What are the correct ways to care for fresh carnation flowers?
Carnation is a flower with very rich colors, often used to make bouquets and flower baskets. On Mother's Day, giving carnations is also a custom, so how do you care for fresh carnations?
1. Growth habits of carnations
Carnation is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Caryophyllaceae family and Dianthus genus. It also has many other names, such as carnation, lion's head pink, musk pink, large-flowered pink, musk pink, Dutch pink, etc. Carnation is also a long-day plant and is not cold-tolerant. The suitable growth temperature is 14-21°C, and it generally blooms from April to September.
Carnation likes a growing environment with plenty of sunlight. Except during the seedling stage and full bloom stage, there is no need to worry about harm from strong light, and with supplementary light, the flower crown diameter and flower color vividness can be increased.
However, carnation is also not tolerant of high temperatures. If the summer temperature is too high, be sure to cool it down, and when the winter temperature is too low, be sure to keep it warm.
Carnation likes soil that retains fertilizer well and has good aeration and drainage, among which heavy loam is best. The suitable soil pH for its growth is 5.6~6.4. Some soil analysis experiments show that within the pH range of 5.95~7.9, soil organic matter content has no obvious effect on flowering; it mainly depends on soil texture.
2. How do you care for fresh carnations?
Prepare a vase, then add an appropriate amount of clean water, cut the fresh carnations to a suitable length, cut a slanted opening at the bottom, and insert them into the vase. If you want to keep the carnations longer, you can also add a little aspirin to the water, and just change the water frequently.
An aqueous solution of aspirin used for growing flowers can disinfect and sterilize, and can also promote plant growth, giving rootless fresh flowers a longer “shelf life.”
The water used for growing carnations can be river water, rainwater, well water, etc. If tap water is used, it is best to let it sit for a period of time before use, because tap water contains chlorine, which will affect plant growth.