Combination Potting Plant Creation and Maintenance
About the related contents of this family's flower cultivation, such as the creation and maintenance of combination potting plants, if there are any mistakes, please correct them!
Some flower enthusiasts are no longer satisfied with single plant cultivation and want to learn about combination potting plant creation and maintenance. As the name implies, combination potting plants, also known as mixed planting, are ornamental pot plants where different plants are freely combined according to one's aesthetic standards and planted in the same flower container. They are characterized by rich colors, long ornamental periods, and being full of fun.
I. Basic Principles of Combination Potting Plant Creation
1. Similar Characteristics Principle: Different plants in the mixed pot must have the same cold and heat resistance, the same lighting and water-fertilizer requirements. For example, when doing outdoor mixing in winter, the selected planting materials must all be cold-resistant, because it is impossible to take various insulation measures for one plant that is easily frozen; and when doing outdoor mixing in summer, it is necessary to choose plants that are sun and heat-resistant, of course, you can also choose shade-tolerant plants to create a mixed pot plant placed in a shaded area.
2. Color Harmony Principle: Generally speaking, the natural color combinations in nature do not exist harmoniously, but we need to make some choices when doing artificial combinations. It is best to determine a theme color when making a mixed pot, for example, in the cold winter, red or black-leaved ornamental grasses and plants with orange-red flowers are good choices, and in summer, it is recommended to use bright and clear light colors.
3. Orderly Disarray Principle: No one wants to appreciate a stagnant pot plant; the best pot plants should have high, medium, and low parts, and even parts that hang down. For example, the highest part can use upright dwarf shrubs, dwarf small trees, etc., use different heights of flowering plants for the medium and low parts, and use vine-type plants for the hanging parts.
II. Seasonal Choices for Combination Potting Plant Creation
A year is divided into four seasons, but due to the climate in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the northern regions, there are only spring and winter seasons suitable for growing combination potting plants. Of course, in places with suitable climatic conditions, you can create mixed pots whenever you want.
1. Spring
It is suitable to use grass flowers with high water requirements, long flowering periods, and sun resistance, combined with colorful ornamental leaf plants.
Plant material recommendations:
Upper layer - dwarf purple-leaf banana, colorful千年木, various dracaena, fragrant wood, dahlia, salvia
Middle layer - upright geranium, various dwarf petunias, million bells, colorful leaf grass, marguerite, periwinkle
Bottom layer -四季 begonia, violate, pansy, tufted福禄考, sweet peas, sweet alyssum, hylotelephium, mondo grass
Hanging - six times profit, golden菊花, ivy, false jasmine, beauty cherry, thousand-leafed spider plant, wandering Jew, epipremnum aureum
2. Winter
Suitable for using plants with rich colors or plants with winter charm. It should be noted that many winter crops have flowering periods in spring, so space for growth and flowering should be reserved. Usually, we recommend bulbous plants. When using bulbous plants, the surface of the pot should not be planted with plants that are too tall and have strong roots, both to reserve space for bulb germination and because the flower stems of bulbs will also elongate, and plants that are planted too high in advance will become eye-catching.
Plant material recommendations:
Interplanted bulbs - narcissus, tulip, hyacinth, saffron, grape hyacinth, netted iris
Surface flowers - pansy, violet, European primrose, cyclamen, silver leaf菊, hylotelephium
III. Daily Maintenance of Combination Potting Plants
1. Planting Material
Since the mixed pot plants are planted with a variety of plants and in large quantities, the fertility of the planting material must be sufficient. Of course, the soil should be breathable and well-draining. Mixed pot plants in spring and summer can use planting materials with slightly higher water retention capacity because of the high water evaporation rate, which can be a mixture of peat, perlite, vermiculite, and coconut bran in certain proportions. Flower enthusiasts with conditions can also purchase some large-particle succulent planting materials such as red jade soil. One very important point is that when using large pots, pot bottom stones must be placed at the bottom to promote drainage and prevent root rot, as well as to provide ventilation and air permeability.
2. Fertilizer
Enough base fertilizer must be applied, in addition to the organic fertilizers mixed with the planting material, we generally recommend using slow-release fertilizers, which have long-term effects and are clean. Of course, it would be best to apply a soluble thin fertilizer every two weeks during the growing period.
3. Light
Often you can hear flower enthusiasts say: "I have plenty of light at home, my flowers are in the sun every day!" and so on. But if you ask more, you will find that what the flower enthusiasts call "plenty of light" is through a glass window. Indeed, for people, the light is very strong, but for plants, the light passing through glass windows is often not enough, and many glass windows can even filter out more than half of the visible light. Therefore, for some flower enthusiasts with enclosed balconies, choosing plants that are not very sensitive to light is wise. For other flower enthusiasts with conditions, unless you choose shade-tolerant plants, try to let your potted plants bask in unobstructed direct sunlight in spring, autumn, and winter, especially in winter.
4. Water
Do not listen to some statements like "water once every three days" or "water once a week"; at any time, water should be given when needed. Mixed pot plants in spring and summer have many plants and consume water quickly; when the temperature reaches above 20 degrees Celsius, usually 1-2 times of watering is needed every day under sunny conditions, and no watering is needed for outdoor potted plants on rainy days. In winter, the temperature is low, and water consumption is slow, so please be careful when watering. Pay attention to ventilation and avoid rain during the plum rain season.
5. Temperature
When the temperature exceeds 35 degrees Celsius in summer, the fierce sun is no longer welcome, except for a few types of potted plants that can continue to be exposed to the sun, most plants should be properly shaded between 11 am and 4 pm. In winter, mixed pot plants usually choose more cold-resistant plants, and there is basically no big problem as long as the weather does not drop below zero.
6. Pruning
Many flower enthusiasts overlook the issue of pruning and often can't bear to cut or don't know how to cut. In fact, the pruning I am talking about can only target withered flowers and leaves. Sayings like "turning into dust" are not applicable to potted plants and small gardens. Withered flowers and leaves contain a lot of bacteria and eggs, and leaving them in the pot can bring plant diseases and pests that you would never dare to imagine. Therefore, do not hesitate, pick up the scissors and prune boldly. Once plants bear fruit, they often stop or slow down flowering, pruning withered flowers not only helps prevent and control diseases and pests but also promotes the growth of new flower buds, extending the flowering period. Also, some flower enthusiasts say they want to keep seeds to plant next year, and what I want to say is that many ornamental flower seedlings are grown from F1 generation seeds, and using them for propagation will cause severe degeneration, so if you want to keep seeds, please wait until the end of the flowering period.
7. Seasonal Change
After all, there are few flowering plants that can be enjoyed all year round, and after we make spring pot plants, many spring flowering plants have passed their flowering period by June, so it is necessary to selectively replace the grass flowers to extend the overall ornamental period of the mixed pot plants.
Above is the detailed introduction of combination potting plant creation and maintenance (flower enthusiast version), have you understood it?