fertilizers designed specifically for coniferous crops.
