What are the summer dormancy care methods for flowering plants?
We may be more used to hearing that succulents have a dormancy period, but in fact many plants have a dormancy period, and there are a great many flowers whose dormancy period falls in summer. Narcissus, cyclamen, fuchsia, tulips, gloxinia, wax begonia, geraniums and so on are all flowers that go dormant in summer. If you want your flowers to make it safely through the dormancy period, you need to carry out the somewhat special care methods for this period.
Cyclamen
1. Place the dormant plant in a shady, ventilated spot, avoiding strong light and rain, otherwise root rot easily occurs and may even cause the whole plant to die.
2. Watering must be strictly controlled. At this time, too much water and overly wet potting soil very easily cause root rot. Too little water, on the other hand, easily causes the roots to shrivel, so keeping the potting soil slightly moist is best.
3. Stop fertilizing. During dormancy, because physiological activity is extremely weak, no fertilizer is needed, so no fertilizer of any kind should be applied. Otherwise, root rot, bulb rot, and even the death of the whole plant easily result. In addition, for bulb flowers such as cyclamen and tulips, you can also dig up the bulbs after summer dormancy and store them in a cool, ventilated, dry place.
How should summer-dormant flowers be cared for?
Potted caladium
Flowers that go dormant in summer include: wax begonia, fuchsia, narcissus, cyclamen, gloxinia, epiphyllum, freesia, tulips, clivia, geraniums, caladium, and so on. Care requirements:
① Control watering. Do not water much during the dormancy period; keep the potting soil moist, and frequently spray water on the branches and leaves and on the ground around the pot so as to create a moist, cool microclimate.
② Suitable environment. Move the pot to a cool and ventilated place for care.
③ Stop fertilizing.
How should summer-dormant flowers be cared for?
Summer weather is hot, and some flowers enter a dormant state in order to get through the overly harsh environment, such as begonias, clivia, geraniums and so on; after dormancy their leaves remain green, which is called evergreen dormancy; flowers such as narcissus, hyacinths, cyclamen and tulips lose all their leaves after dormancy, which is called deciduous dormancy. Therefore, in summer care and management, you must grasp the physiological habits of these flowers and plants and manage them carefully, so that these flowers can smoothly and safely "sleep" through the summer.
Specifically, pay attention to the following points --
1. Reduce light, keep cool and ventilated.
After summer begins, dormant flowers should be placed in a cool, ventilated place, avoiding direct sunlight; if conditions allow, a shade shed can also be built. When temperatures are high, water should also be sprayed frequently around the plants and on the ground to lower the temperature and increase humidity.
2. Water at the right time, control the amount of water.
Summer-dormant flowers do not have high water requirements, and the amount of water given must be strictly controlled. Because when flowers are in a dormant or semi-dormant state their root activity is relatively weak; if watered too much and the potting soil is too wet, root rot easily results; if watered too little, the plant's roots easily shrivel, so keeping the potting soil slightly moist is best.
3. Avoid rain, prevent waterlogging.
Because the dormancy period of summer-dormant flowers coincides with the rainy season, if the plants are exposed to rain, or if water accumulates in the pot after rain, the roots or bulbs of the plants very easily rot, causing leaf drop. Therefore, potted plants should be placed in a rain-sheltered location.
4. Reduce nutrients, stop fertilizing.
During summer dormancy, because the plant's physiological activity is weakened and very few nutrients are consumed, no fertilizer of any kind needs to be applied; otherwise root rot or bulb rot, and even the death of the entire plant, easily result.
In addition, after the tubers or bulbs of bulb flowers such as cyclamen, hyacinths, tulips and freesia go dormant, you can dig out their bulbs, remove dead leaves and soil, and store them in a ventilated, cool, dry place (lilies and others are buried in river sand). When the weather turns cool and the temperature gradually drops, these summer-dormant flowers will quickly begin to grow.