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Daisies are one of the most famous flowers, they can be found everywhere. These unpretentious garden plants adorn the flower beds of household plots, park areas, they are used by landscape designers to create various compositions. In general, flower growers prefer to plant daisies from seeds, although other methods can be used to propagate them.
Description
Daisies are low herbaceous flowers of the Astrov family. In the wild, they are widespread, found in North Africa and the Mediterranean countries. For ornamental purposes, they are grown everywhere, usually in a two-year cycle. In the first year of life, seedlings are obtained from seeds, which are later transferred to a permanent place. During this period, the plant takes root and forms a rosette of leaves. In the second year, daisies begin to bloom. In many varieties, this process takes place at different times. That is why daisies are so often used to create beds of continuous flowering, pleasing to the eye from spring to the onset of cold weather.
A brief description of the main parts of this plant is given in the table:
Parameter | Value |
Type of plant | Perennial herbaceous. |
Appearance | A small bush 10-30 cm high. |
Root system | Superficial lobe of many thin roots. |
Stem | Naked, cylindrical, rather hard, green. |
Leaves | Spatulate, green, grow in a rosette from the root zone. |
Flowers | Reed male and tubular female, collected in chamomile-type inflorescences. The color of the petals is varied, from white to lilac and burgundy, the central part is yellow or greenish. |
Sowing seeds of daisies for seedlings
Daisies are planted with seeds for seedlings about 2 months before the transfer of young plants to open ground. In doing so, the following must be taken into account:
- If the weather conditions of the region allow, then sowing seeds can be done in January or February. It is important to consider that by the time of transplanting into open ground, the earth should have time to warm up. In this case, it is worth waiting for the flowering of daisies already in the 1st year.
- In colder regions, planting seeds for seedlings is best done in March or April. Postponing the dates to a later time will allow the earth to warm up, as well as avoid the threat of return frosts. In this case, in the first year after planting, flowering of daisies is not worth waiting for, this will happen only the next season.
How to grow seedlings of daisies from seeds
Growing seedlings of daisies from seeds is quite simple. It is better to purchase planting material from trusted sellers, on specialized Internet resources or in stores for flower growers. It is better to give preference to coated seeds, their shell contains all the necessary nutrients and does not require additional feeding.
Seed preparation
Coated seeds do not need special preparation before sowing. If the planting material is collected independently or is in its normal state, then it must first be disinfected by immersing it in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 20-30 minutes.
After that, the seeds should be rinsed with clean water and dried, laid out on a cloth.
soil
The soil mixture for sowing seeds of daisies can be prepared independently by mixing leafy soil, humus and sand in equal proportions. Before use, it should be calcined for 20-25 minutes in an oven at a temperature of + 200 ° C. This procedure will kill pathogenic microflora, fungi. Suitable for germinating daisy seeds and regular seedling soil sold in stores.
Sowing
You can plant daisy seeds for seedlings in any containers, they should be wide and shallow. Before planting, such dishes should be disinfected by thoroughly washing and treating with boiling water or a solution of potassium permanganate if they are made of unstable plastic.
After filling the containers with soil on the surface, you need to draw shallow parallel grooves with a sharp object, into which the seeds of daisies will be sown.
With its help, the seeds are evenly distributed along the grooves, then powdered with soil and moistened from the spray gun. After that, the container is covered with a transparent film or glass and cleaned in a warm dark place.
Transplanting
The first shoots of seedlings of daisies usually appear 1,5-2 weeks after sowing. Until this time, the film cover must be periodically removed so that the soil is ventilated.
If the soil dries out, then it must be moistened with a spray bottle. After the appearance of the first sprouts, the film should be completely removed, and the container with the seedlings should be transferred to the windowsill.
Growing conditions
At home, seedlings will be about 1-1,5 months. During this time, she has to grow up and get stronger. In order for the plants to gain strength as quickly as possible and prepare for transplanting to a permanent place in open ground, they need to create comfortable conditions.
World
Daisies are photophilous plants. At the beginning of the year, they clearly lack the length of an ordinary day, because of this, the seedlings brighten, become very thin and stretched. To avoid this, artificial lighting is mounted above the containers. Various lighting devices can be used to illuminate seedlings, but special phytolamps have proven themselves best in this capacity, giving radiation of a certain spectrum.
Watering
Daisy seedlings need regular but very moderate watering. Excess moisture adversely affects the state of the root system of plants and can cause fungal diseases. It is not recommended to use a spray gun to moisten the soil, water falling on the leaves can harm them.
Feeding
Daisy seedlings do not need a lot of nutrients. They are quite enough in the ground, so no additional top dressing is required. It is especially convenient in this case to use pelleted seeds. Their shell, gradually dissolving in the soil, enriches it with all the necessary nutrients and microelements.
Spraying
Seedlings of daisies get sick quite rarely if they are well cared for. All preventive spraying is carried out later, after the plants are transplanted to a permanent place in open ground.
Pest Prevention
After planting in open ground, daisies can be damaged by various pests. The danger for these flowers is represented by mice, moles and shrews, which can seriously damage the root system. From insects, ticks, various caterpillars, slugs can cause tangible harm. Some of them are harvested by hand, against others they use various baits and traps, and also treat the plants with special preparations.
Features of growing in the garden
Daisies are very unpretentious plants, they do not require serious care. You can grow them not only in open ground, but also as potted flowers. For good growth and abundant flowering, they must be fed, at the beginning of the season this can be done with urea or nitroammophoska. The root zone should be loosened and cleared of weeds.
Plants need to be watered regularly, with a lack of moisture, the flowers lose their doubleness and quickly dry out. It is better to cut dead inflorescences, this stimulates the growth of new peduncles and prolongs the period of active flowering.
Conclusion
Planting daisies with seeds is easy, these flowers have excellent germination and do not cause much trouble. Planting material of the varieties you like can be collected independently. Daisies are unpretentious and at the same time very decorative, these qualities are appreciated by many gardeners and landscape designers.