Features of growing brugmansia at home using the seedling method
A beauty from a fairy tale - this is how you can call brugmansia, having seen her once during flowering. This amazing plant from the Solanaceae family has firmly entered the hearts of flower growers thanks to its unusually beautiful inflorescences. Large, sometimes up to 50 cm in length, bells abundantly cover a rather big tree-like bush, reaching up to 5 m in height. The color of flowers can be very diverse - from delicate shades of cream to rich pink or orange, and there are also two-tone bells. And it is simply impossible to take your eyes off varieties with double inflorescences.
A feature of the plant is the arrangement and shape of the leaves. They grow in two tiers: on the first, the leaf plates have an even edge, and on the second, a jagged one.
Despite the fact that the flower came to us from the warm and humid tropics, it quite happily took root in the local climate, especially since a perennial grows indoors or in winter gardens, since it does not tolerate low temperatures. At home brugmansia often grown from seed. This is a rather troublesome business, it is worth it, especially if there is nowhere to take the cuttings.
When to sow seeds and what kind of soil is suitable?
You can start growing brugmansia already in January, although a later sowing is possible, but no later than March.
Since in natural conditions the flower grows in loam, but light and nutritious, it is necessary to prepare a similar soil. To do this, mix 1 part of clay soil with:
- 2 parts peat;
- 1 part humus.
The prepared mixture must be spilled with a solution of potassium permanganate in order to disinfect.
To accelerate the germination of seeds, you need to break the integrity of the shell (scratch) and soak them in Kornevin.
How to sow?
Fill the tray with the prepared substrate and moisten the soil well. You can immediately use special cassettes - so it will be easier for the seedlings to dive. Make rather deep holes (at least 1 cm) and put seeds in them. Leave the distance between the holes about 3 cm. Sprinkle earth on top of the planting and cover with foil. It is necessary to keep the container with the sown seeds in a warm room on a sunny windowsill.
Seed germination depends on how long ago they were harvested. Fresh seeds germinate the fastest (after about 1.5 weeks), older ones can sit in the soil and all 1.5 months.
Periodically, the greenhouse must be ventilated and the soil must be sprayed in it. In addition, you will need to additionally illuminate the seedlings so that the daylight hours are at least 10 hours. As soon as the seeds hatch, remove the shelter.
Brugmansia seedlings care
When the seedlings form up to 5 true leaves, it's time to start picking them into separate pots, using the method of transferring sprouts together with an earthen lump. It is noteworthy that by this time the total height of the bush is only about 6 cm, because brugmansia is characterized by slow growth.
Subsequent plant care consists of the following activities:
- Regular watering and spraying.It is necessary to find a "golden mean" in watering in order to prevent the soil from drying out, but at the same time to avoid its high moisture content and stagnant water.
- Top dressing. A month after the pick, feed brugmansia nitrogen fertilizers... After another month, you can start complex mineral fertilizing, using once a month special preparations for flowering plants.