Growing flower purslane through seedlings - the subtleties of sowing and caring for seedlings
A floral or large-flowered purslane is not a weed at all, but a very pretty plant, characterized by abundant flowering. Since it is an annual, many growers practice growing purslane through seedlings. This allows you to bring flowering closer and admire the flower carpet for longer. However, novice florists who first decided to plant seedlings often have one problem. The seeds germinate well at first and seem to grow together in a common container. But after transplanting, the seedlings begin to disappear.
If you decide to use this method, you should carefully study the information on the features of sowing and caring for seedlings. Purslane, although unpretentious, still has some requirements that should be taken into account. And then your plants will be "alive", strong and healthy by the time of planting on a flower bed.
When sowing seeds in open ground, flowering will occur only at the beginning of summer. Purslane is a thermophilic culture, so it can be sown on the beds no earlier than May. The seedling method allows by this time to get already grown bushes. Thus, flowering will come a month earlier, and even more.
Growing a flower purslane through seedlings - when and how to sow correctly
Depending on the region of cultivation, you can sow purslane seeds for seedlings at the end of February or in March, subject to additional lighting. In natural light, sowing is best postponed until April.
The soil for seedlings can be taken from the garden, but diluted with sand. If there is no pre-prepared soil, the substrate from the store is also suitable, but without peat... The containers for planting can be taken small, but deep enough, while it is not necessary to fill them to the top with earth. If the seedlings suddenly stretch out, there must be a place to fill up the soil.
The substrate must be slightly compacted and moistened abundantly. To accelerate seed germination, a growth stimulant is added to the water.
As for soaking the seeds themselves, this is a rather difficult procedure. Purslane seeds are very small and it will be more convenient to sow them dry. But if you wish, you can also treat the seeds with a stimulant, then simply dry them.
Purslane should be sown as rarely as possible so as not to thicken the crops. It sprouts well, but only on condition that there is a thin layer of soil on top. It is even better not to cover them with earth at all, but simply spray them again. Containers with crops should be covered with a lid or foil and placed on a light and warm windowsill. The temperature for germination should be at least 25 ° C. In such conditions, seedlings will appear in 5 days.
The subtleties of caring for purslane seedlings
In order for the seedlings to grow strong and healthy, they need to provide good lighting. In addition, you must:
- water the seedlings in a timely manner, while avoiding waterlogging;
- make sure that there is enough light, otherwise the seedlings will stretch out and be weak;
- feeding once a week with a weak solution of ammonium sulfate;
- picking grown seedlings into separate containers by transshipment.
The procedure for growing purslane from seeds can be facilitated by sowing them directly into cassettes or peat tablets. These flowers do not tolerate transplanting very well, and therefore the seedlings often die after being picked.Landing initially in separate containers will help to avoid injury to the delicate roots and the pick itself.