How to grow a perennial carnation: methods of sowing seeds

Tell us how to grow a perennial carnation? For two years in a row I have been buying seeds and planting them in the country, but there is almost no result. They either do not sprout at all, or a couple of seedlings sprout, but do not even live to bloom. What am I doing wrong? Maybe you shouldn't sow directly into open ground?

Garden carnation is one of the most charming plants. Well, how can you not admire the carpet of bright, simple or terry, inflorescences among the narrow pointed foliage? Carnation is a perennial by nature, but in our climate it is often grown as a two-year crop. Plants sown in the ground bloom by the second year of life, moreover, most varieties do not winter well. However, in the south, gardeners can hide bushes so that they do not freeze. In other regions, many often dig up flowers for the winter and plant them in pots, preserving and extending their life. If this is your first time thinking about acquiring this crop, it will not be superfluous to learn how to grow a perennial carnation. The fastest way to get flowers is to plant a cut or cut. They root easily and will quickly form a nice shrub ready to bloom. However, most often, carnations are grown by seed, because planting material in this case is easier to get.

Hybrid varieties of perennial carnations with increased frost resistance winter best in open ground. Provided shelter for the winter, Shabo carnations, Turkish and Dutch, survive the winter well. But the Chinese carnation is grown mainly as a biennial.

How to grow a perennial carnation: how to plant seeds

You can sow cloves both directly in the open ground and for seedlings. The difference lies in the timing of sowing, because you can plant on the garden no earlier than the frosts have passed. In addition, the bushes grown by direct sowing will increase the aboveground part in the first year. The first buds will appear only next season. But some varieties, for example, carnations of the herb planted through seedlings, will give a trial flowering already in the year of planting.

When to sow carnations for seedlings?

Depending on the region of cultivation, you can start sowing in February-March. The main thing is that the seedlings do not stand and stretch, otherwise they will hurt after the transplant. The soil should be light and nutritious. Small seeds are not buried - just scatter them over the surface and cover them with a thin layer of earth. You need to put a film on the container with crops and put it in a relatively warm place. After about 2 weeks, when seedlings appear, the shelter can be removed and the seedlings can be provided with good lighting.

Growing carnation seedlings is best done at a temperature not exceeding 15 ° C heat. If it gets very hot, it will start to stretch and hurt.

Grown bushes must be cut into separate containers, pinching the tops. This will give an impetus to the formation of side shoots and the growth of a powerful root system. Seedlings can be transplanted into the garden not earlier than May, preferably at the end of the month or even in June.

Planting carnation seeds by direct sowing into the ground

If the house does not have enough space for seedlings, you can grow flowers by sowing them in the month of May immediately on a flower bed. However, this will not be a permanent flower garden, but an impromptu "street" nursery. For the first time, especially in the central strip, the plantings should be covered with a film.But at the end of summer, you can plant a carnation, defining it in the front garden.

Perennial carnation care features

Carnation prefers well-lit areas where it can show its bloom in all its glory. In partial shade, the plant will also take root, but the buds will be small, and the bush itself will be more frail. Leave at least 25 cm between the plants, as they grow strongly and can interfere with each other.

You cannot plant a carnation in areas with high soil moisture - it does not like this and will disappear.

Perennial carnation care includes the following procedures:

Timely weed removal.
Moderate watering.
Gently loosening the soil after every rain and watering.
Fertilizer organic when planting and in the first year of life.
Top dressing with a mineral complex before and after flowering.
Trimming faded inflorescences and shortening the stems at the end of flowering.
Periodic transplantation of overgrown bushes.

At the end of autumn, clove bushes need to be well covered or dug up for the winter, transplanted into pots and taken into the house.

Video about growing carnations