How to grow seedlings of flowers

Preparation for the process of growing flowers in your own garden is best to start in the winter, so that in the future the flower seedlings will grow stronger and blossom. There is nothing difficult in this matter, but still some of the knowledge contained in this article may be useful to you.

What flowers are grown through seedlings

Before starting the process of growing seedlings at home, it is necessary to determine which flowers can be propagated in this way. It can be annuals, biennials and even perennials. Annual crops are usually selected for sowing, for which a sufficiently long growing season and earlier flowering, as for other flower seedlings, in principle, you can choose any plant that tolerates further transplantation. Frequent guests on the balconies and window sills are mainly: phlox, begonia, verbena, gerbera, geranium, rezeda, marigold, zinnia, snapdragon, sweet pea, Shabo carnation, petunia, cineraria, pansies, viol and many others.

Basic rules for growing

To grow a healthy, strong flower seedlings, with a well-developed root system can not only an experienced gardener, but also just a diligent lover. In order for everything to work out as it should, you just need to adhere to the basic simple rules of cultivation.

Seed selection

The most important, most significant mistake in growing seedlings is the purchase of low-quality, spoiled seeds - after all, the final result will depend on their quality.

Determined with a capacity for landing

The best capacity for sowing flower seeds in a house or apartment will always be pots, because when planting in boxes in the future you have to pick the shoots,and the seedlings themselves in the "pot" variant are less prone to injury and infection with rot. Of course, if we talk about a large amount of planting material and large garden plans, then plastic tapes with pallets, glasses or the same boxes will be relevant.

The best container for planting seeds is peat pots. - they are made of environmentally friendly material and provide the necessary moisture and air exchange in the soil zone in which the root system should be located. The main advantage of these pots is that the grown shoots can be planted in the ground right in them, without injuring the still quite weak roots. BUT peat tablets are good for sprouting small plants - they are able to swell when soaked and turn into an interesting cup filled with peat substrate. However, ordinary boxes for seedlings and plastic cups are also a good fit, but with the condition that there will be drainage holes in the bottoms and pallets for excess liquid.

Soil preparation

The main requirements for the preparation of the soil in which the seeds will germinate are in its moisture permeability, as well as its moderate nutritional value. For some, it is preferable to buy ready-made soil at a specialty store, but, as many gardeners have shown, it is better to choose and prepare the soil on your own to avoid various falsifications and low-quality impurities. The compositions of soil mixtures may differ somewhat from each other, but, as a rule, they mainly consist of vegetable or sod land, sand, humus and, of course, peat.

Consider each ingredient separately:

1. It is possible to prepare the turf ground in an uncomplicated way, but it is extremely long in terms of waiting time for the finished soil. It is necessary to remove a 5-cm layer of sod in the meadow, turn the strips down with grass and lay them on top of each other in the shoulders, and only after 1 or 2 years, after the grass has completely decayed, you get excellent nutrient soil.
2. Instead of turf soil is much easier to use leaf. To do this, it is enough just to remove its top layer from under the deciduous trees or take it from greenhouses or ridges.
3. Humus for the mixture should be taken well-rotted, no longer containing an unpleasant odor and quite loose.
4. The sand is usually coarse-grained and pure, mostly river type.
5. Peat for soil should be chosen loose, milled and lowland - it has a dense structure and a rather dark color.

Also, when preparing the soil for seedlings, components such as chalk, lime and dolomite flour will not interfere. All these ingredients need to be mixed in the proportions you need, pinching them with special shovels or buckets. Then the mixture is well mixed and sieved at the garden roar.

Planting Processing

Such a preparatory stage before planting, as the treatment of planting material, is necessary in order for the seedlings to be healthy and strong. Selected capable medium and large seeds should be well decontaminated and prevention of all possible diseases. To do this, they are pre-placed in a solution of potassium permanganate and soaked for 12 hours. Next, seedlings should be soaked in a special growth promoter, in particular, in order to develop resistance to adverse conditions. The procedure of stratification will not be superfluous.To hold the seeds, soak them for 12 hours at room temperature, then place them in a refrigerator (also for 12 hours), then remove and hold in a warm place. Thus, the plant is initially prepared for temperature extremes.

Choosing a place to grow

The main rule for growing flowering plants is the germination of seeds in a dark place. The position of the containers must be changed already when the first shoots appear - they need to be put in a well-lit area. It is clear that at the end of the winter period natural light will be completely insufficient, therefore special fluorescent lamps can come to the aid of gardeners. Also, fluorescent lamps are suitable for this, but they should be switched on during the daytime, then the seedlings will keep the balance of day and night. The best option in choosing the right place will still be a mini-greenhouse, but it takes up a lot of space, so you can try using available tools. For example, cover containers with seedlings with glass, and after germination build a greenhouse imitation (a piece of polyethylene is stretched between two pieces of wire).

Sowing flowers for seedlings

The main question is how to grow seedlings of flowers from seeds at home, will, of course, the process of sowing. Before planting, the soil must be moistened so as to completely forget about watering before the seedlings germinate. Further, the process itself is divided into such manipulations:

1. If the containers are small, they make holes or grooves in them.
2. Small seeds are usually poured on the surface of the ground, large ones are laid out in the holes and lightly sprinkled with earth, the distance between them should be maintained at least 3 cm.
3. Next, planted seeds in containers covered with plastic wrap, it is necessary to maintain a high level of humidity. But the excess moisture is also not too good, so when accumulating under the film or in a package of abundant drops, the structure must be aired by turning the film over by the other side.

Plant Care

Already after the emergence of seedlings, the selected flowers need proper and regular care. First of all, seedlings need to provide a cool and bright place, but without direct sunlight. Further, the process of caring for plants includes the following steps:

1. Watering. As already stated above, it is undesirable to water the seeds, they are immediately placed in a moist soil. And the seedlings still need to be watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate as the ground dries, but do it gradually and carefully so as not to overdo it, otherwise the quality of the seedlings will decrease significantly.
2. Picking It is usually carried out after the appearance of the first sheets, but if the landing was thick enough, this can be done even before the first leaf manifestations. It is very important to carry out the picking carefully, even an unused manicure set will do for this.
3. Fertilizer and fertilizing. Even before transplanting seedlings into open ground, it is properly fed. This should be done at least 3 times, and the first of them occurs at the time of 2-3 weeks after planting the seeds. You can feed the plants with the help of non-concentrated cow manure or complex mineral fertilizer.

When to transplant seedlings

When practically everything is readyand the sprouts of future beautiful plants become strong and confident, the question arises: when to plant seedlings of flowers in open ground? This is done in May or in early June, when spring return frosts will no longer threaten the shoots. And it is advisable to make a landing in cloudy weather or in the evening, so that the plants that have experienced stress should not be damaged by bright sunshine.

As you have already seen, with the help of this material, you can not only understand how to plant seeds with seeds, but also learn the subtleties of caring for seedlings and cope with the problems arising in the process.