Snapdragon, or antirrinum, is an ornamental plant native to the Mediterranean. On the territory of our country, it feels comfortable only in the warm season, since it does not withstand cold winters. Gardeners appreciate culture for bright inflorescences of various colors and pickiness. The flower is grown by the most common method - seed. I will tell you further about the rules of sowing, growing seedlings and further care.
The timing of planting seeds for seedlings
There are two ways to grow snapdragon from seeds: through seedlings and by sowing directly into open ground. The seeds of this culture are very small, so it will be more effective to grow flowers using the seedling method, followed by replanting to a permanent place. In addition, this method will allow you to achieve an earlier flowering.
I cannot name a specific date when you can start sowing, as it directly depends on the climatic conditions of your region:
- in the southern regions, you can sow at the end of February;
- in the middle lane - in the first half of March;
- in northern latitudes - at the end of March - the first half of April.
On average, the period from planting seeds to transferring seedlings to a permanent place is 50-60 days.
Cultivars
Snapdragon is classified according to the shape of the buds, flowering time, color. However, more often the varieties and varieties of this culture are distinguished by height:
- dwarf: Sakura blossom, Magic carpet;
- low: Lampion, Tom Tamb;
- medium-sized: Apricot umbrella, Day and night;
- high: Alaska, White bouquet;
- Gigantic: Roman Vacation, University of California.
Sowing preparation and process
The soil for growing seedlings should be light and loose. For this culture, ordinary store soil or one prepared independently from turf soil, sand, peat, rotted humus and wood ash is suitable.
Take all the ingredients in equal proportions, mix well and sift through a sieve. Then the soil mixture must be disinfected. To do this, put it in a container and spill it with fungicide or bright pink manganese solution. Prepare the soil in this way two days before planting.
Any container is suitable as a container for sowing: rectangular pots, plastic containers or wooden boxes. The main thing is that the bottom has holes for water drainage and there is a drainage layer of broken brick, fine gravel or expanded clay.
If the seeds were collected with your own hands, disinfect them in a solution of "Fitosporin" or manganese for 30 minutes. Now you can start the seeding process:
- fill containers with substrate and moisten well;
- for even sowing, mix small seeds with dry sand and scatter this mixture over the surface of the substrate;
- moisten well and cover with polyethylene - the greenhouse effect accelerates seed germination.
Place the container in a well-lit place and provide the crops with a temperature of +25 degrees. After 5 days, the first shoots will begin to break through. When 3 true leaves appear, the seedlings dive - pinch the roots and transplant them into separate cups, deepening them to the cotyledon leaves.
Landing in open ground
When choosing a place to plant, keep in mind that snapdragons prefer well-lit places, but grows well in light shade. The soil should be loose and pH neutral. Feed the poor in nutrients. For 1 sq. m add:
- 40 g superphosphate;
- 20 g of potassium sulfate;
- 5-7 kg of humus.
If the seedlings dived into peat cups, plant the plants directly with the cup. Extract seedlings from other types of containers by the transfer method, in which the earthen ball remains intact. The planting pattern depends on the height of the ornamental crop, so the distance between plants varies from 15 to 40 cm.
Subsequent care for snapdragon bushes consists in regular moderate watering, getting rid of weeds, loosening the soil, feeding, forming bushes to increase decorativeness.
Conclusion
Growing snapdragons from seeds is a snap. It is enough to know the minimum of simple rules of agricultural technology, and then the decorative culture will delight you with bright flowering throughout the warm season.
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