Gardenia, Carnation, Peony, Jasmine, and Epiphyllum: Seed Planting and Precautions
Gardenia, carnation, peony, jasmine, and epiphyllum are all beloved and widely grown flowers, but do you know how to plant their seeds? What precautions should you take? Below we introduce the planting methods for each of these flower seeds one by one!
How do you plant rose seeds? What precautions should you take?
Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides) prefers a warm, humid climate. It likes sunlight but cannot withstand intense direct sun. It grows best in loose, fertile, well-drained, slightly clayey acidic soil, and is a typical acid-loving flower. For potted plants, a soil mix of 40% garden soil, 15% coarse sand, 30% barnyard manure soil, and 15% leaf mold is suitable.
1. Climate and soil: It prefers a warm, humid climate, and sandy loam or clay loam that is well-drained, fertile, loose, and fairly moist is best.
2. Land preparation: For the seedling bed, first plow about 33 cm deep, remove stones and grass roots, then build raised beds 17 cm high and 1.3 m wide. Break up the clods, rake level, and apply 2000 kg of base fertilizer per mu. Then, at a row spacing of 27 cm, dig horizontal trenches 7 cm wide and 3 cm deep, ready for sowing.
3. Seed propagation: The sowing period is divided into spring sowing and autumn sowing, with spring sowing being better. From early February to late February (Start of Spring to Rain Water). Select plump, deep-red fruits, dig out the seeds, rub them apart in water, scoop out the seeds that sink, and dry off the moisture; then mix them evenly with fine soil or plant ash, sow them in rows in the bed trenches, cover with fine soil, and then cover with rice straw; after germination remove the straw, weed regularly, and if the seedlings are too dense, thin them out gradually, maintaining a plant spacing of 10-13 cm. After the seedlings are grown for 1-2 years and reach over 30 cm tall, they can be transplanted.
4. Transplanting: Transplant between February and March, at a plant spacing of 1.2-2 m, prepare holes 50 cm in diameter and 30 cm deep, and mix 10 kg of compost with fine soil as base fertilizer. Plant 1 seedling per hole.
5. Field management: During the seedling stage, weed and water regularly to keep the seedbed moist, and dilute human waste is best for fertilizing. After transplanting, weed, loosen the soil, and fertilize once each in early spring and summer, and mound the soil appropriately.
How do you plant carnation seeds? What precautions should you take?
1. Find a flowerpot with holes and good drainage and breathability. Fill it with fertile soil, and if possible, place some clay pebbles at the bottom to improve drainage. After filling with soil, gently sprinkle the seeds on the soil.
2. After sowing the seeds, sprinkle a thin layer of soil lightly over the seeds to prevent them from being blown away and to help them take root. Then sprinkle some water lightly. Place in a ventilated, breathable spot with light but no direct sunlight. Sprinkle water often so the soil does not dry out. After some time they will sprout.
3. Carnations are very easy to grow. Try not to let them become leggy, otherwise they will not look good. When they grow tall, you can give them a small support to prevent them from growing crooked and becoming unattractive.
4. Keep the soil fertile and moist, provide sun, and then you can beautifully enjoy your carnations.
How do you plant peony seeds? What precautions should you take?
1. Peony seeds develop from the ovules in the ovary, and generally mature in early to mid-August each year. The seed-setting rate decreases as the degree of petalization of the stamens and pistils increases, and they may even fail to set seed. After the seeds reach a certain degree of maturity, their germination rate decreases as maturity increases. The sowing period is late. Peony seeds have an epicotyl with a dormant characteristic, and can be harvested from late July to early to mid-August. It is best to sow them immediately after harvest; too early or too late will reduce the germination rate. During planting, peony seeds must not be sown too deep; 3 to 4 cm is suitable. After sowing, cover with soil level with the ground, commonly known as “seeds into the soil, no deeper than five” (5 cm). Then gently firm the soil, water thoroughly, and in winter cover with millet straw, leaves, or horse manure, or cover well with plastic film, to keep warm, preserve moisture, and protect against cold. After the peonies sprout and emerge the following year, let the seedlings show above the ground; weak ones produce only one small leaf, while strong ones can produce 2 to 3 leaves. Cultivate and weed in time.
3. Peony is a deep-rooted deciduous shrub flower. It likes sunlight, is cold-tolerant, loves a cool environment, and avoids high temperatures and stuffiness. It is suitable for growing in loose, fertile, well-drained sandy soil. It has some drought tolerance but cannot stand moisture, and should not be planted in low-lying areas with standing water; if there is too much water in the soil, its fleshy roots rot easily. The characteristics of the peony are the “four likes and four fears,” namely: likes coolness but fears freezing, likes warmth but fears heat, likes light but fears shade, likes dryness but fears dampness. Therefore, to plant peonies, choose a spacious, ventilated place with morning sunlight and fertile, loose soil. Do not plant them in waterlogged ground, damp shaded ground, or rubble ground.
How do you plant jasmine seeds? What precautions should you take?
1. Sowing: In the north, you can use a greenhouse or a geothermal seedling bed to raise seedlings. Scatter the seeds on the seedling bed, keep the ground temperature at about 20 degrees C, and stop adding ground heat after the seedlings emerge. Sow about 300 grams per square meter of seedling bed.
2. Soil: To help jasmine grow well, for home potted jasmine it is recommended to choose fertile sandy or semi-sandy soil. Planting in slightly acidic soil with a pH of 6 to 6.5 gives a dense root system and vigorous growth. If the soil is heavy clay, lacks organic matter, has low fertility, and has poor aeration, then the root system will be sparse, the plant short, the stems and leaves slender, and the flowers few and small.
3. Watering: Jasmine is not drought-tolerant, but it also dislikes standing water. In rainy seasons, promptly pour out any standing water in the pot, otherwise the leaves tend to turn yellow. In hot summer weather with clear skies, water twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. If the leaves are found curling and drooping, spray water on the leaves to promote growth. In the rainy season, loosen the soil often so that no water accumulates in the pot. In spring and autumn, water thoroughly once every few days. In winter, simply keep the pot soil moist; too much watering will cause the roots to turn black and rot, and the leaves to wither and fall off.
4. Light: Jasmine likes hot, humid, ventilated, and breathable environments, and needs ample light. Jasmine fears cold. In the south, potted jasmine can be grown outdoors through the winter, while in the north, in autumn and winter you need to keep it warm and move it indoors to a south-facing spot.
5. Temperature: Jasmine is fairly sensitive to temperature and requires a warm, humid climate, and can adapt to higher temperatures; but it is not tolerant of low temperatures and has poor cold resistance. Below 10 degrees C, jasmine grows extremely slowly, or even stops growing.
6. Fertilizing: The peak heat of midsummer is the vigorous growth period for jasmine. Apply more organic fertilizer and phosphorus-potassium fertilizer, such as peanut cake powder, bone meal, superphosphate, and multi-element flower fertilizer, twice a month.
7. Pest and disease control: Jasmine is often harmed by snout moth larvae, scale insects, and red spider mites, most seriously from July to September, often boring into and eating the flower buds. You can use all-purpose powder or fenvalerate diluted 200 times with water for spraying, once every half month. Spray even if no pests or diseases have occurred, so as to prevent them in advance. The best times to spray are 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on clear days; do not spray under the midday hot sun, to prevent chemical damage.
How do you plant epiphyllum seeds? What precautions should you take?
Epiphyllum seeds like a warm, humid, semi-shaded, warm, and moist environment. It is not tolerant of frost and avoids strong direct sun. In particular, its temperature requirements are higher than those of its place of origin: 15-25 degrees C, with spring and summer night temperatures needing to be 16-18 degrees C and daytime temperatures 21-24 degrees C. The overwintering temperature is 10-12 degrees C, and the soil should not be too dry. In winter it can tolerate low temperatures of around 5 degrees C. The soil should preferably be a slightly acidic sandy soil rich in humus, with good drainage, loose, and fertile; otherwise the roots rot easily.