Household Chrysanthemum Soil-free Cultivation Techniques
The editor will answer the introduction related to chrysanthemum, a plant of the Compositae family, the soil-free cultivation techniques for household chrysanthemums, let's learn about them together.
Chrysanthemum is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Chrysanthemum. It is erect or spreading, robust and branched, with a plant height of 40-150 cm, young branches are green or purplish-brown. The leaves are large, ovate to broadly lanceolate, with coarse sawtooth edges or deep lobes, base cuneate, petioled, with or without stipules.
Chrysanthemum leaves are one of the bases for identifying chrysanthemum varieties. The capitulum is 2-30 cm in diameter. Flower colors include white, pink, light purple, rose red, purple red to black red, egg yolk, yellow, brown yellow, brown red, as well as light green, red face with yellow back, red face with yellow back, and small flowers with two different colors in one inflorescence are called "color mixed".
Chrysanthemum is a cold-resistant flower, prefers cool climate and adequate sunlight, and grows best at 18-21°C. Except for summer chrysanthemums, most of them bloom in the golden autumn.
In the past, chrysanthemums were all cultivated in soil, now a new method of soil-free cultivation is introduced.
Use cutting propagation to raise seedlings. In mid-June, select a variety with a moderate plant type, suitable for commercial chrysanthemums, use its overwintering or spring planting seedlings as the mother plants, cut the upper full and disease-free tips as cuttings. The cuttings are 5-7 cm long, after picking, remove the base leaves, retain 2-3 small leaves, the cut is horseshoe-shaped, the seedbed uses vermiculite as the substrate, first disinfect with a 50% carbendazim wettable powder 500 times solution. The cutting depth is about 2 cm, with a plant spacing of about 3 cm. After inserting, spray with clean water, place the pot (or box) in a semi-underground seedbed, cover with plastic film and reed mat. Spray water once every 3-5 days after cutting, and transplant after about 20 days.
The inorganic nutrient elements needed to prepare the nutrient solution are: potassium nitrate 69%, superphosphate 18%, magnesium sulfate 9.7%, urea 1.4%, ferrous sulfate 0.69%, manganese sulfate 0.27%, phosphate 0.27%, anhydrous calcium chloride 0.067%, and zinc acetate 0.067%.
The total weight ratio of inorganic elements to water is 1:500 in the early stage (mid-July to early August), 1:300 in the middle stage (mid-August to mid-September), and 1:400 in the later stage (late September to mid-October), with a pH of 5 to 5.5. In early July, plant the chrysanthemum seedlings with intact roots into new flower pots with an inner diameter of 20 cm and a depth of 14 cm, using vermiculite as the substrate, and cover the bottom drainage holes with tiles.
After planting, spray water thoroughly with a spray pot, cover the top with plastic film to prevent rain, and shade with reed mat. Remove the plastic film and reed mat after 7-10 days of seedling establishment (if heavy rain occurs before mid-to-late August, cover with plastic film again), and start applying nutrient solution, once every 5 days, after each application, spray some clean water to prevent nutrient solution from staying on the leaves and causing damage.
Apply nutrient solution once every 3 days after the beginning of autumn, then change to once every 5 days after the buds appear, if it rains, apply nutrient solution in time. Due to the softness of the substrate, the chrysanthemum seedlings are prone to lodging, therefore, it is necessary to spray 800-1000 times B9 solution on the leaf surface 2-3 times in the early stage and when the seedlings are 10-15 cm tall, to prevent excessive growth.
Soil-free cultivation of chrysanthemums, from cutting to the initial blooming of flowers, only requires 110-130 days, and the seedlings have strong growth and high ornamental value. Moreover, compared to soil cultivation, it has lower labor intensity and is cleaner and more hygienic.
That is the specific introduction of soil-free cultivation techniques for household chrysanthemums, hoping to bring some flower knowledge to flower enthusiasts.