Features care marigolds when grown on the balcony

Marigolds on the balcony - a real decoration that will delight with its flowering almost all summer. To achieve abundant flowering, you need to know when to plant marigolds on seedlings and how to care for them after picking in pots.

Growing marigold seedlings

Planting marigolds on the balcony involves the preliminary sowing of seeds of these beautiful flowers for seedlings. This is also necessary in order to achieve the earliest possible flowering and to make it easier to create really attractive and not thick plantings in pots.

When to plant seeds for seedlings

For planting seedlings on the balcony, seeds can be sown as early as possible, especially if you have a glazed balcony and, if necessary, boxes can be hidden from frost. In this case, you can sow the seeds in February.Then in the middle of March you will be able to swoop down your marigolds, and at the end of the month transplant them into balcony drawers. In the matter of the date of sowing seeds on seedlings, be guided by the fact that from the moment of sowing of these flowers until the first flowering occurs, in general, about two months pass. That is, if you want to get flowering boxes as early as possible, then it is necessary to sow the seeds early. Consider only that, despite the resistance to cold, the temperature below + 5˚С is not acceptable for marigolds, therefore it’s impossible to keep them in such weather on the street.

Soil selection

For sowing marigold seeds, it is necessary to prepare the most fertile soil. For this purpose, you can buy a soil mixture for this kind of colors or you can mix it yourself in such proportions:

• 1 part of the humus;
• 1 part turf;
• 1 part peat;
• 0.5 parts of sand.

The bottom of the box in which you are going to sow the seeds of marigolds can be covered with a layer of sand or stones, thereby creating drainage. In addition, it is important to disinfect self-prepared soil mix. For this purpose, it can simply be placed in the oven for 20 minutes, heating the oven to 200 ° C. You can also water the soil with a solution of any fungicide or potassium permanganate.

Seed preparation before planting

Reproduction of marigolds involves only their cultivation from seeds, since no other way is suitable for these one-year flowers. Seeds can be sown in open ground, but this should be done not at the beginning of spring, as for seedlings, but at the very end. But regardless of whether you sow seeds in open ground or in pots for seedlings, it is important to prepare them:

1. Wet the seeds and sprinkle them in a thin layer on a flat plate.
2. Cover with a damp cloth.
3. Wrap a plate in polyethylene, almost completely limiting the access of air.
4. Put a plate of seeds in a warm place for 1-2 days. In the presence of sunny weather, you can put on the windowsill.
5. After 1-3 days the seeds should germinate and they can already be sown.

How to sow seeds on seedlings

So, how to plant marigolds on seedlings? The prepared soil is poured into any convenient containers, compacted a little and shallow grooves are made on its surface. The distance between them should be at least 4 cm. After that, seeds are poured into the grooves at a distance of 2 cm from each other. If the seeds have already germinated, then the distance can be increased, if not - it can even be reduced. Now the grooves are filled with soil, but not compacted strongly with it, to avoid damage.

After sowing, it is important to moisten the soil with marigold seeds, but this should be done carefully so as not to wash them. It is best to sprinkle it out of the spray.

Conditions for germinating seeds

Unlike other flowers, when sowing marigolds on seedlings, boxes with seeds do not need to be tightened with polyethylene. Simply put them in a warm place with an air temperature of about + 25˚С. If the seeds have already been germinated, the first full-fledged seedlings can appear even on the second day, although in general it takes 2-3 days (only in rare cases, the germination process can be delayed for a week). When shoots appear, it is very important to move the containers with future seedlings to a cooler place with a temperature not higher than + 19˚С. This is necessary so that the seedlings could not start up in rapid growth, but instead calmly and confidently gained strength.

Diving of marigold seedlings

Growing marigold seedlings involves their obligatory picks. This is due to the fact that we usually sow the seeds thickly in order to prevent the lack of germination. However, if this leaves thickened crops, then each plant, instead of rapidly gaining strength, will simply be pulled upwards. Agree, in a box on the balcony such tall and delicate flowers will not look very attractive and their flowering will be weaker. In many forums, the question is often raised: is it possible not to swoop marigolds? In fact, it is better to do it, and the need for this will arise at the very moment when 3 true leaves appear on each seedling. Picking seedlings into separate cups allows the root system of marigolds to grow stronger and grow as much as possible. You yourself will be surprised that in two weeks the roots of a small sapling will hardly fit in a glass. In this way, marigold picking is best done, and after two weeks after it can be planted seedlings in boxes on the balcony.

Planting marigold seedlings in boxes on the balcony

Transplantation of marigolds is quite a responsible task, because apart from not damaging the seedlings during this procedure, it is necessary to perform it at a certain time. The idea is that the seedlings in the general plantings can not be held for a long time, since it will be pulled out. But even if transplanted too early - marigold seedlings may die. When planting in boxes for the balcony, prepare a similar soil mixture as for sowing seeds. In the box, mark the place for each seedling, taking into account the required distance - 15 cm for the under-growing varieties and 20 for the middle-growing ones.After this, make dimples and transfer the seedlings into them together with the soil in which they grew in cups. Thanks to this, you will provide the plants with maximum survival rate, and they will go to growth just on the second day.

We select partners for the cultivation of marigolds on the balcony

In the question of how to grow marigolds on the balcony, the aspect of the neighborhood of these flowers with congeners is also important. In general, marigolds can take root with any other flowers, the only question is whether other plants will be able to live with them, since the flowers we are describing grow quite fast and can stifle other seedlings. For this reason together with marigolds it is recommended to plant:

• calendula;
• dwarf dahlias;
• hydrangeas;
• balsamine.

All of these flowers can not only successfully cohabit with marigolds, but will also be well combined with their lush and bright flowers. However, when combining different types of flowers in one pot, be sure to consider their height.If this is not done, then some flowers will strongly “jam” others.

How to care for marigolds on the balcony?

Marigolds are sun-loving flowers, so they should be grown on the south or west balcony. If this is not possible, then you should not give up floriculture, but to get good growth and flowering, marigolds will have to provide the maximum amount of light.

Watering mode

Marigolds are considered to be drought-resistant flowers, but in practice the lack of regular watering can turn into the fact that the lower leaves on the plants just turn yellow. In the case of stunted balcony varieties, this is unacceptable, so you should water them in drawers daily, but in small portions of water. On hot summer days you can even water the watering - every morning and every evening. At the same time, do not be afraid to pour flowers - due to the drainage at the bottom of the box, excess moisture always recedes from the roots.

Do you need feed

When grown in flower beds, marigolds are rarely fed, applying fertilizer only once - during the autumn or spring preparation of the flower bed. But when growing in boxes, feeding is still worth pursuing, as for good growth and flowering, marigolds need enough food. The first dressing can be accomplished two weeks after sowing the seeds, the second - at the time of the appearance of the first buds on adult plants and the last - when the marigolds are blooming. For top dressing it is best to use complex mineral fertilizer, as compost or other organic matter can spoil both the appearance and the scent of flowers.

Pruning of inflorescences

Each inflorescence, which has already managed to please its flowering, it is important to immediately prune. This is necessary in order for the plant to have the strength to dissolve other buds. In addition, if you have planted the marigolds very early and by July they have already managed to bloom, you can try to cut each bush. Under favorable conditions, such a simple procedure will allow re-flowering by the end of autumn.

Possible difficulties in growing

When growing these flowers in boxes on the balcony, it is important to remember that marigold diseases and pests can affect them in such conditions. Most often they are affected by gray mold or slugs. To combat the latter in the thickening of marigolds, you can put a glass with diluted bleach, which will scare pests.

But when the rot appears, it is better to remove the flowers, because they cannot be saved, but the infection can spread further. In addition, in order to avoid this disease and slugs, do not over-flood the flowers, and in rainy weather it is recommended to remove them from the balcony. Another pest that damages marigolds to a drought is spider mite. You can remove it from the flowers by spraying a special solution made from onions, red chili pepper and a millennial.And so that he could not even appear, in severe droughts, not only water, but also spray marigolds.

If you engage in timely sowing of marigold seeds and fulfill all the necessary conditions, then these flowers can please you with their bright inflorescences all summer long. But after the last flowering, do not rush to pluck the flowers and throw them away - leave at least one box so that the seeds that can be used next year ripen in its inflorescences.