This adorable flower is grown at home and in the garden. In beauty, he is not inferior to a rose. It is not without reason that people call him the Japanese or Irish rose, the Texas bell. Another name is lisianthus (translated as a bitter flower), or eustoma. If before he was a rare guest in the country, now it is in demand among flower growers. If the plans for eustoma cultivation require the application of effort.
General information
The life span of room eustoma is small - up to 2 years. In the open ground of central Russia, it is grown as an annual crop. A novice will cope with growing an annual. In the southern regions, a flower is cultivated as a perennial.
Eustoma - Queen of the Garden
When breeding at the dacha site of eustoma, cultivation and care in the open ground will require experience from the grower. The slightest error provokes the death of a flower.
When buying seeds, the packaging indicates which type of crop can be obtained: one-year / two-year. Biennials are preferred by owners of greenhouses, as well as lovers of indoor flowers. When it is planned to grow perennial eustoma on an unprotected flower garden, the annual option is suitable for planting.
Eustoma in the greenhouse
Seeds of lisianthus resemble dust. When packaged, special substances are processed to stimulate plant growth. In addition, granules are more convenient to plant.
Germination of its planting material is low. The quality is compensated by the quantity - 1 g of seeds contains more than 20,000 of them. So that dense thickets do not appear in the box, and to avoid thinning, a dosage of the number of seeds is required.
To avoid problems with picking and removing excess shoots, peat glasses are used.
Seeding of seed material into the soil is not carried out, only scattering on the surface. Irrigate the earth with a spray with a small spray, otherwise the eustoma seeds will hide deep in the soil, seedlings will not appear.
If you are engaged in the cultivation of eustomas, planting and care will require:
- Selection of a suitable place: partial shade or shadow.
- Prevention of the landing of lisianthus in objects that reflect sunlight on it.
- The distance between the seedlings is from 20 cm.
- Avoidance of increased humidity and intensive moisturizing. It is forbidden to plant a flower under a ledge of a roof or a stock groove, where water will stagnate when it rains.
- Moisture permeability of garden soil and neutral pH. Wood ash, which is introduced into the wells, regulates the acidity of the soil.
- Nitrofoski or flower dressing from the store in seedling pits.
It prolongs the life of lisianthus and its flowering container landing. Different dishes are appropriate for her: tubs, flowerpots.
Planting eustoma in containers
If it’s warm outside, keep the crops outdoors. The cold is approaching, it's time to bring flowers into the house. Flowering still lasts, but becomes modest.
The rhizome of eustoma allows preserving container technology in the winter. She will provide in the spring planting on the flower garden with new sprouts. The imperfection of the method lies in the weakening of flowering.
Optimal place
For eustomas, they choose a place that protects from drafts and wind. The plant likes a shaded flower garden on the east or west side of the beds. Eustoma does not like the scorching sun.
For a flower, soil is preferable:
- dug up, without lumps;
- breathable;
- fertile;
- moistened in moderation.
Step-by-step landing process
Seedlings are planted on the flower garden in the last decade of May. The main condition is the presence of 4 to 8 leaves. Planting a flower in the ground is accompanied by rapid growth.
When planting an eustoma, follow the step by step guide:
- choose evening hours for disembarkation;
- transplanted seedlings with an earthen lump, moving to a hole, filled with fertile soil;
- planted to a depth that does not exceed when grown in a pot;
- each plantation is covered with a can or bottle in order to protect it from temperature extremes.
Reproduction of eustoma
For summer residents it is important to know how to grow eustoma.
Cuttings
Eustoma is not propagated by cuttings - they do not take root in the ground.
On a note. Dishonest sellers sometimes offer lisianthus tubers or rhizomes, in addition they call a variety. Propagation of a plant that does not belong to the bulb is carried out only by seed.
Damaged roots - the cause of death of eustoma. Attempts by breeders to remove curly lisianthus were unsuccessful. When acquiring a grown flower, focus on the appearance and buds.
Seed cultivation
To breed eustoma from seeds, you need high-quality planting material. Seeds are harvested from varietal individuals. Hybrids are not suitable - the properties of the mother bush are not transmitted to seedlings. The collection of small seed is carried out carefully. They begin to manipulate after the seed box has dried.
Reliable eustoma dilution method
The right time for sowing seeds is winter. When the first shoots sprout, after 15-20 weeks, flowering of eustoma occurs.
Sow the seed in a container filled with a moist substrate. Mix sand and peat in equal proportions. Sprinkle seeds on the ground, gently pressing with your fingers. Cover the container with a sheet of glass or polyethylene. They put in a warm room with a temperature regime of at least +19 ° C.
Spraying the soil is carried out with a spray gun. Seeds germinate after a couple of weeks if they comply with the requirements for the care of seedlings. Seedlings are placed in a lighted place.
In case of poor development, it is advisable to pierce the granules with a thin needle before disembarkation. Shelter is not immediately removed, little by little seedlings are opened to adapt to the external environment. Transplant sprouts spend an average of 3-5 pcs. into the container after 1.5-2 months, their height is at least 10 cm.
Additional Information. Growing seedlings using the solyanka method means planting in Jeffy peat tablets. Used for energy growth (1 drop per 1 liter of water), a solution of calcium nitrate, Zircon, Uniflor vitamin cocktail: B2, 6, 12.
Eustoma Care
Watering mode
To moisturize just right, lukewarm, settled water. Irrigate a little dry soil. Systematically loosen the earth to destroy weeds and improve oxygen saturation of the soil.
Watering eustoma
Eustoma needs regular watering, but an oversupply is not allowed. Excess moisture and stagnation is much more dangerous than drying. A short-term arid process will do without consequences, the flower will recover. Stagnation of the fluid is fraught with rotting of the root system and death.
Top dressing
Gardeners are interested in how to feed the eustoma so that it grows and develops well. Lisianthus is fed from 10-14 days after planting in the soil. With active growth, the flower is fed every 2 weeks. The plant needs top dressing at the budding stage or at the flowering stage.
Attention! Water-soluble fertilizers are used to feed eustomas.
Fertilizers for flower
A month after planting the flower in unprotected soil, the time comes for fertilizing. For the first time, fertilize plants with nitrogen to stimulate an increase in green mass. When budding and flowering, lisianthus needs phosphorus-containing recharge for flowering crops, which are introduced at the height of the summer season.
During flowering
The plant will need nutrition additionally in the phase of active growth. With the growth of greenery, the need for organic and nitrogen fertilizers increases. In the formation of buds and the dissolution of flowers, phosphorus and potassium fertilizing will benefit. Luxurious flowering will provide Kemira Suite, Fertika, Plantifol Budonization.
Tip. Experienced summer residents are advised to reduce the concentration of fertilizing, compared with that indicated on the package.
Topsin and Topaz insecticides are used to protect the flower bed from powdery mildew and other diseases.
How to fight diseases
To moisturize, you need soft water. The required supply for consumption is easy to create.
For bushiness, pinching of tall eustoma bushes is carried out.
On the flowerbed look perfectly tall varieties that need support during the flowering period. It is difficult for a long peduncle to cope with the load, which is increasing.
Wilted buds are periodically eliminated. This decorative measure stimulates the formation of new inflorescences. Cutting eustoma into bouquets does not mean the cessation of flowering - after a month and a half, the plant will delight with new buds.
The appearance of flowers that have blossomed is determined by the variety. They also vary:
- dimensions;
- form;
- color;
- flowering period.
Flowering of lisianthus occurs depending on the time of sowing seed material for seedlings and planting in unprotected soil. Eustoma usually blooms in the second decade of July - August. She will delight in flowers until the end of October. Blooming lisianthus is not a hindrance - early frosts in autumn.
Tip. When the culture fades early and does not grow buds, they are freed from wilted flowers and feed the plant. After 1-1.5 months, they expect re-flowering.
The flower is exposed to various diseases, including fungal infections. Often a spider mite, whitefly affects a flower. For preventive purposes, flower bushes are sprayed 2 or 3 times during the growing season. Perhaps the simultaneous use of several drugs from various parasites.
During rest
The end of flowering marks a dormant period in the life of the plant. Pruning is carried out at home varieties of eustoma, transferring the pot to a cooler room, where the temperature is at most 15 ° C. There is a reduction in the frequency of hydration to 1 time per month, it is recommended to make a suspension in the application of fertilizers.
Important! With the onset of the spring season, when the first green branches are formed, the crops are transplanted into a new soil and the frequency of watering is increased.
To increase the duration of flowering garden lisianthus, competently caring for the plant. An adult is transplanted into a container and taken out for storage on a loggia or put up on a window. Reception allows a certain time to enjoy the delights of delicate buds.
Each culture needs to rest in order to feed energy and strength for a new life cycle. If the flowers fade, the foliage turns yellow, this is a signal to prune vegetation at a height of 2-3 internodes. The measure will prevent the depletion and death of eustoma. The flower is kept in cool until spring arrives.
Winter preparations
Before freezing, lisianthus is transferred to a large container and brought into storage. If it is impossible to carry out the manipulation, the flower is covered. The plant will survive such a wintering only in the southern regions, where the climate is characterized by softness. Because eustoma is often grown as an annual. The annual planting of new crops is preferable - gradually there is a loss of branching by the bush and a decrease in the number of buds.
Growing eustoma in Siberia
When eustoma is found in the garden, cultivation and care in Siberia begins in the fall with seeding for seedlings. The technology for producing seedlings is similar to conventional. If seedlings grow in winter, additional lighting will be required. Pickling seedlings is carried out after the growth of the second leaf.
Dive eustoma seedlings
Important! Small containers are used, where 3 seedlings are placed. Cassettes are covered with a film.
If eustoma in the Urals, cultivation involves an adaptation period during which hydration is enhanced. Then sprinkle a couple of lower leaves with soil. When spring comes, seedlings will need replanting into a wider bowl with drainage. Transplantation is suitable for moving the root. The onset of heat is the time to plant eustoma in unprotected soil in the conditions of the Siberian climate.
Compliance with agricultural requirements and tricks when growing and caring for eustoma will allow you to enjoy the beauty of an amazing flower. That is why it is so important not to make mistakes. The garden will delight for a long time with its fragrance.
