Everything you need to know for growing platicodone

Platicodone (Chinese bell, wide bell) - a long-term representative of the bell family. Flowers are loved by many gardeners with their grace.

In order to bring newness and freshness to the design of their site, many gardeners want to learn how to properly care for platicodon flowers.

Growing platicodone through seedlings

Platicodone is quite suitable for growing from seed to seedlings, even beginner growers.

Terms for sowing seedlings

It is often practiced to sow the seeds of a crop right in the open ground, in spring or in the winter, but it is safer to grow seedlings anyway. The optimal time when you can plant platicodone seeds will be the second half of February - the first half of March.

Presowing seed treatment

In order to prepare the planting material, you need to pour it into a gauze bag and put it in a bowl of water, leave it for two days. During this time, the contents of the bag swell. After this, the platicodone for sowing is ready.

Soil and capacity for seedlings

For growing seedlings of culture suitable universal soil mixtures for flowering plants. They consist of humus, peat and sand mixed in equal parts. Before laying the seeds, the ground must be loosened.

You can use boxes for planting, wide pots, special containers for seedlings and other suitable containers.

Platicodone sowing for seedlings

Experts recommend 2 methods of sowing platicodone for seedlings:

• placement of seeds directly on the soil surface;
• embedding seeds into the ground to a depth of 4-5 mm, after which they should be lightly sprinkled with sand.

Both of these methods are acceptable for propagating platicodone.

Care and conditions for crops

After sowing, the soil must be carefully sprayed with distilled water at room temperature. Then moisten the soil as needed when the top layer is completely dry. The containers with platicodone are covered with a film and taken to a warm room (air temperature is 20-23 ° C). Shoots will appear in 10-15 days.

Care for seedlings of platicodone

Shelter is removed from crops as soon as the first shoots appear, and the temperature is reduced to + 18-21 ° C. After each spraying, the ground in the tank must be loosened. When the seedlings appear on 3-4 leaves, they can dive into separate pots (diameter - about 10 mm), in which the seedlings are located before planting in open ground.

Planting of seedlings of platycodone in open ground

Before planting seedlings of platicodone, it is necessary to become familiar with the features of this process.

Terms for planting seedlings in the ground

Platicodone is planted in open ground in the second half of May - the first half of June.

Choosing a landing site

The plant prefers lit areas, but feels good in partial shade. The soil for platycodone should be fertile, loose, without excess moisture and close groundwater, well drained. The best option would be loam mixed with sand, neutral acidity.

Before planting, a flower bed needs to be dug up and added for every square meter of soil 1 tbsp. l mineral complex fertilizer and 100-150 g of wood ash.

Planting seedlings on the site

Planting seedlings of platicodone is carried out in the following order:

1. Dig the required number of holes a little larger volume than the capacity of seedlings.
2. Seedlings abundantly watered.
3. Ground lump is carefully placed in the hole and covered with earth.
4. Moisturize the soil under the plant.

The combination of platycodone with other plants

Platycodone gets on well with other plants, behaves not aggressively on the garden bed.

Best combined with:

• other perennial bells;
• sage;
• Nivyanik;
• yarrow;
• geraniums;
• phlox.

It also looks impressive against the background of both deciduous and coniferous shrubs. Low-growing varieties suitable for stony gardens, design borders and garden containers.

Features of care for platicodone on the site

Platicodone flower requires proper care in the open field.

Watering, weeding and loosening the soil

The first 15 days after planting seedlings watering platicodone spend every day. Then the amount of water is reduced, and the soil is moistened no more than 2 times a week. After each watering you need to loosen the soil and, if necessary, weed.

Feeding and mulching between rows

Mulching between rows of platicodone with peat, hay, and humus will help reduce the time for weeding and loosening the soil. Once a month during the growing season and flowering is to apply top dressing in the form of any complex fertilizer for flowering crops.

A distinctive feature of the plant is that it can strongly stretch upwards. So that it does not lose its decorative effect, it is periodically pinched or treated with growth retardants (for example, “Athlete”). You can also simply tie the plant to any support.

Pests and Diseases of Platycodone

Platicodone has good resistance to diseases and pests. Only occasionally can it be affected by gray mold. The treatment consists of loosening the land in a flowerbed, reducing watering and removing the affected specimens.The rest of the flowers are sprayed with some fungicide. The most commonly used copper sulphate, "Fundazol" (2% solution), "Topsin-M" (1% solution). Apply the dosage recommended by the manufacturer of drugs. If after 7-10 days after treatment the symptoms of gray rot are still noticeable, the procedure should be repeated.

The main enemies of platycodone can be moles and mice that damage the rhizomes of the plant. The most effective way to deal with these pests is with special chemicals (they fall asleep in holes, lures with poison are placed), a wide range of which can be found in gardening stores.

When to collect and how to store the seeds of platicodone

When the box inside the flower is cracked, and the pedicel is completely dry, the seeds of the platicodone are ripe and ready to be harvested. Usually they are collected in September and stored in dry, warm rooms for no longer than 1-2 years. To do this, you can use canvas bags, glass or tin cans, kraft paper bags.

Preparing Platicodone for Winter

Platicodone when grown in the garden requires proper preparation for wintering.

Before the onset of cold weather, the entire ground part needs to be cut off, leaving only the roots, and the ground to be covered with fallen leaves, peat, hay, sawdust, humus or other material that exists in the farm.

Growing platycodone in a pot

The plant is suitable not only for planting on the plot, but also for breeding in the home or city apartment. In this case, platicodone is best grown from seed as seedlings for open ground.

Platikodon in a pot put on a well-lit window sill, but if necessary pritenyuyut, as from direct sunlight bells can get burned. The optimum temperature for platicodone at home is 20 ° C.

Withered flowers should be removed immediately, and the soil should be loosened from time to time. A flower in a pot does not tolerate excessive moisture and high humidity, and therefore needs moderate watering, in winter - at a minimum. Also at this time, the plant is transferred to a cooler room (13-15 ° C).

Spray the plant is not necessary. Before the appearance of bluebells, it is desirable to feed the culture with mineral fertilizer for flowering plants. Since September, the foliage in the flowerpot gradually changes its color from green to crimson, and platicodone retains its decorative appearance. In the spring overwintered plant needs a transplant.