The subtleties and secrets of growing ageratum from seeds

Ageratum is a beautiful plant covered with large inflorescences of delicate lilac, purple, pink or snow-white color. Ageratum from seeds can be grown almost anywhere - on a windowsill or balcony, in a flower bed, in a garden or a greenhouse. Ease of cultivation and unpretentious care, a large number of varieties, colors and a long flowering time have provided the ageratum with wide popularity among many florists and landscape designers.

Botanical features of the ageratum

Ageratum is a small perennial plant from the Asteraceae class. Under natural conditions, this plant is found in the countries of North and Central America, as well as Asia. In Russia, this ornamental plant is most often grown as an annual, since it does not tolerate minimal frosts.

Key Features:

1. The bushes are compact, densely pubescent, up to 20-65 cm high, depending on the variety.
2. The bushes are covered with branchy stems, raised or erect, abundantly covered with small leaves.
3. Ageratum leaves are rhomboid, or heart-shaped, with serrated or torn edges of the leaf plates.
4. Small flowers - up to 1-3 cm, collected in neat inflorescences. They form a kind of umbrella up to 8-12cm in girth.
5. Depending on the variety, flowers can be colored turquoise, purple, blue-blue, snow-white, coral or lilac.
6. Ageratum is distinguished by long flowering - it begins in the first half of June and lasts until October.

There are more than 60 varieties of ornamental plants. In Russia, for growing ageratum from seeds, the most often used varieties are "Gaustona", "Mexican", "Artist Blue", "Fields", "Tycoon", "Bavaria", "Northern Lights", "Blue Fairy Tale", "Ocean" and "Pink ball".

Ageratum from seeds - optimal planting dates

When growing ageratum from seeds, it is necessary to take into account the optimal planting dates, focusing on the climatic conditions of each specific region. In most cases, planting takes place from mid-March to the second half of April.

When to plant ageratum for seedlings:

• Crimea, Stavropol Territory, Krasnodar Territory - from March 15-18;
• Moscow and the Moscow Region - March 15-30;
• Moscow suburbs and regions of central Russia - from March 20 to April 10;
• Leningrad Region, St. Petersburg, Siberia, Ural - after April 12-15.

Planting ageratum with seeds too early will lead to the fact that young seedlings will suffer from lack of sunlight, weakness and lethargy.

Growing ageratum from seeds

Growing ageratum flowers from seeds is not difficult, but it requires taking into account the basic rules and subtleties. To get strong and healthy seedlings, you need to properly prepare the soil and seed, and also be sure to take into account the appropriate timing for planting a decorative perennial.

Soil preparation

For sowing ageratum with seeds, it is best to use loose, fertile and fairly light soil with good air permeability, neutral or slightly acidic reaction.

The best option would be a mixture made from humus, coarse sand and peat in equal parts. A nutrient substrate for ageratum can be made in another way, by mixing vermiculite with peat and garden soil in a ratio of 1: 4: 4.

To grow the plant, you can use the universal soil for flower seedlings. Before use, it should be disinfected by calcining in a microwave oven or oven. After this, the substrate must be treated with a weak solution of fungicide or potassium permanganate and frozen.

Seed preparation and container selection

Ageratum can be sown on seedlings without preliminary preparation, but it allows you to improve germination, getting stronger and healthier seedlings. To do this, the seeds must be soaked in a solution of a growth stimulant drug - these include Epin, Energen, Zircon.

Ageratum seedlings grow best in a general, wide and shallow container. Its height should be no more than 8-10 cm - this is quite enough for the plant's root system.

Small drainage holes must be made in the bottom of the container. They help to remove excess fluid and prevent moisture stagnation in the soil, which can cause dangerous fungal diseases and root rot.

Planting ageratum seeds step by step

The process of sowing ageratum seeds is very simple and will not cause difficulties even for a novice grower.

Step by step sowing technique:

1. Pour a drainage layer on the bottom of the selected container - it can be perlite, expanded clay, broken brick. Its thickness should be no more than 2 cm.
2. Pour potting soil into the container, level it evenly so that there are no voids and 2-3 cm remains to the edge of the container.
3. Spray the soil liberally with a spray bottle. Use settled water at room temperature.
4. Sow ageratum seeds - they are very small, so it is more convenient to use tweezers for planting.
5. There should be a distance of about 1 cm between the seeds.
6. Press the seeds gently to the soil surface. Moreover, they should not be deeply buried in the soil or sprinkled on top.

Spray the seed container after planting. For this purpose, it is better to use a spray bottle, as the water from the watering can can simply wash off the small seeds.

After that, cover the container with ageratum with a plastic lid or plastic wrap and place it in a warm room with an air temperature of at least + 23 ° C.

Care of ageratum seedlings

Ageratum seeds germination period is 8-10 days, in some cases it can reach 2 weeks. During this time, crops require daily ventilation and systematic soil moisture.

To ventilate the container, remove the cover or plastic wrap and leave for half an hour. Greenhouse conditions should be maintained until germination and then removed. Ageratum seedlings need regular moisture. Drying and high moisture content of the soil must not be allowed.

After the emergence of young shoots, the container with the plant must be placed in a well-lit place - on the windowsill, balcony.

Ageratum needs 13 hours of daylight for full growth and development, so in cloudy weather, you can use additional lighting for the flower.

Seedling picking

When to dive ageratum depends on the growth rate of the plant. The optimal time for a dive is when 2 real, healthy and well-developed leaves appear on the sprouts.

In order not to cause severe stress to young seedlings, it is best to dive in cloudy weather, in the early morning or late evening. Basic picking rules:

• Moisten the soil abundantly 2-3 hours before the procedure;
• pour nutrient substrate into new containers or other containers;
• make a small depression in the center;
• place a seedling in this depression along with a clod of earth;
• lightly press down the soil around the seedling and water.

7-10 days after picking, you can feed with complex mineral fertilizers for decorative flowers - Aquarine is suitable for this, Agricola or Fertika Lux.

Outdoor transplant

For planting ageratum, it is best to choose well, evenly lit areas, protected from wind and drafts. The plant can be planted under the walls of various buildings or along the fence.

It is possible to transplant ageratum from seeds into open soil only after the risk of recurrent frosts has passed. The air temperature should be at least + 23 ° С and + 7 ° С at night. The optimal time for most regions is the second half of May or early June.

Dig up the soil beforehand, loosen it up and apply complex mineral fertilizer. It can be replaced with organic fertilizers such as ash or compost. Ageratum is best planted by transshipment, trying not to injure the fragile root system. The distance between the seedlings should be 20-25 cm.

If there is a sharp drop in temperature at night, it is better to cover young seedlings with a layer of polyethylene or agrofibre.

Ageratum is a beautiful perennial plant, the cultivation of which does not require much effort and time. With a minimum of effort, it will become a luxurious decoration of any windowsill or garden plot and will delight with a long, lush flowering.

We grow ageratum from seeds at home - video