When to plant the勋章菊
The editor answers questions for netizens about when to plant勋章菊 and related topics such as the sowing time and methods for growing flowers, as follows:
Chrysanthemums have always been a highly regarded variety of flowers in Chinese traditional culture, especially favored by ancient scholars and literati. In today's flower cultivation community, chrysanthemums also occupy a very important position. As one of the most exquisite and beautiful varieties of chrysanthemums,勋章菊 is also favored by many flower enthusiasts. The center of the勋章菊 petals has a distinct dark flower heart, forming a sharp contrast with the petal color, resembling a medal, hence the name勋章菊. However, in Africa,勋章菊 is also called the African sunflower. The main propagation methods for勋章菊 include sowing, cutting, and dividing, with sowing being the most suitable for home use.
The sowing process of勋章菊 is relatively simple, and the survival rate is high. Generally, seedlings can emerge within three days of sowing, and flowers can start blooming in three months. Flowers can bloom in the same year they are planted, which is the biggest advantage of sowing勋章菊. Today, AYong will tell you about the detailed steps for sowing勋章菊, focusing on six key points for fast germination and high survival rates.
Sowing time for勋章菊
Sunflower can be sown in spring, summer, and autumn, but to improve the germination rate of the seeds and considering the limitations of home care for勋章菊, it is usually best to sow when the temperature is around 20 degrees.
If we use a constant temperature box for planting, the sowing time can be more flexible. However, if we are sowing勋章菊 in a regular home environment, it is best to choose April in spring or September in autumn, with April being the most recommended by AYong. Sowing at this time allows勋章菊 to start flowering around July, while sowing in September means flowering will have to wait until the following year. In any case, we should sow勋章菊 when the temperature is stable at around 20 degrees.
Screening seeds to improve germination rate
Sunflower seeds vary in size depending on their source. If we collect the seeds ourselves, there are 500 to 600 seeds per gram, which are relatively small in volume. If we buy seeds online, they are larger due to a coating, but this coating prevents us from directly seeing the seeds, making it impossible to accurately judge their quality. Therefore, today we will focus on the sowing method for self-collected勋章菊 seeds.
Before sowing, it is necessary to roughly screen the seeds, selecting the plump ones and removing the shrunken, damaged, dull, or hollow seeds, especially the hollow ones, as they have lost the embryonic structure for germination and should be discarded.
Tip: When screening勋章菊 seeds, we can gently blow on them. Hollow seeds, being lighter, will be blown away first. However, be careful not to blow too hard at once; gradually increase the force to screen out the hollow seeds.
When to plant the勋章菊
Prepare well-draining acidic soil and choose the right pot
Pot: The root growth of勋章菊 is strong, and the growth rate is relatively fast. Therefore, when sowing勋章菊, we should not use too shallow or too small pots. However, if the pot is too large, it can easily cause waterlogging in the soil. So, we should choose the size of the pot based on the number of seeds we are sowing, maintaining an average growth area of about 5 square centimeters per seedling, with a pot depth of 5 to 10 centimeters. The material of the pot should be permeable and breathable, and there should be drainage holes at the bottom.
Sow in moist soil and cover with a thin layer of soil
Sunflower seedlings emerge quickly, so soil disinfection can be done or not. Of course, if possible, it is still best to give the soil a general disinfection treatment, which can make the root growth environment of勋章菊 cleaner and stronger, simplifying later care.
1. Before sowing勋章菊, use a spray bottle to moisten the soil, making sure the humidity is slightly higher but uniform. You can also water the soil thoroughly and then let it dry for 1-2 hours before sowing勋章菊.
2. When sowing勋章菊, make sure not to spread the seeds too densely. Each sowing position can have 1-2 seeds, with a distance of about 5 centimeters between each position.
3. After sowing, cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil. However, since勋章菊 seeds are small, if the soil layer is too thick, it will severely hinder the germination of the seeds. If there is no soil covering, the seeds may dehydrate and wither, also affecting the rooting efficiency. Therefore, the soil layer should be kept between 0.5 to 1 centimeter.