How to grow carnation seedlings - timing and features of sowing
Garden carnation is distinguished by abundant and long flowering, especially annual varieties. But if you want to prolong this charm, it is better to plant it on seedlings so that the bushes bloom early. There is nothing complicated in how to grow carnation seedlings. Sowing early in a light medium, with a little attention - and by the spring you will have ready-made bushes. Having already planted full-fledged plants in the flowerbed, you will get flowering a month earlier.
Seed preparation
Planting material purchased in the store does not need additional processing. Seeds that you have collected from your flowers or shared by a generous neighbor need to be prepared. For this:
- Prepare a saline solution and pour over the seeds. All that pops up are hollow seeds, they will not germinate. Collect them carefully and discard, and drain the water.
- Those seeds that have sunk to the bottom, treat with a solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection and let dry.
If in doubt about their germination, you can still soak the seeds in growth promoter.
Sowing features
The soil for carnation seedlings should be loose. A generic store-bought substrate will do. If desired, mix equal parts peat, humus and garden soil, adding a little sand. Do not forget to spill such a soil mixture with potassium permanganate.
To germinate seeds at the first stage, select shallow containers - 5 cm is enough.In tall pots, delicate seedlings can rot, because moisture lasts longer there and there is a risk of waterlogging.
Considering that the seeds of carnations are very small, the best option would be to simply scatter them over the surface of the soil. Sprinkle on top with a thin layer, but not earth, but sand - so it will be easier for the seedling to ascend.
How to grow carnation seedlings: care rules
Before sprouting, keep crops under a film in a warm and bright place. When the seedlings emerge, remove the cover. In warmth, it should develop for the first 2 weeks, and then it is desirable that the air temperature be within 13 ° C. If it gets hotter, the seedlings will start to stretch and become more fragile. Water the plants regularly, but little by little, and keep them well lit.
Experienced gardeners recommend diving carnation seedlings twice:
- in phase 2 of real leaves, it is possible in a general container, leaving between the bushes and in the aisles of 4 cm;
- in early April, already in separate cups.
It will be possible to plant carnations on the flowerbed at the end of May. Start gradually accustoming your seedlings to outside temperatures two weeks before transplanting.