What to do if zinnia seedlings are stretched out?
Zinnia is an ornamental plant from the Aster family, which is used for growing in a flower bed, as well as at home. During the flowering period, it produces beautiful inflorescences of various colors. Zinnia reproduces successfully by seedlings. You can sow seeds directly into the open ground, but the young plants obtained in this way will bloom only closer to August. Therefore, many grow seedlings in greenhouse conditions, as this allows them to bring flowering closer.
One of the most common problems when getting seedlings is pulling them out. Thus, seedlings signal that certain mistakes were made in the process of caring for them.
Why are zinnia shoots pulled out?
The reason that the emerged seedlings begin to stretch upward, forming a long unstable stem, may be the following factors:
- Sowing seeds too early... Since the seedlings grow very quickly, do not plant the seeds earlier than April. Strengthened seedlings can be transplanted to the garden bed no earlier than the threat of night frost passes.
- Lack of sunlight... For optimal development of seedlings, it is recommended to extend the daylight hours to 12 hours using additional lighting.
- High room temperature... The air temperature above 25 degrees Celsius contributes to the active growth of shoots in height.
- Dense plantings... When sowing in a common dish, seedlings growing close to each other begin to fight for a place in the sun, stretching upward.
How to save elongated seedlings?
If already mature bushes have stretched out, they can be planted in the flower bed a little ahead of time. In this case, a stem that is too long must be deepened into the ground - so new ovaries will form on it. In addition, a support should be installed near each plant and tied up. Maintain the distance between the bushes at least 35 cm.
Transplanting into open ground is possible only if the weather is stable and the temperature does not drop at night.
If the seedlings have not yet formed completely, or the long-awaited warming has not come, you can slow down the growth of zinnia. To do this, add to the container where the seedlings grow substrate... Or lay the seedling on its side and sprinkle half of the elongated stem with earth.
Zinnia shoots that are too long can be neatly folded into a loop.
Pinching of the tops will allow you to suspend the growth of zinnia in height - thus, the plant will redirect forces to the formation of lateral shoots. And in order for the stem to begin to build up mass, the seedlings should be brought into a cool room at night.
To stop growth, young bushes can be watered or sprayed with a solution based on special preparations, for example, Athlete (1 ampoule for 1 liter of water).