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Cineraria is a plant from the Asteraceae or Compositae family. In nature, there are more than 50 species. An exotic plant attracts attention, so many flower growers grow it on their plots to improve the design.
Cineraria can be used both for independent plantings and for creating background compositions, decorating borders and rock gardens. How the sowing of Cineraria for seedlings is carried out and the features of care will be discussed in the article.
Description
Landscape designers and flower growers who create interesting compositions on their own in their garden are always attracted by interesting plants. One of them is Cineraria silver. The homeland of the plant is some regions of the African continent and the island of Madagascar. The ragwort (also called Cineraria) grows in a perennial form, is an evergreen plant.
Bushes
In floriculture, cultivars created by breeders on the basis of wild relatives are used. Silver cineraria is represented by a semi-spreading shrub or herbaceous-type shrub up to 30 centimeters high.
Leaves
Especially attractive are the leaves collected in a dense rosette. On pinnate, strongly dissected leaves, a velvety, pleasant to the touch surface with a clearly visible pile. When viewed from afar, it seems that silver lace has been thrown over the flower beds, or frost has fallen on the leaves. Leaf blades are located on stable petioles.
The color features are already clear from the name, although there are varieties of cineraria in which greenish specks are visible on the leaves.
There are perennial and annual varieties, but in Our Country it is unrealistic to grow them on the street, since their relatives are plants of the tropics.
Flowers
Perennials are grown in indoor floriculture, which decorate window sills with their unusual leaves. At home, you can use various varieties of cineraria, including flowering ones. In open ground, flowering rarely occurs, the inflorescences themselves do not attract attention. After all, the flowers are simple, small, yellowish, inconspicuous, this is clearly seen in the photo. Most often, flower stalks are cut off so that they do not spoil the design, because it is the openwork, silvery leaves that are the main advantage of cineraria.
Application
Silver cineraria, seaside cineraria, ragwort, ashtray are all names for the same exotic plant with attractive leaves.
The main purpose of the flower is to decorate flower beds, rockeries, alpine slides. The leaves retain their shape and color well when dried, so they are used as dried flowers.
But not only landscape designers are attracted to Cineraria. This plant is widely used in folk medicine for the treatment of intestines and bronchial asthma.
Varieties of Cineraria
A trip to a flower shop will allow you to evaluate the assortment of Cineraria varieties: there are a large number of them for every taste. For the first time, you can sow purchased seeds, and then collect them yourself, leaving a few baskets on the plants.
And now about the most popular varieties of Cineraria:
Silver dust
This variety is fast growing. The bushes are compact, low, only 15 or 25 centimeters. The leaves are carved, openwork, grayish-white in color with a slight pubescence. For some seed producers, this variety goes under the name Silver Dust.
Cirras
A tall plant with silvery-green leaves. The plates are rounded, not dissected, but solid, unlike other varieties of Cineraria. When growing seedlings, beginner flower growers can be confused by the color of the plates, since it is the green color that dominates in them at first. But as they grow, the leaves become silvery.
Andromeda
Perhaps the lowest plant among the seaside Cineraria: during the growing season it grows only 15 cm. The leaves are pinnate, strongly divided. The lower part is pubescent, felt, silvery. Flowering begins in August, but the flower stalks are so inconspicuous that it is better to remove them.
Candidance
The variety attracts with bluish-silvery, pinnately dissected leaves. Plant height up to 35 cm.
diamond powder
Low Cineraria, her height is slightly more than 20 cm. The color of the carved color plates is silver-ash.
Growing seedlings
As we have already noted, new seedlings of Cineraria at home are obtained by growing seedlings from seeds. This operation, as a rule, does not cause any particular difficulties, it is quite accessible to beginner flower growers. Plants grow on any soil, but they reveal all their beauty on light, breathable compositions. It is this soil that is prepared for growing seedlings. To improve the structure of the earth, sand must be added.
Terms of sowing
There is no single answer to the question of when to plant seeds for seedlings. The choice of date will depend on climatic conditions, the characteristics of the spring itself and the selected varieties of Cineraria. Tentatively, seeds are sown for seedlings in February, March, April, and in the southern regions, where the warm season lasts a long time, even in May.
Seeding methods
Cineraria is not just an exotic plant, for its seed propagation, you can use different methods:
- The soil in the container is moistened, slightly compacted. Seeds are scattered on this surface without embedding them in the ground. You just need to lightly slam the seeds so that they “catch” on the soil.
- Sow the seeds in a nursery on moist soil, sprinkle with sand on top.
- Sow Cineraria on the ground, cover with thin paper, for example, a napkin. Plants that have hatched will be able to get through it.
From time to time, the shelter is raised to ventilate the plantings. Water as needed carefully so as not to wash or deepen the seeds. This procedure can be simplified if drainage is laid on the bottom of the container with holes. Then the container is simply lowered into a stand with water to moisten the soil. The container is exposed to a warm, lit place.
Although the process of growing Cineraria seedlings is simple, the video will be useful for beginner flower growers:
Today, many flower growers and gardeners grow seedlings in a snail and are wondering if this method is suitable for Cineraria. This must be an individual decision, as many annual flowers are quite successfully obtained from seeds in this way.
The convenience of a snail in obtaining a large number of sprouts with a minimum expenditure of space. In addition, when picking seedlings, the root system is less damaged.
Care of seedlings
As a rule, the maximum germination period for seeds of Cineraria silver is two weeks. But germination can occur earlier if the seed is fresh. When half of the sprouts appear, the covering material is removed and Cineraria is provided with good lighting.
Sometimes seedlings do not grow well, in which case it is necessary to feed them with fertilizers for flowers. It is used strictly according to the instructions. Shallow loosening of the soil also helps to accelerate growth, increasing air access to the root system.
Plants should be watered moderately and only with warm water. Like all Asteraceae, Cineraria does not tolerate too wet soil.
Transfer
The pick is carried out at the stage of the appearance of a silver leaf. Seedlings can be transplanted not only in plastic cups, but also in so-called diapers. This is, in fact, a pot of a piece of cellophane. It is convenient to plant seedlings from them in a permanent place: the roots are not damaged.
For diving, they take the same fertile soil as when sowing seeds, which is well moistened. Plants in the nursery also need to be watered to make it easier to select them. Long roots are cut a little with scissors, and they themselves are placed in the hole.
After transplanting, the earth is compressed to provide better adhesion to the ground and expel air from under the roots. Light watering is required. If there are many seedlings, some of them can be transplanted back into the container at some distance.
Rules for picking a ragwort:
Plant care in the ground
It is necessary to plant Cineraria silver in open ground after establishing positive temperatures. The fact is that young seedlings are afraid of frosts, although in autumn adult plants survive them well and do not lose their decorative effect.
The survival rate of plants is high, there is practically no waste. It is better to grow Cineraria in an open, sunny place, although a light shadow is not an obstacle.
Bushes should be planted in fertile soil at a distance of 20-25 cm, so that during growth they do not interfere with each other. In the future, silvery flowers form a continuous ruler.
Plant care is not burdensome:
- watering as needed;
- weeding and loosening the soil;
- mulching with fresh cut grass or rotted sawdust;
- top dressing with mineral or organic fertilizers every week (fertilizers with a high nitrogen content are not recommended);
- pruning seedlings is an important procedure that allows you to give Cineraria more decorative;
- removal of peduncles is a necessary measure, it will help to avoid drying of the lower tier of leaves.
As for diseases, fortunately, the plant rarely gets sick, and harmful insects do not like it. It is the high immunity of Cineraria, its decorative effect that attracts landscape designers.
Instead of a conclusion
If you liked the description and photo of the decorative representative of the Astrovs, but you are afraid that there will be nowhere to plant seedlings, we will make you happy. This is a plant for which you can always find a place. After all, Cineraria can be grown not only in flower beds, but also in pots, between decorative coniferous trees, in hanging planters and even on a balcony – it will be appropriate everywhere.
There are a lot of options for using plants in landscape design, we will present some of them. And you will only have to fantasize.
If you love water, but there is no way to build some kind of reservoir on the site, make it from openwork Cineraria, as in the photo below. Look, here it is, a stream running down the stairs.
The ragwort gets along well with various garden plants, which allows you to create real flower patterns.
Cineraria is a great option for decorating flower beds. It is most often used for edging borders on flower beds and discounts.
Growing Cineraria as a potted crop has its advantages. With the onset of cold weather, they can be moved indoors and continue to enjoy openwork plants in winter.