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Despite the wide variety of annuals that can be grown in home gardens, the appearance of such an exotic flower as eustoma a few decades ago could not go unnoticed. These flowers are very beautiful both as a cut flower and when grown as a houseplant. Despite its beauty and exotic appearance, many were not afraid to plant it even in open ground and were not mistaken – eustoma feels good even in flower beds of regions with difficult weather conditions. For example, in the Urals, it may well decorate flower beds from July to the end of August.
As it turned out, this charming plant is almost impossible to propagate in any other way than seed, and therefore it is the method of growing eustoma from seeds that is the main one if you want to start this beauty in your home or garden. But at the same time, quite a lot of questions arise, ranging from when to plant and ending with what and how to feed it. This article will tell you about all the nuances of growing eustoma from seeds.
Description and features
Eustoma is native to Central America and can also be found naturally in the southern states of the United States, Mexico, and northern South America. The plant belongs to the gentian family and is a perennial. In climatic conditions, it is usually grown as an annual, since it is quite difficult to keep it in rooms with central heating in winter. But this is quite realistic for owners of private houses with cool and bright verandas. But still, over the years, eustoma loses its attractiveness, so it is best to renew it every year from seeds.
Eustoma flowers in an unopened state most of all resemble a rose, hence many nations have such names as “Irish rose”, “French rose”, “Japanese rose”, etc. One of the varieties, Roussel’s eustoma, has an additional name – lisianthus. Therefore, often all the most luxuriously flowering forms of eustoma are also called lisianthus.
This flower has many varieties of a wide variety of colors. But for flower growers, the most important thing is to know that there are two main groups of eustoma – dwarf, no more than 25-30 cm high, for indoor cultivation and cut flowers, up to 1 meter high, which are ideal for growing in the garden. The leaves of these plants have a very attractive bluish-blue hue, and the flowers themselves can be either regular or double.
Despite the fact that growing eustoma from seeds is generally no more difficult than growing a petunia familiar to everyone from childhood, this flower still has several features. First of all, eustoma has a very long growing season. This means that from germination to flowering, it takes an average of 5 to 6 months. Low-growing varieties of eustoma have a slightly shorter growing season. And in recent years, early-flowering hybrids have appeared that are able to bloom almost 4 months after sowing. Nevertheless, at this point it is necessary to pay attention when buying eustoma seeds. And sowing its seeds for seedlings must be done as early as possible, not later than February, and preferably in January or even December.
It is worth paying attention to the size of eustoma seeds. They are even smaller than those of the same petunia. They can be called simply dusty. For example, while about 6-8 thousand petunia seeds fit in one gram, about 15-20 thousand of eustoma seeds fall on the same unit of weight. You can see what eustoma seeds look like in this photo.
Due to the microscopic size of seeds, manufacturers often subject them to additional processing, wrapping them in special granules. In addition to the convenience of handling them, the granules also help the seeds germinate and survive in the first stage of life, since they contain special fertilizers and growth stimulants.
Different ways of sowing
There are several ways to plant eustoma for seedlings. The article below will describe all the possible methods and techniques to facilitate seed germination. You can choose any method you like, or if you plan to plant a lot of seeds, then try some of them to see which one will be the best for your conditions. On average, they all work, so it’s difficult to call any of them the best, a lot depends on the habits of the gardener himself, as well as on the conditions that he can create seedlings and the amount of time he can devote to her.
Peat tablets
For beginner flower growers who do not yet have sufficient experience in growing seedlings, but, nevertheless, really want to grow this flower at home, we can recommend sowing eustoma seeds in peat tablets for seedlings. In general, with an average germination of granulated eustoma seeds of about 80%, in peat tablets, the germination percentage can reach 100%. Yes, and the further process of caring for seedlings and picking is somewhat facilitated. The only drawback is the high price of good quality peat pellets, but with small crops, this price will more than justify itself.
For sowing in this way, in addition to the actual peat tablets and eustoma seeds, you will also need either a common, relatively deep container, such as a pallet, or the number of disposable cups according to the number of peat tablets used. After all, peat tablets after soaking increase in size by 6-8 times.
So, the scheme for sowing eustoma seeds in peat tablets is as follows:
- Lay out in a deep pan without holes the required number of dry peat tablets, equal to the number of seeds that you are going to sow.
- To maintain optimal moisture conditions, a layer of vermiculite, approximately one centimeter thick, can be poured into the bottom of the tray before placing the tablets there. Please note that in most cases there are five (rarely ten) eustoma seeds in one bag of granular seeds.
- Gently and gradually pour a small amount of settled warm water into the tray with tablets. If desired, instead of water, you can take a solution of epin, zircon, HB-101 or energy-extra.
- Wait until the tablets begin to saturate with moisture and increase in size. If necessary, add water until the growth of the tablets in height stops.
- Leave the pallet with tablets for complete absorption for 15-20 minutes.
- If there is very little liquid left in the pan, then you can not drain it. Otherwise, it is better to carefully remove it from the pallet.
- If you poured vermiculite on the bottom, add water gradually, constantly monitoring the increase in the volume of tablets in the process of adding water.
- Pour the eustoma seeds out of the bag onto a saucer and carefully use tweezers or a wet match to move each seed into the recess located in the center of the swollen tablet.
- Lightly press the granule into the swollen peat.
- There is no need to cover or sprinkle the seeds with anything.
- Place a piece of glass or polycarbonate on top of the pallet, or cover it with any other transparent material.
- Place the tray with tablets in a warm (+21°+24°C) and always bright place.
As already mentioned, it is possible to place each tablet in a disposable cup, soak it in the same way, and after placing the seed in the upper recess of the tablet, cover the cup with a plastic bag.
Therefore, do not place the seed tray on a cold windowsill, and for good illumination, it is advisable to immediately put it under a lamp with an additional light source.
Often, after seed germination, if the necessary moisture has not been observed, “caps” of granules remain on the tips of the sprouts. Never attempt to remove them mechanically. Tiny sprouts only need to be carefully sprayed using the finest spray gun possible. From soaking, the “caps” will fall apart by themselves.
But if you don’t want to repeat this effect, then you can additionally sprinkle the seeds a little after they are placed on top of the peat tablet. And after waiting a minute, gently, with the help of a match, smear the contents of the granules over the surface of the tablet.
The video below shows in detail the process of sowing eustoma seeds in peat tablets.
The traditional way of sowing
If you are dealing with a fairly large volume of seeds, more than 5-10 packs, and you have a lot of other seedlings that require space under lights, then you can use the most traditional method of growing in small plastic containers with transparent lids.
In this case, you will also need nutrient soil.
If you prefer to deal with ready-made soil mixtures, then you can use soil for Saintpaulia or room violet to sow eustoma seeds. Further, the process proceeds as follows:
- Before sowing seeds, sift a small part of the soil through a fine sieve.
- Fill the prepared container about halfway with the soil mixture and tamp it quite tightly.
- It is not necessary to make drainage holes in the germination container at the first stage, since eustoma needs a lot of moisture for germination.
- Moisten the soil mixture very well with a spray bottle so that it becomes almost wet, but you still do not need to allow swamps.
- From above, pour a layer of 0,5 cm of sifted earth and also slightly compact it.
- Lightly dampen the top coat with a spray bottle.
- On its surface, carefully spread the seeds of eustoma, slightly pressing them into the ground.
- From above, the seeds must also be slightly moistened from the spray bottle and close the container with a transparent lid.
Seeds can be placed on the surface of the substrate in a variety of ways. You can simply lay them out by slightly pressing. If there are quite a lot of seeds, then it is better to use two other methods:
- Prepare a small board and, pouring out the seeds in rows every 1-2 cm, then press them down a little with the end of the board.
- Using the end of the plank, make recesses in the ground in the form of rows, 2-3 mm deep. Spread the seeds in them and sprinkle them with a microscopic layer of calcined river sand.
Powdering the seeds with river sand calcined in the oven or microwave is very useful, as it allows you to remove some problems in the future when sprouts appear. On the one hand, the sand dries quickly after watering, on the other hand, it retains soil moisture under it. Thus, the bases of the sprouts themselves are kept relatively dry, while the roots are constantly moistened. This reduces the risk of blackleg and other fungal diseases that eustoma seedlings are susceptible to.
Other variations on the landing theme
The previous option for sowing eustoma seeds is good for everyone, except that the seedlings will have to dive sooner or later. For those who are biased towards this procedure, it is advisable to sow the seeds immediately in separate cups. It can be any fairly high capacity. Recently, the method of sowing small seeds in home-made cups, twisted from dense polyethylene or even from a thin (2 mm) plastic substrate under the laminate and fixed with a stapler or tape, has become widespread.
The advantage of the latter is that the seedlings develop in them before planting in the ground, and before planting, the fastening of the cups is removed, and the eustoma bushes, while maintaining the entire root system, can be relatively painlessly moved to the flower bed.
Containers with ready, well-compacted soil are installed in a deep pan, they spill well, and in the future, the sowing method resembles planting in peat tablets.
This method of sowing eustoma is well shown in the following video:
Experienced flower growers often spill the soil with boiling water before planting the seeds. It is claimed that this technique can promote faster seed germination.
In recent years, another curious way of planting eustoma seeds has appeared – in glass jars. Usually, for planting seeds of one variety, an ordinary half-liter jar is taken from one bag, as for twisting. A 2-3 cm layer of vermiculite is poured onto its bottom, then 7-9 cm of light but nutritious crumbly soil. From above, everything is well moistened, and through the transparent walls of the jar it is easy to trace the level of soil moisture. Eustoma seeds are placed on the surface of the moistened soil, sprayed from above and the jar is tightly closed with a light nylon lid.
Eustoma care after germination
Eustoma seeds can germinate for quite a long time, up to 20 days. Although in some favorable conditions, the first shoots may appear as early as 8-10 days. After the emergence of shoots, the temperature, if possible, can be reduced to + 18 ° + 20 ° С, at night it can even be up to + 15 ° С.
It is important to regularly, once a day, remove it for ventilation and remove condensate from the inner surface of the lid. This must be done before seed germination, while simultaneously controlling the moisture content of the substrate.
The first sprouts of eustoma are as tiny as the seeds themselves. They are even hardly distinguishable on the surface of the soil. And the development of plants in the first weeks is very slow. But, given that eustoma is insanely demanding on the nutrient medium, the first top dressing can be started quite early, literally 1-2 weeks after germination.
When irrigating, it is best to use not just water to moisten the soil, but a solution with Energen or other nutrient stimulants (EM preparations, Chlorella, Agate, biohumus, etc.)
When 4 small leaves appear on the seedlings, this is the most opportune moment for picking, since it is during this period that eustoma is relatively good at this procedure, which cannot be said about the later stages of its development. If you grow eustoma in peat tablets, then picking should be started when the first roots appear from below. In the case of peat tablets, you simply transfer them along with the plants into larger containers.
In other cases, picking is carried out using toothpicks or a suitable tool from a manicure set.
The next day after the seedlings are picked in separate containers or when they are about 2-3 weeks old, it is advisable to feed the eustoma with a solution of calcium nitrate.
For this, a mother solution is first prepared (1 tablespoon per 1 liter of water), which is infused in a dark bottle for a day. To feed eustoma seedlings, 10 ml of this solution is added to 0,5 liters of water.
If, after picking, the eustoma does not feel well or grows poorly, you can spray it with any stimulant and place it again under a bag or in a greenhouse.
In the future, every week, eustoma seedlings need regular feeding. To do this, you can use solutions of any complex water-soluble fertilizers diluted twice as much as according to the instructions (Uniflor growth, Fertika, Kristallon, Plantofol, Mortar and others).
Thus, it is quite possible to grow eustoma from seeds, you just need to stock up on perseverance and patience.