Growing Platycodon from seeds and caring for a flower

Having planted platycodon on the site, you can add a whole range of pink, purple, white shades to the color palette. For the normal development and growth of flowers, it is necessary to provide optimal conditions. Breeding methods, planting and caring for plants, all this knowledge will help beginners grow a beautiful, colorful carpet.

Brief description and recommended varieties

The perennial plant belongs to the bellflower family. Breeders have bred varieties, the flowers of which, in addition to the main color, have bright streaks of other shades. The plant will successfully decorate both the home interior and the personal plot. The basic operations for growing flowers do not change.

Dwarf varieties are popular among amateur flower growers, the maximum length of such a bush is up to 250 mm. The plant is self-pollinated, so when you grow different varieties together in the future, you will get new colors in the colorful carpet of the flower garden, without additional plantings. If it is important to preserve a particular variety, such flowers will need to be isolated from neighbors by planting a barrier of low-growing shrubs.

The plant is able to withstand frosty winters, but only under a cover of snow. Therefore, as a safety net, it is worth covering the Platicodon for the winter. Flowers will decorate your flower garden for 6-7 seasons, then you will need to prepare and grow seedlings from seeds and move them to open ground.

Important! Platicodon is sensitive to the growing regime, so it is important to know and follow the recommendations for flower care.

Flowers appear on the bushes in the second half of June, they grow on the tops of the shoots. The flower buds grow on short, flexible stems that bend downward under their own weight. Flowering time - 50-60 days

The varieties recommended by experienced gardeners:

• from tall plants, it is better to purchase Fuji blue seeds. These are narrow but dense bushes, up to 700 mm high. Large flowers are painted in pale blue;
• if you need flowers with delicate white or pink petals, you should purchase Fuji white and Fuji pink;
• to get beautiful double corollas of blue and white shades, you need to choose Hakone Blue or White;
• if the flower bed lacks moderately lush, semi-double blue or white flowers, it is better to give preference to the Astra variety;
• when deciding to plant a dwarf species, you should pay attention to the variety with the pale blue flowers of Sentimental blue.

Advice! When going to the store for seeds, be sure to follow the rules for choosing seed material: do not pursue cheapness, buy goods only from trusted sellers or in specialized garden supermarkets.

Growing technology from seeds

Platycodon is settled in two ways. The main one is using seed. The vegetative method is used, but young cuttings are capricious, quickly rot when the humidity rises.

Perennial seeds can be sown directly to the garden bed. But it is better to start work in early spring (from mid-March) and grow seedlings:

1. Preparing landing boxes. To do this, we disinfect them and pour a little expanded clay or sand on the bottom to drain the soil.
2. We prepare the soil: we mix turf and sand in equal proportions and fall asleep in a container.
3. We carry out the stratification of seed material. This is an optional cold treatment of seeds, but it increases the germination and survival rate of Platicodon sprouts.
4. We make rows and evenly distribute seeds in them. There is no need to fill it up with soil, just crush the soil and water it.
5. We wrap the landing boxes in a bag or covering material, or put a transparent lid on top.
6. We put it in a well-lit, warm place, but we try to prevent direct sunlight from falling on future seedlings.
7. After the first shoots appear, remove the bag or cover.
8. When three real leaves grow, we pick the seedlings and transplant the shoots into separate containers. The minimum diameter of glasses is 100 mm. In each container in the bottom we make holes for the drain of excess water.

The optimum air temperature in a room with seedlings is + 20-23 ° C. The soil should always be moist and loose, with such care, in 17-20 days the sprouts will be ready to move into open ground. Before that, we must temper the seedlings, taking them outside and lowering the temperature to +16.

Usually, seeds are not sown immediately on a prepared bed: such plantings develop slowly, budding begins only in the second year. If, nevertheless, this method is chosen, then the work is carried out in the pre-winter period. We plant the seeds in place, without embedding them deeply into the soil. Cover the top with earth from a compost pit or cover it with peat. The thickness of the protective layer is 20-30 mm. Sprouts appear only in May.

Seat selection

Platycodon does not like direct sunlight, so we use an area with diffused light or in partial shade to plant it. It is not recommended to use places with drafts or constantly blowing winds.

In terms of composition, the best option is loam, rich in trace elements and mineral fertilizers. Be sure to equip a drainage layer of broken brick or expanded clay.

Advice! Soil with insufficient nutrition will need to be constantly fertilized with mineral or complex fertilizers.

Planting seedlings

In mid-May, we begin to move the seedlings into open ground. And first of all, we choose the best place on the site. Platicodon will develop within 6-7 years, and it is not worth replanting: rooted bushes are extremely difficult to tolerate this procedure.

Next, we move the seedlings:

1. Before freeing the sprouts from the dishes, be sure to water the soil abundantly so that the lump does not crumble. In this case, the roots will not be damaged during further work.
2. For each seedling, we make separate holes and add 1 tbsp. l. ready-made complex fertilizer mixed with wood ash. The distance between flowers is 15-20 cm.
3. Fill the holes with water. Then we install seedlings in them and carefully, so as not to damage the roots, cover them with a layer of turf soil.
4. The upper 4-5 cm of the hole is covered with a layer of mulch from the bark of deciduous trees, peat or old sawdust. It is not recommended to use fresh sawdust; they will suck nitrogen out of the soil.

The work is easy, does not require effort and time, but it is important to do it carefully and carefully.

Care

To create optimal conditions for the growth and development of bushes, it is important to take a responsible attitude to the performance of basic plant care.

Watering. During the first 14 days after planting, be sure to water the platycodon with a small amount of warm water, after which we must loosen and add a layer of mulch. In the future, frequent watering is harmful to plants, therefore, during a rainy summer, it is not necessary to moisten the bushes. The main thing is to observe the basic rule: the ground under the bushes should be constantly loose and moist, but not wet.

Top dressing. During flowering, be sure to add nutrients several times, alternating ready-made potash-phosphorus complex fertilizers with the addition of humus and organic matter. If very tall bushes are not required, we add special agents to watering - inhibitors that prevent strong growth. We closely monitor the condition of the bushes and flowers.

Wintering. For the development and preservation of flowers, it is important to properly prepare them for frost. To create normal conditions, it is important to know and observe a few points: pruning and covering:

1. In the pre-winter period, even before the onset of the first frost, we cut and remove all the foliage and shoots of the bush. We should only have the platycodon root system.
2. Then we cover the roots with fallen leaves, straw or peat. Mice can settle in straw and foliage and damage plant roots. Therefore, it is recommended to fill the hole with peat, which will subsequently be used as a layer of mulch. Also, pre-prepared boxes are suitable as a shelter.

Protection against diseases and pests. Platycodon is not afraid of garden diseases in our latitudes. The only thing that threatens him is gray rot during a wet period and in case of violation of watering rules. The solution is simple. To do this, it is enough to loosen the soil, refuse moisture and add a layer of mulch. In case of severe damage, we treat the bushes with a solution of "Fundazol", copper sulphate or another fungicide.

Among the pests, we single out moles and mice. These rodents damage the root system, and the bushes dry out. If we are dealing with mice, it is enough to scatter the poisoned grain or put several mousetraps. Moles are harder to fight. Experienced gardeners recommend setting traps in their moves, using electronic means of protection.

The work on growing seedlings from seeds, planting platycodon bushes in open ground and caring for plants will not require much time and effort. The main thing is to know and follow the basic recommendations. As a reward, we receive a colorful, bright carpet of lilac, blue, pink flowers that can decorate any flower garden.