Cultivation, Propagation, and Precautions of Four O'clock Flower
Main Content Introduction: Topics related to the propagation of Four O'clock Flower, including its cultivation, propagation, and precautions. The following article will provide you with detailed answers.
Four O'clock Flower can be propagated by spring sowing or self-sowing, usually by seed. Using small nuts as the sowing material, it can be sown in open ground around mid to late April (Z-B), with an optimal germination temperature of 15°C to 20°C, and it germinates in about 7 to 8 days. As it belongs to deep-rooted flowers, it is not suitable to transplant after sowing in open ground seedbeds. If conditions allow, it can be sown in pots with an inner diameter of 10 centimeters, and then transplanted after the seedlings have grown. Seed propagation should be carried out from March to April, transplanting when the seedlings have 2 to 4 leaves, with a spacing of 50 to 80 centimeters. After transplanting, provide shade. The management of Four O'clock Flower is relaxed, easy to grow, and only requires proper fertilizing and watering. Four O'clock Flower is pollinated by wind, and different varieties easily hybridize. If you want to maintain the characteristics of a variety, you should isolate the cultivation.
The cultivation and management of Four O'clock Flower is simple, with sowing in early spring and flowering and fruiting in summer and autumn. It is tolerant to transplantation, grows fast, and is robust. In the south of the Yangtze River, it is cultivated as a perennial. In the north, it is often cultivated as an annual, or the old roots are dug up at the end of autumn and stored in a 5°C room to overwinter, then planted in open ground the following spring, still blooming in the afternoon until the next morning. Four O'clock Flower is strong and adaptable, with relaxed maintenance and management.
Points to consider in cultivation:
① Propagation. Four O'clock Flower is commonly propagated by seed, which can be sown in open ground in spring (Z-B). After the seedlings emerge, thinning is necessary; it can also be seedlings first, then transplanted when the seedlings have 3 to 4 true leaves, with a spacing of about 50 centimeters. After transplanting, provide appropriate shade and watering.
② Maintenance Management. Four O'clock Flower is easy to grow and requires relaxed maintenance, with proper fertilizing and watering during the growing period.
③ Collecting Seeds. As Four O'clock Flower is pollinated by wind, varieties easily hybridize. To ensure that the harvested seeds maintain good characteristics, different varieties should be isolated in cultivation.
Four O'clock Flower prefers warm climates and requires loose, fertile, deep, and humus-rich loamy soil or sandy loam. The daily management of Four O'clock Flower is relatively simple, with some water sprayed in the evening on sunny days and稀薄 fertilization once or twice a week in the evening, which is beneficial for normal growth. There are fewer diseases and pests, and aphids are prone to appear in dry weather. Keeping the humidity can prevent aphids. Cultivated in flower gardens and courtyards, no diseases or pests have been found for many years. The daily management is relatively simple, with some water sprayed in the evening on sunny days and稀薄 fertilization once or twice a week in the evening, which is beneficial for normal growth. Cultivated in flower gardens and courtyards, no diseases or pests have been found for many years.
The root of Four O'clock Flower is a brown tuber, resembling a rock, and is a good material for tree-stump盆景. The tuber of Four O'clock Flower will continue to expand every year and can grow to a diameter of about 10 centimeters in 3 years, and can be cultivated for decades. With the increase of cultivation time, the tuber becomes more robust. Attention should be paid to overwintering and planting in cultivation. Four O'clock Flower can overwinter in the open ground in the south of the Yangtze River. In the north, the roots should be dug up at the end of autumn and buried in moist soil in a pot, placed indoors, and then planted in the spring. Plant 1/4 of the bottom of the Four O'clock Flower root in a shallow pot, leaving the rest exposed, and it will root, grow, and bloom under normal maintenance management.
The above is a comprehensive introduction to the cultivation, propagation, and precautions of Four O'clock Flower, hoping to bring some knowledge about green plants to green plant enthusiasts.