When to sow cornflowers for blooming? Growth cycle, planting methods and flower meaning
Cornflower is also known as blue cornflower, emerald blue, and lychee chrysanthemum. It is an ornamental plant and also a good nectar plant, and is regarded as the national flower of Germany. So when should it be sown and when does it bloom? How long is its growth cycle? What are the planting methods? What is its flower meaning? It is said that the cornflower's flower meaning is encounter and happiness, meticulousness, elegance, and it also represents happiness. The growth cycle lasts from April to October.
When is cornflower sown and when does it bloom?
1. Cornflower likes sufficient sunlight and a cool climate, dislikes summer heat, and prefers fertile, loose soil. Because it has a taproot, direct sowing is preferable. For autumn sowing to achieve earlier blooming, it can overwinter in a cold frame, and it can bloom in late spring. Because cornflower does not tolerate transplanting well, it must be moved with a soil ball when transplanted, otherwise it is not easy for the seedlings to recover. After the plants survive transplanting, apply once every 10 days or half a month a diluted decomposed human manure liquid mixed with 5 times water, and stop fertilizing in March of the following year to wait for blooming.
2. It has strong cold resistance. In East China it can be planted in the open field, while in North China it needs to be covered to overwinter; it likes fertile and loose soil; it likes sufficient sunlight; it can self-sow; it has strong adaptability and is easy to cultivate. When grown for cut flowers, greenhouses are usually used to force flowering: sow in August, plant out in September, and flowers can be produced in February of the following year. In warm areas south of Shanhaiguan, sowing is generally done from August to September, overwintering in the open field with cover, planting out in early spring of the following year, and blooming in early summer. In Northeast China, spring sowing is done in greenhouses. Because the cornflower's root is a taproot with few lateral roots, transplanting must be done when the seedlings are small and with soil; larger seedlings are not easy to survive, so spring direct sowing is often practiced. Cornflower can also reproduce by self-sowing. In addition, cornflower likes dense planting; otherwise, its growth is actually poor.
3. Cornflower is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant, up to 70 cm tall, upright, branched, with gray-white stems and branches, basal leaves, and the top arranged in corymbs or panicles. The involucre is elliptical, with disk flowers in blue, white, red, or purple, and the achene is elliptical. The flowering and fruiting period is from February to August.
What are the planting methods for cornflower?
1. Seedling raising: choose loose, fertile soil for the bed, cover with about 0.2 cm of soil. Cultivation: transplant when the seedlings have grown 6-7 true leaves, and plant one plant per 13-17 cm pot for pot culture. After the seedlings are planted and survive, pinch once to encourage more branching and more blooming; conversely, if there is too much branching, some lateral buds should be removed when necessary to obtain larger flowers. Because it has a taproot, direct sowing is preferable; autumn sowing with open-field cover for overwintering blooms in early summer; if overwintered in a cold frame, it can bloom in late spring; spring sowing should be done as early as possible. It blooms in June.
2. Cultivation site: Because cornflower originated in European fields, it is somewhat cold tolerant and likes cool places with sufficient sunlight.
3. Soil: It prefers loose, fertile sandy loam with good drainage. The cultivation soil should be made as well drained and well aerated as possible. If the soil is rather clayey, mix in 30-40% tree fern fiber or perlite to improve it.
4. Watering: In principle, watering once a day is enough, but in drier summer weather, water once in the morning and once in the evening to keep the potting soil moist and lower the temperature of the pot, but avoid waterlogging.
5. Fertilizing: Cornflower likes abundant fertilizer. During the growing period, apply a diluted liquid fertilizer of the three major elements once a month. If the leaves are too luxuriant, reduce the proportion of nitrogen fertilizer. Before flowering, apply more phosphorus and potassium fertilizer to obtain larger flowers with beautiful colors.
6. Flowering period management: Cornflower can naturally produce side branches. More side branches mean smaller flowers. When necessary, some lateral buds can be removed, leaving only smaller branches, to obtain larger flowers. Cornflower is a long-day plant. In winter, when sunshine duration is shorter, using a plant light at night for supplementary lighting can make it bloom earlier.