How to Grow Potted Chrysanthemums? Balcony Care Methods and Precautions
Many people like to grow some flowers and plants at home to decorate their rooms, and the chrysanthemum is one of the flowers that everyone loves to grow at home. As is well known, chrysanthemum flowers are very beautiful, with elegant and graceful blooms and rich, vivid colors, offering extremely high ornamental value. But when it comes to growing chrysanthemums, you may have some misunderstandings. Below, the editor will introduce in detail the correct care methods for chrysanthemums!
How to Grow Potted Chrysanthemums
1. Soil mix
For chrysanthemums, a slightly acidic sandy soil that drains well, is loose and fertile works very well. In most cases, the mix is rotted plant matter : garden soil : river sand = 4 : 4 : 2. If possible, disinfecting the soil mix is fine too.
2. Water control
Water chrysanthemums according to the principle of “water when dry, drain when waterlogged.” Before and after bud formation, you must maintain enough moisture. You can also fertilize while watering, and one more thing to note is “balanced dry and wet” - neither too wet nor too dry. Spray the leaves with water once in the morning and once in the evening every day.
3. Reasonable use of fertilizer
In the early stage of chrysanthemum growth, use a base fertilizer, and for top dressing use mainly nitrogen fertilizer, plus a small amount of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer and trace element fertilizer. The purpose of this is to make the chrysanthemum branches strong and the leaves thick. In the middle and late stages of chrysanthemum growth, use mainly phosphorus and potassium fertilizer; if conditions allow, you can use fertilizer specially made for flowers. Fertilization uses a combination of soil application and foliar top dressing, and after fertilizing, water promptly. If the chrysanthemum leaves are small, thin and yellowing, you can spray more 0.1% urea solution.
4. Pruning branches and leaves
Potted chrysanthemums need pruning during their growth period, and you can do it as needed. In the early stage of growth, when the branches are not yet growing in a fixed pattern, carry out pinching and bud removal and other steps to promote branching and better shape the flower form.
5. Pruning young shoots and tending the flowers
After chrysanthemums grow seedlings, there will be many young shoots, which must be removed promptly, otherwise they will affect the growth of the chrysanthemum. When small flower buds appear, you should choose which to keep as needed, and remove the unwanted ones as early as possible. Later, you can handle them according to the situation.
Methods and Precautions for Growing Chrysanthemums on a Balcony
1. Soil
To grow chrysanthemums, use soil with high nutrient content and strong drainage capacity. Generally, you can evenly mix leaf mold, sandy soil and fertilizer cake residue in a ratio of 6:3:1 to make it. After mixing, you can add a little vinegar to lower the soil's pH value, making it more favorable for chrysanthemum growth.
2. Water
Water chrysanthemums so that they are watered when dry and dry out between waterings; they must not be half dry and half wet. In addition, note that during the rainy season you must promptly drain the accumulated water in the soil, otherwise it can easily cause root rot.
3. Light
As a typical short-day plant, the chrysanthemum does not need too long a period of light to bloom. On the contrary, if the light period is too long, it will only grow leaves and fail to bloom. Apart from the flowering period, the time spent in the sun at other times can be slightly longer.
4. Temperature
Chrysanthemums prefer cool conditions and are slightly cold-tolerant. The suitable growth temperature is 18-21°C; in summer the maximum must not exceed 32°C, and in winter the minimum must not be lower than 10°C. Just as they begin to bloom, the temperature must not be lower than 17°C, and in the middle and late stages of the flowering period it can drop to 15-13°C.
5. Precautions
After growing for one year, the nutrients in the soil in the chrysanthemum pot are basically used up, so at this time you should replace it with new potting soil that is full of nutrients. Repotting is generally carried out in spring.
How to Pot Up Chrysanthemum Seedlings
To pot up chrysanthemums, you first need to prepare the potting soil. The soil should be loose, rich in humus, and preferably new soil. Chrysanthemums are rather averse to being grown in old soil; old soil has very poor nutrients and its properties are not great either, offering no benefit to chrysanthemum growth. So you need to use new soil. If you can add some fertilizer to the soil, the results of growing chrysanthemums will be even better. Potting up chrysanthemums is generally done on a sunny or cloudy day. If they are cuttings seedlings, be careful to pinch them.
How to Prune Chrysanthemums in Winter
Cut off the branches of chrysanthemums that have finished flowering from the base; they should be cut as soon as flowering ends, while branches that have not bloomed will slowly wither on their own. Young seedlings growing from the roots do not need to be cut and can overwinter. After chrysanthemums finish flowering, you only need to cut off the old branches that have bloomed; it is best to keep the root-sprout seedlings to overwinter.
In summary, I believe everyone now has a certain understanding of the care techniques for potted chrysanthemums. There are many varieties of chrysanthemums, and each variety differs somewhat in appearance or color, but most chrysanthemums bloom in September.