When Does Cockscomb (Lao Lai Hong) Bloom, and When Is the Best Time to Sow the Seeds?

Cockscomb likes full sunlight, heat and humidity, and cannot tolerate frost or poor, thin soil. It is widely cultivated in many places and is a common garden plant. It also has high medicinal value. So when does cockscomb bloom? And when is the best time to sow the seeds? Here are the details:

When Does Cockscomb Bloom

Cockscomb is an annual herbaceous plant. Its spike inflorescence is highly variable, growing at the tip of the stem or the ends of the branches, and is often shaped like a rooster's comb. The colors include purple, red, pale red, yellow, or mixed colors. When the utricle ripens, it splits horizontally, containing 2 to several small black seeds. The flowering period of cockscomb is generally from July to September. The fruiting period is from September to October. Therefore, the flowering period of cockscomb is every summer.

Cockscomb is best propagated by sowing from April to May, when the temperature is between 20°C and 25°C. Before sowing, apply some cake fertilizer, barnyard manure, or compost in the seedbed as a base fertilizer. When sowing, mix some fine soil with the seeds and broadcast them, because cockscomb seeds are very small; cover with only 2-3 mm of soil, not too deep. Before sowing, keep the soil in the seedbed moist. After sowing, spray a little water with a fine-nozzle watering can, then shade the seedbed, and do not water for two weeks. Generally, seedlings emerge in 7-10 days. When the seedlings grow 3-4 true leaves, thin them once, pulling out weak and overly dense seedlings. When the seedlings reach 5-6 cm tall, transplant and set them out with soil around the roots.

1. Seed propagation method: around Qingming (since it is outdoors, it is best after the last frost), choose a good plot, apply enough base fertilizer, plow finely and harrow evenly, level and make beds, scatter the seeds evenly over the bed surface, cover the seeds lightly with fine soil, firm the soil and water thoroughly, and keep the soil moist; generally at a temperature of 15-20°C, seedlings emerge in 10-15 days.

2. For summer sowing after Grain in Ear, sow at a row spacing of 30 cm. When the seedlings are 6 cm tall, thin them to a plant spacing of 20 cm. The thinned seedlings can be transplanted to other fields, and they must be watered after transplanting. During the seedling stage, be sure to weed and loosen the soil, and water as little as possible when it is not too dry. When the seedlings are 30 cm tall, apply a topdressing once. After the rows close, remove some old leaves as appropriate. When flowering and heading, if the weather is dry, water appropriately, and in the rainy season strictly prevent water accumulation in low-lying areas. After heading, the flower buds in the leaf axils of the lower part can be removed to help nutrients concentrate on the growth of the main spike at the top.

3. Of course, it can also be grown in a greenhouse, as long as you pay attention to humidity and temperature; but plants grown in a greenhouse must, after sprouting and growing four leaves, be taken outside at night to harden off, that is, to let them learn to adapt to the cold environment, otherwise they will grow thin, long, and delicate and soon die.

Planting

In spring, when the seedlings have grown 2-4 leaves, plant them in pots. When planting, set them slightly deeper, leaving only the cotyledons above the soil surface, and keep the potting soil slightly dry to induce the inflorescence to appear earlier. After the inflorescence appears, switch to a 16 cm pot. Water thoroughly before repotting. If you want extra-large flower heads, you can switch again to a 23 cm pot, and at the same time pay attention to matching the pot size. Small pots are for dwarf varieties, and large pots are for tall varieties such as the plume cockscomb. For dwarf, multi-branching varieties, pinch the tips after planting to promote branching; upright, branchable varieties do not need pinching.

2. Light and temperature: It likes warmth and avoids cold. During the growing period, it needs sufficient light, with at least 4 hours of light guaranteed every day. The suitable growing temperature is 18-28°C. Growth is slow when the temperature is low, and after winter begins the plants die.

3. Fertilizing and watering: The potting soil should be fertile, made by mixing half fertile loam and half rotted barnyard manure. During the growing period, it must be watered appropriately, but the potting soil should not be too wet; moist and tending toward dry is best. Prevent excessive vegetative growth that causes no flowering or delayed flowering. In the later growth stage, apply phosphorus fertilizer and provide more sunlight, which can promote robust growth and large inflorescences. At the seed maturation stage, apply less fertilizer and water to help the seeds mature and to keep the flower color rich and vivid for a longer time.

Key Cultivation Points

Suitable germination temperature: 20-30°C Sowing period: autumn, spring

Suitable growing temperature: 10-30°C Flowering period: year-round

Seedling raising: Scatter the seeds on culture soil, keep the soil moist, and they sprout in about 6-8 days. After thinning, transplant when there are 4-5 true leaves. Transplant carefully and do not break the taproot.

Planting: Use culture soil with good drainage as the growing medium. This plant tolerates heat and needs full sunlight, with a plant spacing of 15 cm in flower beds. Both the seedling stage and the growing period require nutrient fertilizers, such as organic fertilizer, compound fertilizer, or flower fertilizer, all of which are suitable.

Cultivation-Related Information

Cockscomb likes sunlight, tolerates poor soil, fears waterlogging, and cannot tolerate cold. It grows well in high-temperature, dry climates. Under normal conditions, it does not need watering or fertilizing. Cockscomb can be grown as a potted ornamental flower. When potting, seedlings are generally not raised in pots; instead, plants are selected from field-grown cockscombs at the flowering stage and potted. When potting, plant them slightly deeper, so that the leaves are close to the soil surface. Do not let the root ball break apart when transplanting. After planting, water thoroughly, start fertilizing after 7 days, and apply liquid fertilizer once every half month. Before the inflorescence forms, keep the potting soil somewhat dry to help the inflorescence develop. After the flower buds form, apply liquid fertilizer once every 7-10 days and water appropriately.

If you want the cockscomb plant to be sturdy and the flower comb large, thick, and brightly colored, you can move it to a larger pot after the inflorescence forms, but note that the root ball must not break apart during transplanting, because its root system is extremely weak, and otherwise it will not easily survive.

Cockscomb is cross-pollinated, and varieties easily hybridize and vary. Therefore, varieties kept for seed should be isolated during the flowering period. When saving seeds, collect the seeds from the lower part of the inflorescence, which can preserve the characteristics of the variety.

Scientific Care

1. Potting soil: Use fertile, well-drained sandy loam, or a mixed medium prepared from leaf mold, garden soil, and sand in a ratio of 1:4:2.

2. Potting: At the flowering stage, you can directly select field-grown cockscombs for potting. When potting, be careful not to let the root ball break apart, plant slightly deeper, and keep the leaves as close to the potting soil surface as possible.

3. Watering: Water thoroughly after planting, then water appropriately. When watering, try not to let the lower leaves get splashed with muddy water.

4. Fertilizing: After the flower buds form, apply a dilute compound liquid fertilizer once every 10 days.

How to Make Cockscomb Colors Beautiful

There are many varieties of cockscomb. Plant forms include tall, medium, and dwarf types; shapes include cockscomb-like, torch-like, pom-pom-like, feather-like, and fan-like; flower colors include bright red, orange-yellow, dark red, purple, white, and mixed red and yellow; leaf colors include deep red, emerald green, yellow-green, and red-green. They are extremely attractive and have become commonly used flower bed plants in summer and autumn.

If management and care are improper during cultivation, flowering is often sparse and the flower colors dull, affecting the ornamental value of cockscomb.

To make cockscomb flowers large and brightly colored, pay attention to the following during cultivation and care:

1. Plant it in sandy loam in a high, dry, sunny, fertile, and well-drained location.

2. Do not water too much during the growing period. Control watering after flowering, water appropriately when the weather is dry, and drain promptly on rainy days.

3. Remove all axillary buds starting from the seedling stage.

4. After the cockscomb forms, apply a dilute compound liquid fertilizer once every 10 days (2-3 times).

Disease Control

If root rot occurs at the seedling stage, quicklime can be broadcast in the field. During the growing period, the cotton geometrid is likely to appear; spraying diluted detergent, dimethoate, or pyrethroid pesticides on the leaves can help control it. Propagation and cultivation.

(1) Ring spot

Main symptoms: Large round lesions with brown edges appear on the leaves. The surface of the lesions has obvious concentric rings. Later, the center of the lesion becomes grayish brown and scattered with small black dots.

(2) Phytophthora blight

Main symptoms: At first, small dark green spots appear on the leaves, then they enlarge. Under high humidity the lesions become soft and rotted; under low humidity they become light brown and dry.

(3) Leaf spot

Main symptoms: Leaf lesions are polygonal or round, 1-5 mm in diameter, with dark brown edges and a light brown center.

(4) Damping-off

Main symptoms: The pathogen mainly infects the root crown. If it occurs before emergence, the seed sprouts rot in the soil, appearing as missing plants on the ground. If it occurs after emergence, the affected root crown appears dark brown, softened, and water-soaked. In the later stage, the top of the plant wilts and finally dies. In severe cases, leaves touching the ground also easily develop large dark green to brown water-soaked spots, causing leaf rot.

(5) Stem rot

Main symptoms: This disease mostly damages the base of the stem. In the early stage, yellow-brown spots appear on the affected area, then gradually expand into oval or elongated lesions, with brown edges and a yellow or grayish-white center. Finally, small black dots are produced on the lesions.

Chemical Control

1. Spray promptly for control in the early stage of the disease. The agents include 1:1:200 Bordeaux mixture, 50% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder, 50% carbendazim wettable powder sprayed at 500 times dilution, 40% jianduqing suspension concentrate sprayed at 600-800 times dilution; or drench with zineb wettable powder at 300-500 times dilution.

2. In modern environmentally friendly pest removal methods, in addition to using diluted detergent, you can also plant some plants around it that keep insects away, or release some beneficial insects that eat those pests.