How to Cultivate Dragon珠 Flower for Abundant Blooming
For most people, understanding how to cultivate Dragon珠 flowers for abundant blooming and the detailed cultivation methods will definitely bring you help. Let's learn about it together!
Dragon珠 flowers belong to the genus Clerodendrum of the Verbena family, are灌木 plants that prefer warm, humid, and semi-shaded environments with plenty of sunlight, and are not cold-resistant. They are distributed in tropical West Africa and Mexico, with unique flower shapes and abundant blooming. They are mainly cultivated in greenhouses for ornamental purposes, can be used for flower trellises, and also as potted plants to decorate windowsills and small courtyards in summer. Let's take a look at how to cultivate Dragon珠 flowers well together!
Growth and Distribution of Dragon珠 Flowers
Dragon珠 flowers prefer warm, humid, and semi-shaded environments with plenty of sunlight and are not cold-resistant. The suitable growth temperature from February to October is 18-30°C, and from October to the following February is 13-16°C. The winter temperature should not be lower than 8°C, as temperatures below 5°C can easily cause frost damage, leading to leaf drop or even the withering of tender stems. During the vegetative growth period, the temperature can be higher, even above 30°C, as long as there is sufficient water supply for normal growth. For reproductive growth, or the flowering period, a lower temperature is preferable, around 17°C.
Propagation Methods of Dragon珠 Flowers
1. Cutting: Dragon珠 cutting is usually done from May to June each year, where healthy and disease-free terminal tender branches or 8-10 cm stem segments from the lower part of old branches can be used as cuttings. The cutting bed can use substrates such as peat, perlite, decomposed leaf soil, river sand, and vermiculite, with spring and autumn being the best times for cutting. The suitable temperature for cutting is 21°C, and the bed temperature should be 26°C, which is very beneficial for root formation, and roots can be formed within 3 weeks.
2. Seed Sowing: Dragon珠 flower seeds have a short lifespan and should be sown immediately after harvesting. Sowing can be done in shallow trays from March to April, maintaining a temperature of 24°C. Seedlings can emerge within 10 days, and when they reach 10 cm in height, they can be transplanted into new pots. They can bloom in the second year. The seed sowing method is not easy to survive, so it is recommended to use the cutting method for propagation.
How to Cultivate Dragon珠 Flowers Well?
1. Potting: Potted Dragon珠 usually uses 12-15 cm pots, with 3 plants per pot. Generally, pots are changed every 1-2 years, either in early spring or after flowering. When potting, first place broken tiles over the drainage holes, then add a small amount of bone meal as a base fertilizer, followed by new culture soil (4 parts decomposed soil, 4 parts garden soil, 2 parts sandy soil), plant the seedlings, leaving a 2-3 cm margin for fertilization and watering. After potting, water thoroughly and place in a shaded area to acclimate, then move to a sunny area for maintenance after acclimatization.
2. Watering: Dragon珠 is sensitive to water and requires abundant water during the growing period. Keep the soil moist during the stem and leaf growth period, but do not overwater. Excessive water can lead to only vines growing without flowers, or even yellowing and falling leaves, root rot, and plant death. If the branches wither, stop watering and let it recover to sprout new leaves. During the hot summer season, water sufficiently and provide appropriate shading. Reduce watering in winter to allow the plant to enter dormancy for safe overwintering.
3. Light: Dragon珠 requires abundant light in winter and should be shaded during very hot summer weather, or else the leaves will turn yellow. Insufficient light can cause vine growth without flowering. Flower bud differentiation is not affected by the photoperiod, but strong light can promote flower bud differentiation and development. It is not suitable to keep the plant in the dark for too long; at temperatures above 21°C, if kept in the dark for more than 24 hours, the flowers will fall.
4. Soil: Potted Dragon珠 uses culture soil or a mixture of peat soil and coarse sand. Use fertile, loose, and well-drained sandy loam soil.
5. Fertilization: Do not fertilize Dragon珠 too much, fertilize once every half month, add 1-2 times of phosphorus-potassium fertilizer during the flowering season, apply 1 time of diluted cake fertilizer water every 7-10 days for 3-4 times, and reduce watering and stop fertilizing in winter. If yellowing is observed during cultivation, additional fertilizer with 0.2% ferrous sulfate solution can be applied, which will gradually turn the leaves from yellow to green.
6. Pruning: After potting cuttings or seedlings, when they grow to 15 cm, cut the branches 10 cm away from the pot opening to promote the growth of robust new branches. During the growing period, strictly control the height of branches, pay attention to topping and pinching to ensure even branching and abundant flowering. Half a month after topping, apply paclobutrazol or chlormequat to control plant height, achieving矮 plants with dense leaves and many flowers.
The above-sharing of how to cultivate Dragon珠 flowers for abundant blooming and detailed cultivation methods hope to bring you some help after reading this article!