“Plum Blossom Vine, also known as the Chinese name ‘dui jie ci’ or ‘que mei teng’, and ‘sui mi zi’, is one of the traditional ‘Seven Sages of Potted Landscapes’ (the Seven Sages being: Huangshan Pine, Yew, Elm, Maple, Holly, Ginkgo, and Plum Blossom Vine), and one of the five famous trees in Lingnan potted landscapes (the five famous trees being: June Snow, Elm, Plum Blossom Vine, Jiulixiang, and Banyan). The Plum Blossom Vine is vigorous and easy to survive, with a strong and graceful plant shape and beautiful lines, making it an excellent ornamental potted plant. However, there is a saying that ‘Plum Blossom Vine is easy to keep alive but hard to raise well’, so for friends who like Lingnan potted landscapes, it is easy to keep alive, but raising it well requires some experience!
1. Plant Introduction
The Plum Blossom Vine is a vine-like or erect shrub; the small branches have thorns, are opposite or nearly opposite, brown, and covered with short soft hairs. The leaves are papery, nearly opposite or alternate, green on the upper surface, hairless, light green on the lower surface, hairless or softly hairy along the veins, and distinctly raised on the lower surface. The flowers are stalkless, yellow, fragrant, usually arranged in clusters of 2 or more, forming terminal or axillary loose spike-like or conical spike-like inflorescences; the calyx is sparsely hairy on the outside; the sepals are triangular or triangular-ovate; the petals are spoon-shaped, shorter than the sepals. The drupe is nearly spherical, about 5 millimeters in diameter, black or purplish-black when ripe, with 1-3 seeds, sour in taste; the seeds are flat, slightly concave at both ends. The flowering period is from July to November, and the fruiting period is from March to May of the following year.
2. Growth Environment
The Plum Blossom Vine is distributed in India, Vietnam, North Korea, Japan, and China; in China, it is found in Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Sichuan, Yunnan, and other places. It is often found in hills and mountains below 2100 meters, or in the understory of forests or shrubs. It prefers a warm and humid air environment, and grows best in semi-shaded and semi-humid places. It has good adaptability, is tolerant of poor and dry conditions, and can adapt to loose and fertile acidic or neutral soils.
3. Application Value
The Plum Blossom Vine is named ‘que mei’ because its flowers resemble plum blossoms, and its petals are similar to the pointed beaks of birds. The stems and branches of the Plum Blossom Vine are long, the shoots spread out obliquely, the leaves are lush, and the flowers are abundant; in late autumn, the pale yellow flowers emit a faint fragrance, and the vines climb rocks, forming layers, and are suitable for landscaping in gardens, planted on rocky slopes, steep cliffs, and concealed surfaces of rockeries, making it suitable for three-dimensional greening; with its ancient and peculiar form, it is resistant to pruning and suitable for coiling and tying, making it an excellent material for making stump bonsai, and is known as one of the ‘Seven Sages’ of stump bonsai. Due to the dense thorny branches of this plant, it is commonly cultivated as a green hedge in southern China. The leaves of this species can be used medicinally to treat ulcers and swellings; the roots can be used to treat coughs and phlegm. The leaves of this species can be used as a tea substitute, and the sour-tasting fruit can be eaten.
The Plum Blossom Vine can be propagated by sowing, cutting, and division. With the passage of time, traditional seedling breeding methods are increasingly unable to meet the growing demand for seedlings. Therefore, adopting new and efficient breeding methods is what we are currently pursuing. For this reason, Open Source Agriculture has included the Plum Blossom Vine in the research and development list of non-tissue culture high-efficiency rapid propagation technology for plants. The non-tissue culture high-efficiency rapid propagation technology (TERNPC) is a completely new plant cloning system that is completely independent of laboratory conditions, and can achieve non-variation, low cost, short cycle, large-scale, industrialized rapid propagation production. It has a long production season, high reproduction coefficient, low cost of large-scale production, and extremely wide adaptability. Regardless of whether it is in the north or south, this technology can be used for propagation throughout the year.”