Flower planting in april
What Flowers Should You Plant in April? | Home Guides
By Lauren Miller Updated November 22, 2019
If you miss the early spring planting period for many flowers, it does not mean that you cannot have a yard full of fragrant, vibrant flowers in late spring and throughout the summer. Many plants that grow in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 to 10 thrive in the summer months when planted in April. When spring comes, there are plenty of spring flowers to plant.
Bare Root Perennials
Bare root perennials are ideal when it comes to flowers that grow in April. They grow fast and provide abundant color during the summer. Nurseries and online catalogs sell them. The plants are ready for sale after they grow for a year and have their growth trimmed to about an inch above the crown. They arrive ready for transplanting outdoors with the soil removed from the roots.
To begin the list of spring flowers, daylilies (Hemerocallis) grow in many climates, and numerous hybrids are available in a variety of colors. Flower forms vary and include single or double blooms and narrow or broad petals. Astilbe (false spirea) grows from spring through summer. It has erect branches filled with tiny flowers in hues of white, pink, red and lilac.
Species of clematis (Ranunculaceae) include vine plants that quickly climb up trellises and gazebos. They include numerous species in colors such as white, pink, blue, red and purple. Clematis bloom shapes vary by species. Some resemble tulips, while others are bell shaped, star shaped or like tiny lanterns.
Summer-Blooming Annuals
There are many other flowers that grows in April or that can be planted in April. Summer-blooming annuals that may be planted in April include several easy-to-grow plants. Sunflowers (Helianthus) are sturdy spring flowers to plant that require little care once planted. They adapt easily to a wide variety of soil conditions and include short varieties that grow no more than a few feet tall to tall plants that reach up to 8 feet and taller.
Cosmos are also easy to grow. The C. binnatus is an annual species with brightly colored flowers. For annuals that provide numerous color choices, select zinnias to plant in April for summer flowers. They have round-shaped flowers with multiple short, narrow petals and are perfect for floral arrangements.
Flowering Shrubs and Citrus
Drought-tolerant shrubs planted in April fare well throughout the summer. Species of Ceanothus grow into plants topped with clusters of delicate, small blue and purple flowers. The proliferation of flowers makes the entire bush appear to be blue or purple. Common flannel bushes (Fremontodendron californicum) produce bright yellow flowers that usually bloom all at once. The plant can reach up to 20 feet tall.
Rosemary bushes not only provide fragrant leaves used for medicinal purposes and cooking, but its small blue or purple flowers provide attractive blooms. The flowers are also edible. Depending on the species, rosemary shrubs grow from a foot to 6 feet tall.
Citrus trees include a variety of plants with fragrant blooms prized by gardeners. Species of orange trees from dwarf and semidwarf to full-sized varieties have creamy white blossoms that can fill a garden with a sweet scent.
How to Care for April Flowers
Bare root perennials need to have their roots carefully untangled before planting to prevent damage. Plant the perennials within one to two days of purchase. Adding compost to the soil of most spring plantings helps to make sure plants have essential nutrients. Shrubs do not need soil amendments unless the soil is very sandy. Fresh lawn clippings plus shredded fruit and vegetable waste also helps to enrich the soil.
If needed, increase watering when temperatures rise during the summer. Be careful not to overwater plants and do not let water stand, to prevent root rot and breeding areas for mosquitoes.
References
- The American Hemerocallis Society: Frequently Asked Questions
- Fine Gardening: Helianthus Annuus and Cvs.
(Sunflower)
Resources
- Monrovia: Blue Sapphire Ceanothus
- Sunset: Fremontodendron Californicum
- Sunset: Rosmarinus Officinalis
- De Groot Inc.: Bareroot Perennials
Writer Bio
Lauren Miller has more than 10 years of experience as a writer and editor. Her articles on technology, small business and legal topics have appeared in magazines, newspapers and trade journals. She has a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and is an avid gardener and sports fan.
What to Plant in April
If ever there was a month to spend more time planting in the garden, it's April. For most regions, April is the month during which the threat of frost has passed, and soil temperatures are consistently warm enough to plant a wide array of plants, from fruit and vegetable seeds to bare-root perennials, summer-blooming annuals, flowering shrubs, and flowering vines.
Whether your garden goals for the year include a vegetable garden, a perennial herb garden, or general landscaping ideas around your porch, patio, pergola, or pool, April is the time to start planting.
Treat yourself to a new pair of garden gloves and garden shoes and get outside!
1
Asparagus
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Asparagus is a perennial plant that, once established, will produce edible spears year after year. One key to ensuring its success is not to harvest for the first couple of seasons. Your patience will pay off: asparagus beds can remain productive for up to 20 years (and sometimes longer!). You can plant asparagus crowns early in the season, as soon as soil temperatures rise above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Plant in at least partial sun for best results.
2
Melons
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Melon plants can be started indoors and transplanted outdoors after six to eight weeks. If sowing melon seeds directly outdoors, make sure all threat of frost has passed.
(After all, all melon varieties are techically tropical natives.) Plant melon seeds in full sun, one inch deep and 18 inches apart in raised rows to encourage drainage.
3
Okra
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In regions where temperatures are consistently 60 degrees Fahrenheit and warmer in April, okra can be planted this month. Okra plants require full sun, and should be planted 10 inches apart. Give okra plants at least one inch of water per week, and feed with a continuous-release plant food for a more robust harvest.
4
Onion
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April is a great time to transplant or directly sow onions. But choose your onion variety based on your climate: long day onions are best for cool climates while short day onions are best for warmer climates. For best results, sow seeds in full sun when your soil is at least 45 degrees Fahrenheit.
5
Beans
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April is a great time to plant both pole and bush beans as these vegetables should not be started inside (their fragile roots would not survive transplanting). Sow bush beans one inch deep in soil and two inches apart. For pole beans, you'll need a trellis or stalking to support their growth. For best results, plan in full sunlight and try sowing seeds every two weeks—this will ensure a robust harvest all summer.
6
Carrots
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Sowing carrot seeds in April will produce an early summer crop. Seeds will germinate in soil as cool as 50 degrees Fahrenheit, but optimal soil temperature for carrot see germination is 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Carrots require full sun, but they also thrive in cool soil with constant moisture (about one inch of water per week).
7
Astilbe
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April is also an ideal time to plant bare root perennials that thrive in spring and continue their color show through summer. Bare-root perennials are available at nurseries or online catalogues; they arrive ready for transplanting with soil removed from rooms.
One such plant: shade-loving astilbe. It grows from spring through summer and products bottlebrush-shaped blooms flowers in shades of pink, lilac, white, and red. Plant in partial shade with some filtered sun for best results.
8
Daylily
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Daylilies are another easy-to-grow flowering perennial that can be planted in April. They flower best when planted in full sun, and can be used in perennial beds, grouped with ornamental grasses, or planted in masses along fences.
Many daylily culltivars will rebloom; removing faded flowerheads will encourage reblooming.
9
Clematis
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This fast-growing flowering vine can be transplanted in April. Although most cultivars prefer full sun, some can thrive in partial shade. Mulching around clematis roots will help contain mositure and keep the soil cool, which is best for the plant. However, keep the mulch several inches away from the crown, where the vines emerge from the soil.
10
Sunflowers
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April is an ideal time to plant annuals that bloom in summer like sunflowers. These sturdy plants are easy to grow and require little care once planted. When the soil temperature reaches at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit, plant sunflower seeds no more than one inch deep and about six inches apart in a spot that receives at least six to eight hours of full sunlight.
11
Cosmos
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Known for attracting birds, bees, and butterflies, these daisy-like summer-blooming annuals are also quite easy to grow from seeds sown in April. Plants will bloom in shades of pink, orange, red, yellow, white, and maroon. Sow seeds 1/4 inch deep 12-18 inches apart in full sun for best results.
12
Rosemary
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Flowering shrubs such as rosemary, which produces small blue or purple flowers that are actually edible, are also good for planting in April. This drought-tolerant shrub will thrive through summer, so long as it receives at least six hours of full sunlight.
11 flowers to be planted in April for seedlings
In the middle of spring, gardeners begin to plant seedlings of flowers that grow quite quickly and begin to bloom at the beginning of summer.
Also in April, seeds of aquilegia, scabiosa, delphinium and other perennials are sown. From our article you can find out what flowers to plant for seedlings in April, their photo, name and description.
Contents of the article
- Which annuals to plant in April
- Marigolds
Marigolds
The bright yellow and orange flowers are very popular with gardeners for their hardiness and long blooming from early summer to cold days in late autumn. With the help of marigolds, they decorate flower beds in the country, flower beds in the area of kindergartens and schools, courtyards of apartment buildings and front gardens.
When and how to plant marigolds correctly can be studied in detail in our article " When and how to plant marigolds for seedlings correctly."
Balsam
Wet balsam or balsam is grown not only at home, but also in open ground. Since these flowers do not tolerate frost, they are grown as annuals.
Balsam bushes can be of different heights, so with their help you can decorate not only flower beds, but also borders, as well as balconies. If you plant several varieties of wet Vanka in one flower garden, you can get a purple-white-red-crimson bright flower bed. You can learn more about planting and growing balsam from our article " Growing balsam from seeds at home: when to plant, photo".
Annual dahlias
Dahlias are grown in their flowerbeds by almost all homeowners. And if perennial dahlias require storage of tubers in winter, then it is quite easy to grow annual dahlias in seedlings. Large inflorescences of annual dahlias can have a wide variety of colors. These flowers bloom in early summer and bloom until frost. They can be planted in a box or flowerpot and decorate a loggia or balcony in the summer.
How to properly grow annual dahlias, we described in detail in article " Annual dahlias: planting and care, photo, when to plant seedlings.
" Zinnias
Similar to gerberas, delicate zinnia flowers can have a wide variety of petal colors. The colorful plant has extraordinary beauty and is able to decorate with its flowers even the most inconspicuous corner of the garden. Graceful zinnia bushes can be from 30 to 100 cm high, so they can be grown along the border, in flower beds, against the background of decorative leafy bushes, along fences, along the edge of flower beds. In the color range of zinnias there are white, lilac, red, orange, pink and other colors. Only zinnias with blue and blue petals do not exist.
Ageratum
Flowers from the Aster family are distinguished by small fragrant flowers of purple, blue, pink or white. Ageratums have pubescent stems and toothed leaves. The bushes consist of numerous stems, the height of which can be from 10 to 60 cm. Ageratums are used to decorate borders, flower beds, and ridges. With their help, lawns are decorated and carpet compositions are made.
Ageratums look very beautiful in the same flower garden with calendula, marigolds, snapdragons. Sweet Pea
An herbaceous plant from the legume family with weakly branched climbing stems and fragrant flowers resembling moths. On the stalks of sweet peas clinging to supports, flowers form in July. Abundant flowering continues until the onset of cold days. There are more than a thousand varieties of sweet peas, among which there are plants with cream, white, salmon, purple, pink, raspberry, red, carmine, lilac simple or double flowers. In order for sweet peas to bloom in July, they are grown in seedlings and planted seeds in March-April.
Amaranth
Amaranth is an annual plant with unusual purple, purple or green panicle flowers that can reach a height of 30 to 300 cm. Planted in April and grown in seedlings, amaranths are used to decorate flower beds and flower beds. Varieties with tall stems are often used to decorate bouquets. Amaranth gardeners love not only for their paniculate flowers, but also for their unusually beautiful red-brown or red-orange leaves.
In regions with a warm climate, plants can be planted directly in the ground in April. However, by this time the soil must necessarily warm up to +10 degrees. Venidium
In April, you can plant the Venidium flower, which is rarely grown in our gardens. The sunflower-like plant is distinguished by burgundy or brown inflorescences that frame white, pink, orange or yellow elongated petals. Single stems of Venidium can have a height of up to 80 cm. Along the entire length of the stem are dissected or lobed bright green leaves covered with hard villi. Venidiums begin to bloom in June and decorate gardens with their large bright flowers until the snow.
Perennial flowers to plant in April
After planting in seedlings or outdoors in April, perennial flowers will bloom profusely only the following year. But on the other hand, they will delight with their flowering for many years.
Delphinium
Tall, beautifully flowering delphinium plant, often called larkspur or larkspur.
Many flower growers love the perennial delphinium for its unpretentiousness, because having planted it once in a flower bed, you can not remember it for a long time. Powerful peduncles with a lot of blue, blue, hot pink, snow-white, purple, lilac or lilac flowers will remind you of themselves in late June or early July. Delphiniums are unpretentious and require a minimum of care. You can grow them in seedlings by sowing seeds in March-April. If you don’t want to mess with seedlings, in October or November, larkspur is planted in open ground. You can find out how to properly plant and grow a perennial delphinium if you follow the highlighted link. Scabiosa
Unusual scabiosa flower is a semi-shrub herbaceous plant up to one meter high. At the end of its numerous stems, fragrant flowers are formed in June or July, which can be in the form of a hemisphere or ball. Cream, yellow, white burgundy, pink, blue or almost black flowers will decorate the flower garden until the end of summer.
Scabiosa flower stalks are rich in nectar, therefore they attract bees and are valued by beekeepers. The perennial loves sunny areas and is unpretentious, so even a novice gardener can cope with its cultivation. Aquilegia
Delicate herbaceous aquilegia or columbine blooms in July with drooping purple, crimson, white, yellow or blue flowers. There are varieties with two-color flowers. In the middle of each aquilegia bud there are spurs in which nectar accumulates. You can grow a catchment in seedling and seedless way. Aquilegia seeds are sown for seedlings in April. With a seedless method of cultivation, sowing of seeds is carried out immediately after they are collected. When the first shoots of the catchment appear in the spring in the garden, the seedlings will need to be transplanted into a flower bed. Aquilegia does not require much attention and care, for which it is very much appreciated by gardeners.
Knowing what flowers to sow for seedlings in April, you can start planting.
However, it is first advisable to learn how to properly plant flower seeds and how to care for seedlings? Information about planting and caring for many flowers is available on our website. We wish you all beautiful flower beds throughout the warm season! terms, care, when to plant in open ground
Author: Elena N. https://floristics.info/en/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=19Category: Garden Plants Returned: Last amendments:
Content
- What flowers are sown for seedlings in April
- Astra velvet 9000
- Scabiosa
- Annual dahlias
- Aquilegia
- Ageratum
- Venidium
- Flower seedling care in April
- Watering seedlings
- Temperature
- Picking of seedlings
- Fertilization
- When to plant seedlings in open soil 9000 open ground, but where the spring is late and the summer is short and cool, it is better to use the seedling method of growing flowers.
- Planting Muscari in the ground
- Yarrow: properties, planting and care, types and varieties
- Growing early cucumbers on ridges - which TWO varieties should be planted?
There are no strict deadlines for sowing seeds of one species or another, because the duration of the growing season of a crop depends on many conditions: the climate of the area, the weather, the quality of seeds and soil. Based on this, you yourself will have to decide when exactly to sow flower seeds for seedlings and at what time to plant seedlings in the ground, but there is a certain list of plants that are most often sown for seedlings in April. What flowers are sown for seedlings in April? iberis and salvia from those gardeners who sowed the seeds of these plants at the end of February or in March, has already sprouted and developed well. In early April, it is not too late to sow the seeds of seedlings of these flowers in order to plant seedlings in open ground in late May or early June.
In addition to the above crops, it is possible to plant seeds in April of flowers such as scabiosa, fragrant mignonette, osteosperum, obrieta, xeranthenum, daisy, Suvorov's limonium, morning glory, calendula, ornamental cabbage, delphinium, pompon dahlia, helipterum, venidium, cornflower, cornwort , annual aster, amaranth, ageratum and marigolds.
We will tell you more about sowing some of these flowers. Annual aster
She is charming, and her real name is Chinese callistefus. There are about 4,000 varieties of callistefus, which are divided into 40 groups: peony, pompon, needle-shaped, with small and large inflorescences, purple, red, pink, white - they are very beautiful and stand for a long time in the cut. Asters bloom from late June to October.
Cultivation of seedlings of one-year-old aster begins in late March or early April. Land for seedlings should be light and fertile: mix two parts of soddy soil and one part of peat, put the soil in a box and spill it with a fungicide solution from the "black leg". Powder the aster seeds with a fungicide too, sow them on the surface of the soil, press it against it with a spoon and pour the crops with a light pink solution of potassium permanganate through a spray bottle, then cover with a film, glass or paper.
Shoots should appear on the third or fifth day, and then the cover is removed, and the crops are moved as close to the light as possible so that the seedlings do not stretch, but the temperature must be lowered - if you have a veranda or a place on a glazed balcony, it would be better to move the boxes there .
Watering should be careful: just water each seedling with a teaspoon. When one or two true leaves appear, the seedlings dive at a distance of 5-7 cm from each other into larger boxes or cassettes for seedlings. Asters, unlike other flowers, love picking. Planting seedlings in open ground is carried out in the second half of May. Seedlings of an annual aster are not afraid of light frosts.
Marigolds
These flowers - marigolds, or tagetes - reproduce well by sowing in the ground, but if you give yourself the trouble to first grow seedlings from seeds, they will bloom two to three weeks earlier, and their flowering will be more magnificent and longer. In addition, you can not plant some of the seedlings in open ground, but leave them in pots and decorate an apartment, balcony, loggia or terrace with them. Marigold seeds are sown in a moist substrate of this composition: one part of turf, humus and peat and half of sand.
In order to avoid disease of seedlings with a black leg under the ground in seedling boxes, it is necessary to place a drainage layer of expanded clay, and shed the substrate with a solution of potassium permanganate or fungicide - Maxim, Fitosporin or Vitaros.
Another way to disinfect the soil for sowing is to steam it in a double boiler for an hour. Spread the seeds along the grooves with tweezers, then sprinkle with a layer of soil 1 cm thick, carefully water the crops and cover with glass or transparent film to make a greenhouse for seedlings, which must be kept in a bright place at a temperature of 15-20 ºC. Seeds of marigolds germinate under such conditions in a week or even earlier. If the room temperature is below 15 ºC, the seeds germinate poorly and for a long time, and if it is above 25 ºC, they may not sprout at all. As soon as the first shoots appear, the crops are aired daily, and the condensate is removed from the film or glass. When seed germination becomes widespread, the coating is removed. Water the substrate only after it is completely dry. Do not leave spilled water in the tray. Once every two weeks, feed the seedlings with a solution of a complex fertilizer such as Fertiki Lux, Mortar or Agricola in a low concentration.
Tagetes dive in the phase of development of 2-3 true leaves, shortening too long roots in the process and deepening the seedlings almost to the cotyledon leaves, into seedling cassettes with the same composition of soil as in the initial sowing, but with the addition of every five liters of substrate, a spoonful of complete mineral fertilizer and half a glass of wood ash. After picking, the seedlings are watered and, if the earth settles heavily, soil is added to the cassettes.
Amaranth
This plant conquers with the majesty of its inflorescences, endurance and unpretentiousness. Many people are happy to keep dry amaranth bouquets in the house in winter. In our climate, out of more than 9Only 15 species of the plant are cultivated, of which the most common are paniculate, tailed, dark and tricolor amaranth.
Amaranth seeds are sown on a moist, loose substrate, they are sprinkled with a centimeter-thick layer of peat and sand on top, moistened with a spray bottle, covered with glass and kept at a temperature of 22 ºC - under these conditions, seedlings appear in a week, or even earlier .
As soon as they appear, immediately move the crops as close to the light as possible. In the phase of development of the first true leaf, the seedlings are thinned out, leaving only the strongest of them, and in the stage of development of three leaves, the seedlings dive into separate containers with a diameter of 12 cm.
Perennial Delphinium
there is one delphinium bush on it - blue, pink, white or purple inflorescences up to 2 m high will surely cause admiring and even envious looks from your neighbors, especially since the delphinium blooms twice a season.
The depth of the container for delphinium seedlings should be at least 10 cm, and the substrate for the plant demanding soil should consist of peat, humus and sand in equal parts. Seeds are sown on the surface of the substrate, and sprinkled with a layer of sand 3-5 mm thick on top. Since delphinium seeds need stratification, a layer of snow is placed on top of the crops (possibly from the refrigerator) and kept at a temperature of 4-7 ºC until germination.
This so-called accelerated stratification increases the percentage of seed germination and hardens future seedlings. You can, of course, not stratify the seeds, and then they will sprout a week later.
Thin fragile seedlings are watered individually with a teaspoon so as not to accidentally damage or wash them out of the substrate. The soil should be kept slightly damp at all times. At the stage of development in seedlings of 2 leaves, seedlings dive at a distance of 6-7 cm from each other.
Daisy
These pretty flowers are incredibly popular with gardeners. They are sown in separate pots on moist, loose soil without embedding. The pots are moved to seedling greenhouses or covered with glass, placed as close to light as possible and kept at 20-24 ºC. Shoots will appear in two to three weeks, and then the glass can be removed, and the temperature of the content can be lowered to 15 ºC so that the growing seedlings do not stretch too much.
For this, you will probably have to organize additional lighting for seedlings, the daylight hours for which should be at least 12 hours. Water the crops as the soil dries out. Daisies don't dive.
Scabiosa
This cornflower-like flower is as modest as it is beautiful and versatile - it fits both as a solo plant and as an accent in the background of a flower bed. Another advantage is its long flowering from June to October.
In mid-April, we sow scabiosa seedlings in a universal soil mixture, cover the container with glass and keep it at a temperature of at least 15 ºC, airing it daily for an hour, moistening the soil and removing condensation from the glass. Shoots usually appear after 7-10 days, and then the coating is removed. In the development phase of 2 leaves, seedlings dive into boxes at a distance of 5 cm from each other or into separate cups.
Annual dahlias
Dahlia flowers are easy to grow, easy to care for, and bloom for a long time - from July until frost.
Hard to miss in the garden, these shrubs are up to one and a half meters high and have flowers in red, yellow, orange, purple, red, white and pink hues up to 10 cm in diameter. Dahlia seeds are sown in seedling boxes in a moist mixture of sand, peat and perlite, sprinkled on top with a thin layer of the same soil, covered with glass and placed in the light, maintaining the temperature within 25-27 ºC. Seeds germinate within a week. After the emergence of shoots, the glass is removed, watering the seedlings is carried out by spraying. When the third true leaf appears, the seedlings dive into separate cups filled with disinfected soil of this composition: 50% of soddy land and 25% of peat and sand each.
To sterilize the substrate, a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate is heated to 70 ºC and spilled over the soil. A week after picking, it is time to make the first top dressing.
Aquilegia
In translation, the name of the flower means “a plant that collects water”, therefore in Russian aquilegia is called a “catchment”. Aquilegia has bright white-blue, blue, white or pink flowers of a bizarre shape and delicate lacy leaves. About 30 types of aquilegia are cultivated in the middle lane.
Before sowing, the seeds are subjected to scarification - mechanically violate the integrity of their shell, for which they lightly rub between two sheets of fine sandpaper. Aquilegia seeds are sown in early April in peat tablets for seedlings or in separate cups filled with moist soil, consisting in equal parts of leaf humus, sand and soddy soil. From above, the seeds are sprinkled through a fine sieve with a layer of soil 3 mm thick, which is subsequently kept slightly moist all the time. Crops are covered with paper.
For successful seed germination, it is necessary to maintain a room temperature of at least 18 ºC, then seedlings will appear in a week or two.
Emerging seedlings need moist soil, but excess moisture can lead to fungal diseases. At the stage of development of two or three true leaves, seedlings dive into a larger container or planted in open ground, weather permitting.
Ageratum
With the help of Mexican Ageratum, or long-flowered, gardeners create borders and borders that serve as decoration of the garden until frost. Ageratum flowers are collected in fluffy baskets of white, pink, burgundy or purple. The seeds of the plant are sown in boxes on top of a moistened light nutrient substrate without deepening them, after which the boxes are covered with film or glass to create a greenhouse effect. Keep crops warm, preventing the soil from drying out.
As soon as the first seedlings appear after a week or two, the glass is removed, the temperature in the room is slightly lowered, and after three weeks the seedlings dive into separate pots. It is possible that fast-growing seedlings will need another transplant into a larger dish, since this tropical plant can be planted in open ground only when warm weather is finally established - in late May or early June.
Venidium
This is still a rare and exotic guest in the gardens of the middle zone. It is grown not only to decorate flower beds: its catchy inflorescences are well cut, and dwarf hybrids of Venidium are grown in containers on balconies, in garden flowerpots and on window boxes.
It is better to sow large seeds in 2-3 pieces in pots or cups with drainage holes, filled with a light nutrient soil of neutral reaction, planting the seeds in the soil to a depth of 5 mm. After planting, the pots are placed in a common tray, covered with glass or film, placed closer to the light and kept at a temperature of 20-24 ºC. As soon as after a week and a half the seeds germinate, the coating is removed and in the future they treat the soil with great care, since the Venidium seedlings get sick from excess moisture.
Seedlings develop quickly, it is not difficult to dive them, and pinching the tops of seedlings stimulates the formation of dense bushes.
Caring for flower seedlings in April
Watering seedlings
There is no need to water the soil until the seeds germinate, and both lack and excess of moisture are equally harmful to emerging seedlings.
Long-term waterlogging is especially dangerous - from it the seedling leaves turn yellow, the stems become brittle, and the roots rot, so the seedlings are watered regularly, but moderately, be sure to drain the excess water from the pan. Water for irrigation should be filtered or settled during the day, the temperature of irrigation water cannot be lower than the temperature in the room where the seedlings are grown. To moisten the soil, a spray gun is most often used so that the jet does not erode the soil and not expose the roots of the seedlings. Temperature
Seeds germinate in warmth, for this they need a temperature in the range of 18-22 ºC, but as soon as shoots appear, the temperature is lowered to 12-18 ºC so that the flower seedlings do not stretch too much. Seedlings at home are not always kept with optimal temperatures and lighting, since it is difficult to maintain the difference between day and night temperatures in an ordinary apartment. It is better to grow seedlings of flowers that are especially demanding for this condition not in an apartment, but in a greenhouse or on a glazed balcony.
Seedling picking
Seedlings picking when one or two true leaves are fully developed. Usually, seedlings are transplanted from a common box into separate pots in a soil mixture of the same composition as during the initial sowing. Try to remove seedlings for transplantation along with an earthen clod, and to make it easier to do this, water the soil well in the seedling box before the procedure. Seedlings are deepened when picking on cotyledon leaves, however, without covering them with earth. Long roots of seedlings are shortened when transplanted by a third of the length. After picking, cover the seedlings for several days from bright light.
There are types of flowers that do not tolerate picking very well, so they are sown not in a common container, but in separate dishes - pots, cups or peat tablets for seedlings.
Top dressing
The first time the seedlings are fed a week after picking, when they adapt to a new place. The second feeding can be carried out two weeks after the first.
The third, if necessary, is carried out before planting seedlings in open ground. Weak plant seedlings primarily need nitrogen, which is contained in urea and nitrate, however, when fertilizing, observe moderation, do not overfeed seedlings with nitrates, because in conditions of high humidity and temperature, seedlings that have received excess nitrogen will have problems rooting in open ground. The second and third feeding can be complete, that is, in addition to nitrogen, contain phosphorus and potassium. Choose fertilizers at your discretion: these can be ready-made preparations, such as Uniflor micro, Mortar, Nitrophoska, Kristallin, or water-soluble Kemira, or maybe a weak solution of mullein. If, despite all your efforts, the seedlings are still not growing well, try feeding them on the leaves with growth stimulants, while being sure to observe moderation in dosages.
When to plant seedlings outdoors
Ten days before planting seedlings in open ground, they begin to harden.
If you keep seedlings on the windowsill, open the window for a while so that the plants gradually get used to the fresh air. Every day, the time of the ventilation session is increased, but at first drafts should be prevented - flower seedlings grown at home or in greenhouse conditions are very afraid of them. It is best, of course, to take the seedlings to an unheated veranda or glazed balcony and keep them there until planting in the flower bed, opening the window during the day and gradually accustoming the seedlings to the temperature outside, to the bright sun and the breeze. Seedlings ready for planting in the ground should spend painlessly on a balcony with an open window for a whole day, provided that the temperature outside is not lower than 12 ºC.
When growing seedlings in a greenhouse, for the first time, in order for the seedlings to harden, the film is briefly opened, increasing the duration of the procedure daily, and then completely removed if weather conditions permit.
Learn more
- What flowers are sown for seedlings in April
- Marigolds
