What are the common methods for controlling diseases in home-grown flowers?

Keeping a few pots of flowers at home not only decorates the living environment but also helps purify the air in the room. However, flower lovers often ask, what should be done when a beloved flower gets sick? Here is a brief introduction to several disease control methods for flowers:

1. Petunia

Mosaic virus

① Symptoms. Infected leaves show a mosaic pattern of yellow-green alternating with green, or develop faded, nearly circular, poorly defined mottled lesions.

② Control measures. Spray insecticides to eliminate the aphids that transmit the virus. Wash hands with soap before touching petunias; disinfect seeds with 10% bleaching powder for 20 minutes to control the spread of the virus. Immediately pull up and destroy severely diseased plants. Strengthen cultivation management.

2. Zinnia

1. Black spot

① Symptoms. Stems, leaves, flowers and other organs can all be affected. In the early stage, small black spots appear on the diseased parts, which later expand into brown patches with a grayish-white center.

② Control measures. Remove diseased plant debris and destroy it in a centralized manner. Spray with 50% mancozeb at 500 times dilution, covering both the front and back of the leaves. Strengthen cultivation management.

2. Stem rot

① Symptoms. The site of infection is mainly the surface of branches at the base of the main stem, where large amounts of white mold appear, and many black sclerotia form inside the stem. In severe cases, the entire plant wilts, rots, and even dries up and dies.

② Control measures. Strengthen cultivation management, promptly remove diseased leaves, old leaves and diseased plant debris, take them out of the field and bury them deep to reduce sources of infection. Use carbendazim wettable powder at 500 times dilution, 70% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder at 800-1,000 times dilution, or 25% triadimefon at 3,000 times dilution, spraying once every 7-10 days for 3-4 consecutive sprays, or water the roots of the zinnia.

Folk remedy techniques for controlling flower pests

Home-grownpotted flowersare subject to damage by various pests. Here are several folkcontrolmethods for reference.

1. Chinese chives: Take 500 grams of Chinese chives, mash them, add 3 kg of water and mix well, filter to obtain the juice, which can be sprayed to killaphidson potted flowers, and can also control rust disease.

2. Ginger: Mash ginger and extract the juice, put it in a small bottle, add about 20 times its volume of water and spray. It can inhibit flowerrot disease, sooty moldand the germination of other pathogen spores, making it a good remedy for disease prevention and sterilization.

3. Scallion: Take 500 grams of scallions, mash them into a pulp, add about 4 kg of water, filter and spray to kill aphids on potted flowers, and it can also control the spread of powdery mildew.

4. Sichuan pepper: Use 50-200 grams of Sichuan pepper, add about 0.6 kg of water and boil it down to a concentrate. When using, dilute with 10 times its volume of water and spray on potted flowers affected bystem borers, whiteflies, scale insectsfor excellent insecticidal results.

5. Onion: When eating onions, collect the discarded outer skins, onion tips and onion leaves, chop them into small pieces, extract the raw juice and then add about 1 times its volume of water. Spray on potted flowers once every 3-5 days for 3 consecutive sprays to killred spider mites。

6. Chili pepper: Mash pungent green or red chili seeds and add 10 times their volume of water, then spray on potted flowers affected by aphids or stink bugs. The insecticidaleffectis good; mix chili seeds with an equal amount of lime, grind into a fine powder and dust it on pest-affected potted flower plants, which can also kill aphids andstink bugs。

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Morphological characteristics and cultivation techniques of bowl lotus | Growing methods | Pest and disease control

The lotus is graceful and elegant, refined and free from vulgarity, and is one of China's top ten famous flowers. It is enjoyed both for its flowers and its leaves. Its character of emerging unstained from the mud is deeply loved by people. Lotus colors are rich and varied, including red, pink, yellow, white, and bicolor. By petal count, they can also be divided into single-petal, semi-double, double, double-tiered, and thousand-petal types.

  Growth habits of the lotus

During the annual growing period, it can be divided into stages such as sprouting and leaf expansion, flowering and seed setting, rhizome growth, and dormancy. Each year, late June to late August is the blooming period of the lotus.

  Selection of potting soil for bowl lotus

First, choose a good container for growing. Generally, a bowl or other vessel with a diameter of 20-25 cm and a depth of 15-20 cm can be selected. Clay pots and tile pots seep water easily and are not suitable. Porcelain pots and glazed pots may be used, but the bottom of the pot must be sealed shut with cement before use. Bowl lotus requires pond mud or paddy field mud rich in organic matter as the growing medium; garden soil from vegetable plots can also be used. The soil layer generally accounts for 3/5 of the entire pot.

  Selecting varieties of bowl lotus

For home-grown bowl lotus, you can choose the varieties you like according to your own interests and preferences. Generally, varieties that bloom easily and bloom abundantly should be chosen. You can select quiet and elegant white-flowered varieties, such as 'Xiamen Bowl Lotus' and 'Jade Bowl', or you can choose enthusiastically bright red-flowered seed rhizomes, such as 'Spark' and 'Manjianghong'. When selecting, pay special attention to the integrity of the terminal bud of the seed rhizome. Any with broken, blackened, or softened terminal buds should not be chosen.

  Correct planting of bowl lotus

The planting time for home-grown bowl lotus is usually after Qingming Festival in April, and the planting time can also be advanced or delayed according to different flowering period requirements. Before planting, first pour water into the pot or bowl, then use your hands to mash the soil into a muddy paste, and leave a water storage layer. When planting, hold the terminal bud with one hand and support the tail of the rhizome with the other, with the rhizome head facing down, and slowly insert it into the mud along the edge of the pot, with the tail node protruding above the mud at an angle of about 20 degrees. If planting two seed rhizomes, insert the other obliquely into the mud at the opposite edge of the pot, making sure the two rhizomes are head-to-tail. After planting, do not water immediately. Wait 2-3 days until the rhizome body is completely settled, then water lightly.

  Daily care of bowl lotus

Bowl lotus is an aquatic flower and cannot be separated from water at any time during the growing period. For home cultivation of bowl lotus, it is best to pre-sun the water for 1-2 days. In the early growth stage of bowl lotus, that is, before the standing leaves appear, it should be irrigated with shallow water and attention should be paid to water control. After the standing leaves appear and the temperature rises, the pot or bowl should be kept full of water. In midsummer, water once each in the morning and evening, and on rainy days also check whether the pot is short of water, because when it rains, the rainwater is often blocked by the lotus leaves and cannot fall into the pot. Bowl lotus likes fertilizer, especially phosphorus and potassium fertilizers; the amount of nitrogen fertilizer should not be too much, otherwise it will cause excessive vegetative growth. If the leaf color appears yellow, it indicates insufficient fertilizer, and decomposed organic fertilizers such as soybean cake, oil residue, and horsetail can be applied. When the standing leaves emerge, topdress with potassium dihydrogen phosphate to promote the formation of flower buds, applying once every 10-15 days at a ratio of 1:500. Bowl lotus especially loves light and needs at least 7-8 hours of sunlight per day. It is most averse to being grown in shade. If placed indoors, it should not be left for long.

  Pest and disease control of bowl lotus

The common pest of bowl lotus is aphids, which often gather on the newly emerged curled leaves and leaf stalks to suck sap. The control method is to scatter 3% carbofuran granules in the pot or bowl to kill them, or to catch a few ladybugs and use biological control. If a large outbreak occurs, spray with "Decis" at 1,500-2,000 times dilution. Other pests such as lotus armyworm and thrips can also be controlled by this method. For home cultivation of bowl lotus, you can make some pesticides with lower toxicity and short residual effect for control. For example, spray with tobacco leaf soaking solution, or water with a 200-300 times diluted laundry detergent solution. Common diseases of bowl lotus include brown blight, spot blight, and rot disease. When they occur, immediately remove the affected parts and keep them away from the bowl lotus or burn them, or spray with thiophanate-methyl at 800-1,000 times dilution. To prevent diseases and control pests in home cultivation of bowl lotus, the key is to pay attention when selecting seed rhizomes, and be sure to choose healthy and robust ones. Never bring seed rhizomes with pests or diseases home. During cultivation, as long as a well-ventilated environment and sufficient light are maintained, pests and diseases are unlikely to occur.