When to sow sweet alyssum? Flowerbed ornamental flower care methods

Sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima) is short and much branched, blooming in a mass of white and giving off waves of delicate fragrance that draw large numbers of bees. Its small flowers cluster densely into ball shapes, in colors including white, light purple, deep purple and purplish red; there are also large-flowered varieties and ornamental-leaf varieties with white edges and variegated leaves. It has a faint scent and is an excellent flower for rock gardens, as well as an excellent edging material for flowerbeds and flower borders, and it also looks very good grown in pots.When to sow sweet alyssum? How to grow it?

1. When to sow sweet alyssum?

The sowing season for sweet alyssum seeds differs between north and south. In northern regions, sowing is generally done around March in spring in a greenhouse, keeping the temperature at about 20°C. After sowing, the seedlings emerge very quickly, in only 5 days, and once 3-5 true leaves have grown they can be potted and planted out. In North China and southern regions, by contrast, the seeds are usually sown in autumn, roughly between August and September, and after sowing a cold frame is used to protect them through the winter.

2. How to grow sweet alyssum?

1. Soil

When growing this small white flower at home, it is mostly grown in pots, and there are many ways to mix the soil: garden soil plus stove ash, garden soil plus ceramsite plus coarse sand, or grass ash plus stove ash plus ceramsite, and so on. Try to improve the soil's drainage so that the roots' ability to breathe is not affected. Once the nutrient soil is ready, the plant can go into the pot; be sure to water it as soon as it is potted and place it somewhere without strong light, so that the plant can adapt to the new environment more quickly.

2. Potting

There is a right way to pot up sweet alyssum seedlings; you cannot simply stick them in and be done. First put the small seedling into a flowerpot with some base soil, then cover around it with a layer of coarse-grained soil, which provides maximum drainage, and then cover with a layer of soil mixed with base fertilizer. Its height should not reach the seedling's new leaves and should be a little lower than the rim of the pot. The fertilizer must be mixed thoroughly with the soil, so that it is not concentrated in one spot; if it comes into direct contact with the seedling's roots, it may well burn the seedling and affect its growth.

3. Pinching

Before the flowering season arrives, there is one step that is very important: removing the growing tips. Generally this needs to be done twice: the first time to make the plant grow more side branches, and the second time to make the plant produce more flowers. About half a month after transplanting, the plant will have grown into a well-formed seedling, and this is the best time for the first pinching; how much of the top growth to remove depends on the plant's specific growth.

Generally, just leave three to five leaves and remove the rest. Later you will find that the plant sends out some side branches and its shape becomes rounder and fuller. But in order for the plant to produce even more flowers during the flowering season, at this point you should stop the growth of the branches; the removal of the branches is the same as the first operation, only the effect it serves is different.