Lobelia is a spectacular flower that can decorate any flower bed. The variety of colors and the long flowering period make this flower a desirable flower for growers. But growing it is not easy at all. Therefore, you need to know all the intricacies of growing and caring for this capricious plant, so as not to ruin the lobelia flower painstakingly grown at home.
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What is needed for successful cultivation
Although this flower is perennial, even in central Russia it cannot withstand winter frosts, so it has to be planted in open ground every year.
In order not to sow lobelia every year, you can transplant it from a flower bed into individual pots in the autumn period and move to a heated room... At home, it will overwinter safely and will bloom even more abundantly with the next planting in the soil.
Lobelia is of the following types and garden forms:
- Upright (columnar bushes that grow up to thirty centimeters).
- Compact (round bushes growing up to twenty centimeters).
- Ampelnaya (branches with cascading shoots grow to a half-meter length).
In order for this plant to grow well and please with abundant flowering, appropriate conditions must be created for this flower.
Best suited for planting this flower clay or sandy soil, which will be characterized by looseness and lightness. The place for the flower bed must be chosen in an open place accessible to sunlight.
Lobelia does not like drought, so it is necessary for it to provide regular abundant watering. And, of course, you cannot grow a full-fledged plant without periodic feeding.
In order for the lobelia bushes to grow as the grower needs, it must be pruned periodically. Also, the stems can be pinched, which gives better growth and bushiness to each flower.
Planting lobelia for seedlings from seeds
To get seedlings from seeds as early as possible, you need to start planting at the end of winter, in February. Of course, you can start even earlier in December, as some gardeners do, but in this case it is necessary to provide the shoots with additional lighting, without which a full-fledged flower will not grow.
Seedlings grown from seeds without additional lighting will stretch out, trying to get closer to the source of natural light. it will slow down the growth of seedlings and promotes the development of diseases that can mercilessly destroy the entire crop.
Seedlings, planted at the end of February, grow healthier, ready to withstand the diseases that these flowers are prone to.
What you need to have to grow lobelia from seeds at home:
- A flat box with low sides and holes made in the bottom.
- Glass matching the size of the drawer.
- Fertile soil.
- Potassium permanganate.
- Additional lighting (if landing from December to January).
Lobelia seed is very smallthat looks like a grain of sand, so be careful when sowing.Experts advise mixing the seeds with a handful of sand so that the seedlings grow evenly distributed throughout the planting container. There is another way, more costly, but less troublesome. Lobelia seeds are sold in specialty stores as granules. In this version, it will be convenient to plant them in special peat tablets, which are specially designed for growing seedlings.
Planting soil must be special for growing seedlings from the store. You can prepare the soil on your own, but you need to take care of this in the fall, because there is little chance of digging up the ground in the frozen soil in February. The composition should include peat, compost, river sand. Garden turf soil is most suitable for the basis. If the acidity of the composition is increased, then lime or dolomite flour must be added to the mixture.
Lobelia prefers a shallow tray for growing seedlings well-arranged drainage system... You need to fill it with prepared soil and lightly compact the soil. The container needs to be watered, but the seeds can only be planted the next day.
Seeds are placed on a folded sheet in half, which are gradually crushed into a prepared container, while trying to evenly distribute them over the entire surface. It is strictly forbidden to cover the planted seed with earth. It is necessary to sprinkle the ground from a spray bottle with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate. On the tray, you need to put a suitable size glass and put the sown in a warm place for successful germination.
How to care for seedlings?
Lobelia seedlings at home can germinate in a week. But even before this joyful moment, the container with the seeds must be aired daily, wipe off the collected condensate by lifting the glass.
First shoots allow you to remove the glass and pack the nursery in a transparent plastic bag, which should be tied up so that there is no air access. At the same time, you need to change the place where the greenhouse will stand. Now he needs light, but not direct sunlight, which can leave burns on young shoots. But in this form, seedlings cannot be left unattended for a long time. Every day the oilcloth should be removed, and the water accumulated on it should be crushed. Then you need to pack everything tightly again.
It is categorically impossible to water lobelia in order to avoid decay of shoots and the appearance of mold from above. It is better to put the box in a container filled with water, but this should only be done for a few minutes. If, nevertheless, there is no suitable container or it is difficult to make such manipulations, you can water the ground with a syringe or a teaspoon.
In the event that mold is found on the surface, you must immediately take measures to eliminate it. And this means that the top layer must be removed, and the resulting surface must be sprinkled with crushed into small crumbs. activated carbon.
How to grow lobelia and not ruin the sprouted seedlings seems to be an unsolved problem. On the one hand, this flower will not stand drought, but at the same time it can die from excessive moisture. And the answer is simple, you need to constantly monitor the crops. As soon as the soil begins to dry out - water, loosen regularly and do not forget to ventilate.
If you are interested in the question of how to grow ampelous lobelia - growing from seeds is exactly the same as described above. Only then is this species planted, for example, in a basket, which is suspended, and the plants hang down in green flowering waves.
Lobelia picking and planting in the ground
When the lobelia has grown up, it dives. This action must be started after moistening the soil in the box. Then, with a dessert spoon, scoop up several bushes, together with the soil and transplant them into separate pots or into a common container, but at a distance not less than three centimeters apart... Around each transplanted bush, the ground should be lightly tamped and the soil should be well watered.
When the pick is successful, lobelia bushes begin to grow actively. It is worth waiting for them to grow to three centimeters, and then shorten the plants by a few millimeters. This is necessary so that the flowers begin to bush better and more actively drag along the surface.
At the beginning of June, the period begins when seedlings are planted in open ground on prepared flower beds, hills, and if this is an ampelous view, then on a hill. They are planted with bushes already formed when diving at a distance of not less than ten centimeters.
The soil for this flower should not be overly fertile. Such a soil will give abundant growth of greenery, and there will be little lobelia bloom, this will lead to the loss of the decorative value of this plant. The soil should contain a lot of humus, which will give the desired result for this flower.
By regularly cutting the bushes in the middle of summer up to five centimeters in height, you can stimulate the setting of new buds and the active growth of lobelia over the entire desired surface. During this period, it is worth feeding the plants with liquid fertilizers to maintain regular flowering and growth.
Thus, it is possible to grow lobelia from seeds at home, although you will have to try not to ruin young seedlings with excessive watering or insufficient soil moisture. But the beauty of this flower and its ability to cover the entire free surface with a green carpet inspires such labors and pleasant care of the grown lobelia.
Irina
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