How to Grow Snow White: Detailed Guide to Cultivation Methods and Tips
Snow White is an aquatic ornamental plant, petite and charming, with a graceful bearing. It can be placed with miniature hills, boats, and other decorative crafts to create an even more artistic atmosphere. So how do you grow the Snow White flower?
1. Seed Treatment
The seeds of Snow White have a relatively thick outer coat, with the embryo attached at the top of the seed. When cracking the shell, you should break the base end of the seed, that is, the end where the seed attaches to the receptacle, which is also the sunken end of the lotus seed. You can use scissors or pliers to crack it. Before sowing, generally you only need to wear through the fruit skin (that is, the hard shell of the lotus seed) until the brown seed coat is visible. When cracking the shell, just make a 2-3 mm slit at the base; do not clamp too deep, so as not to damage the embryo. After soaking for one day, when the embryo absorbs water and swells and the fruit skin softens from absorbing water, you can peel off 1/3 of the fruit skin by hand along the cracked area to expose the embryo, so as to facilitate the elongation of the embryo.
2. Germination Promotion
Soak the already cracked seeds in warm water at about 50 degrees. The soaking water should be clean, free of grease and dirt, and water higher than 50 degrees should not be used, otherwise germination will be affected. The water temperature will drop naturally, and finally should be kept at about 30 degrees; it should not be higher than 40 degrees or lower than 20 degrees. If the water temperature is higher than 40 degrees, although the seeds germinate rapidly on the first day, subsequent growth will be inhibited. If the water temperature is lower than 20 degrees, the seeds will germinate and grow too slowly. When soaking a small number of seeds at home, you can put them in a thermos bottle to keep warm. Under the condition of 30 degrees, generally soaking and germination promotion for 3 days is enough for germination, and the embryo extends from the opening. During this period, you need to change the water 1-3 times a day, and promptly remove seeds that cannot germinate.
Sow the germinated seeds. Snow White is generally grown hydroponically in refined bowls and pots, such as small colored jars, which looks very attractive. Even if using a bowl, it must be a large bowl with a diameter of about 25 cm and a depth of more than 20 cm.
3. Fertilizing
After the Snow White flower sprouts, hydroponic seedling cultivation should be carried out at about 25°C for 5-7 days. During hydroponic seedling cultivation, the lotus seedling root system has weak absorption capacity, and growth mainly depends on nutrients provided by the seed embryo, so fertilization is generally not needed. During hydroponic seedling cultivation, the water layer should be kept about 10 cm deep, and sufficient light should be given; it is not advisable to change the water or turn the seedlings frequently, so as to avoid excessive elongation of the leaves due to frequent changes in their growth direction; the leaf stalks should be kept in the water, and the leaves should lie freely and flat on the water surface. When the first leaf opens, the second leaf is about to open, and white roots grow, they can be planted in place. Apply base fertilizer at about 1% of the potting soil in the flowerpot. Since there is relatively little potting soil and insufficient nutrients, fertilization should be applied regularly, preferably as light fertilizer applied frequently.
4. Management
When the buds grow to about 10 cm, they can be transplanted. According to the planting needs of Snow White, after choosing soil and putting it into the flower pot, add clear water and mix the soil and fertilizer evenly. After the muddy water clears, plant the hydroponic seedlings in the center of the flower pot, with all seeds entering the mud as the standard, so that the leaves spread freely on the water surface. When transplanting, note that the leaf stalks must not be broken, so as not to affect growth. After planting, maintain a water layer of 3-5 cm, but never submerge the leaves in water. Bowl lotus likes light, so the flower pot should be placed in a place with sufficient sunlight. The seedlings are delicate, and some may scorch when exposed to sunlight, but they will generally sprout and survive. Do not water too much either, so as to raise the water temperature and promote growth. After 7-13 floating leaves grow, upright leaves can appear. Place the seed lotus rhizomes end to end, with the terminal buds facing the center of the container, and plant them into the pot. After planting, add water to 2-3 cm, let it dry in the sun and then add water again, repeating two or three times, so that the seed lotus rhizomes and soil are fully compacted and not easy to float. In summer, Snow White must be watered every day. Snow White is also relatively prone to aphids, which can be sprayed with a 3000-fold dilution of Jule Hezhi.
The flower of Snow White is white, as white as snow, and lovely, and when paired with some other decorations, it can nicely accent an office or living room.