How to grow Marvel-of-Peru (four o'clock flower)? A brief discussion of Marvel-of-Peru cultivation and management techniques
Marvel-of-Peru has purple flowers, and it generally opens in the afternoon. Its flowering period is long, and when it blooms it carries a faint fragrance. Its ornamental value is extremely high, and its planting method is simple, making it an excellent household potted flower. Those who love flowers and plants can give it a try.
1. Sowing
Place drainage stones in the flower pot, then add soil. Because Marvel-of-Peru seeds are relatively large, sow them by the dibbling method: use your finger to poke several small holes in the soil, put in the seeds, then cover with soil. During sowing, keep the soil moist and give it a moderate amount of sun.
2. Watering
Marvel-of-Peru likes a moist climate, so water to keep the soil moist. Water when the soil is dry, but do not let water accumulate, otherwise it is very easy for the plant to drown.
3. Light
During the seedling stage, Marvel-of-Peru can be kept in full sunlight, which can prevent leggy branches and leaves. After it becomes a potted plant, Marvel-of-Peru prefers shade and grows best under cover, with occasional sun. It is suitable for growing in a semi-shady environment, which is beneficial for flowering.
4. Fertilizing
Marvel-of-Peru is robust by nature and highly adaptable, and its care and management are simple. When grown at home, if it can occasionally be watered with water used to wash meat or fish, or with rice-washing water, it will bloom more vigorously and the flower color will be more vivid. As for fertilizer, it can be fertilized once every two weeks, which helps Marvel-of-Peru grow flower buds and produce flowers.
5. Temperature
Marvel-of-Peru is not cold-tolerant, so when getting through winter, Marvel-of-Peru needs good measures to survive the winter. The method is to dig out the roots in late autumn, then place them in moist soil at a suitable temperature, and then let them grow again the next year.
How to grow Marvel-of-Peru: its seeds also have beauty benefits!
Marvel-of-Peru is not only fragrant; its seeds and leaves also have beauty, heat-clearing and detoxifying effects. When the seeds are mature, they look black and spherical on the outside and white inside. For beauty use, take several mature seeds, grind them into powder, remove the skin, and apply the powder to the face. It can remove facial spots and so on, making the face smooth and fair, achieving a beauty effect.
Marvel-of-Peru has strong vitality and can be propagated by sowing, with a high survival rate. The above is a care guide for Marvel-of-Peru. Those who want to grow it can refer to it.
How to grow Bougainvillea? A brief discussion of key cultivation points for Bougainvillea (experience version)
Bougainvillea, also known as: Paperflower, Three-leaf Caper, Hairy Bougainvillea, Thorny Azalea, Triangle Flower, Leaf Flower, Leaf Plum, Paper Flower, South American Marvel-of-Peru, etc. It is an evergreen climbing shrub. It likes a warm and humid climate and is not cold-tolerant. It can safely overwinter only above 3°C, and can flower only above 15°C. It likes sufficient light. Bougainvillea has a relatively long flowering period, with many and beautiful flowers. In the south, the flowering period is generally from October of the current year to early June of the following year. This article mainly introduces the key cultivation points of Bougainvillea for flower lovers' reference and learning.1. Selection of growing soil
Bougainvillea is not strict about soil, but it fears water accumulation and is not tolerant of waterlogging. Therefore, a loose growing soil with good drainage must be selected. Generally, a growing soil made of 4 parts humus soil, 4 parts garden soil, and 2 parts sand can be used. Dried pond mud mixed with some coal cake residue can also be used as potting soil.
2. Rational fertilizing
To make Bougainvillea bloom more, sufficient nutrients must be ensured, and fertilizing must be timely, moderate, and rational. Generally, during the vigorous growth period from April to July, apply liquid fertilizer once every 7 to 10 days to promote robust plant growth. The fertilizer can be 10% to 20% decomposed soybean cake or rapeseed cake water, or human feces water, etc. Starting in August, in order to promote flower bud formation, apply fertilizer mainly based on phosphorus fertilizer once every 10 days. A 20% liquid fertilizer of decomposed chicken, duck, and pigeon manure and fish offal, etc. can be used. From October, it enters the flowering period. From then until mid-November, apply a fertilizer mainly based on phosphorus fertilizer once every half month, with a fertilizer water concentration of 30% to 40%. After each flowering, apply an additional topdressing once, so that Bougainvillea continuously receives nutrient supplementation during the flowering period.
3. Control water before flowering
For ordinary watering of Bougainvillea, grasp the principle of "do not water if not dry, and water thoroughly when watering." But to make Bougainvillea bloom neatly and abundantly, water control must be carried out before flowering. Starting in September, control watering of Bougainvillea. Each watering should wait until the potting soil is dry and the branches and leaves are soft and drooping. Repeat this continuously for half a month, then after half a month restore normal watering. During the water control period, absolutely do not fertilize, to avoid fertilizer burning the root system. In this way, after about one month, Bougainvillea can show buds and bloom, and the flowers will open neatly and abundantly.
4. Loosening soil, weeding and repotting
Because of long-term watering, fertilizing and rainwater washing, the potting soil of Bougainvillea easily becomes compacted. Therefore, the soil must be loosened regularly, and weeds in the potting soil must be removed at the same time, to benefit the growth of Bougainvillea. Otherwise, compacted potting soil and water accumulation can easily cause root rot or poor growth of Bougainvillea. In addition, Bougainvillea grows relatively fast, has a developed root system and very many fibrous roots, so it needs to be repotted once a year.
5. Pruning should be appropriate
Bougainvillea grows rapidly, so during the growth period attention should be paid to shaping and pruning to promote side branch growth and produce more flowering branches. The number of prunings is generally 1 to 3 times, and it should not be too many, otherwise it will affect the number of flowerings. After each flowering, remove spent flowers promptly to reduce nutrient consumption. After the flowering period, thin out overly dense branches, inner branches, leggy branches, and weak branches. Other branches are generally not pruned, or only the tips are lightly pruned. Heavy pruning is not suitable, so as to shorten the next growth period and promote earlier and repeated flowering.
6. Pay attention to light and ventilation
Bougainvillea is a sun-loving plant. To make branches and leaves grow normally and increase the number of flowerings, Bougainvillea must be placed in a location with sufficient light and good ventilation, allowing it 8 to 12 hours of light per day. If the placement location is often shaded, the plant will become leggy and the number of flowers will decrease. If the placement location is not ventilated or the pots are placed too densely together, leaves will drop. Especially in hot summer, with sudden heat and rain, large-scale leaf drop can easily occur, thus affecting plant growth and flowering.
7. Strengthen pest and disease control
Common pests of Bougainvillea mainly include leaf beetles and aphids, and common diseases mainly include shoot blight and leaf spot. Usually strengthen soil loosening and weeding, remove dead branches and diseased leaves promptly, and pay attention to ventilation to reduce the spread of disease sources. Strengthen disease inspection and handle problems promptly when found. For shoot blight, solutions such as dimethoate and thiophanate can be used for control. For leaf spot, spray with 65% zineb wettable powder 600 times liquid.
8. Propagation methods
Bougainvillea is propagated by cuttings and layering, mainly by cuttings. For outdoor cuttings, the survival rate is high in summer. In a greenhouse, cuttings can be taken from January to March. Take full, mature branches and insert them into a sand bed. At a room temperature of 25-30C, they root in 20-30 days, are divided into pots after 40 days, and can bloom by the second year when winter begins.
Summary: The above is an introduction to the key cultivation points of Bougainvillea. I hope it is helpful to flower lovers growing Bougainvillea.
A brief discussion of leaf removal techniques for flowering potted plants
Recently, many flower lovers asked the editor why their flowers are not as good-looking as other people's. Today, the editor will talk about one small technique among them: leaf removal. In the process of cultivating and managing flowering potted plants, timely and moderate removal of leaves is beneficial for improving the ornamental value of flowering potted plants, extending the viewing time, and promoting branch and leaf growth and flowering and fruiting. For different kinds of flowers and trees, the timing of leaf removal, the amount of leaf removal, the purpose of leaf removal, and the care measures before and after leaf removal are not the same. Therefore, leaf removal techniques should be used correctly.
After jasmine overwinters indoors, keep it outdoors in a sunny place for about 15 days. Combined with repotting and changing soil, remove all old leaves, and prune the branches, cutting out weak branches in overly dense areas and shortening all branches. This has a very good effect on promoting branch and leaf growth and the growth and development of the whole plant.
Milan (Aglaia odorata) has strong growth, abundant branches and leaves, and can continuously grow new branches and leaves and bloom, while also continuously forming dark green, lusterless old leaves. Removing these old leaves promptly can make the whole plant's leaf color tender green and glossy, avoiding mixed and uneven leaf color; it helps ventilation and light penetration and reduces pest and disease breeding; it can reduce nutrient consumption and is beneficial to the growth and development of new branches, leaves and flower buds.
Goji is robust by nature, and its tender leaves and red fruits both have good ornamental value, making it a good material for potted plants. For potted goji, do not let it flower and fruit before autumn. Apply quick-acting fertilizer once around the Beginning of Autumn, and one week later remove 80-90% of the leaves. At the same time, prune the branches as needed according to the shaping requirements. After 7-10 days, new leaves and flower buds emerge together. After the new leaves unfold, apply cake fertilizer water once a week, making the flowers abundant and leaves lush, and after autumn the branches are full of red fruits.
For tree species in stump potted plants such as elm, hackberry, pomegranate, crape myrtle, Vitex negundo, and small-leaf privet, carry out leaf removal measures around early September or before they need to be exhibited. About 10 days before leaf removal, apply quick-acting fertilizer once to help accumulate nutrients for new leaf germination. Use scissors to cut off the leaves, keeping the petioles. After 10-20 days, new leaves sprout. Not only is the new leaf color beautiful and full of vitality, but the leaves can also become smaller, better reflecting the beauty of the branch and trunk shape.
Red maple leaves are bright red and eye-catching, but old leaves become dull in color or turn green again. Leaves can be removed twice, in June and September, to keep the leaves bright red all year and improve the ornamental effect.
When applying leaf removal techniques, tree species that have not been tested must not be used indiscriminately. After leaf removal, special care is needed. After large-scale leaf removal, water metabolism is slow, so soil moisture should be controlled and it is better to keep it on the dry side. In case of heavy rain or continuous rainy days, shelter from rain and temporarily stop fertilizing. After the new leaves unfold, restore normal care. Flowering potted plants with weakened tree vigor should not have their leaves removed, otherwise it will accelerate weakening or death.
Through the detailed introduction in this article, I hope everyone can gain something! Everyone is welcome to continue following Duorou Huapu to learn more of the latest information about potted plant making!