Routine Management Methods and Care Points for Dianthus chinensis

I. Minimal or no management is the best management method

Dianthus chinensis has extremely strong drought tolerance and tolerance to poor soil, so it cannot be managed with conventional methods. Once it is successfully planted and established, there is no need to water or fertilize it. Too much watering and fertilizing makes the branches and leaves grow too vigorously, and the roots are prone to rotting. Many construction and management units believe that the more vigorous the branches and leaves of Dianthus chinensis, the better, and water and fertilize frequently, resulting in the phenomenon of planting in spring and death in summer. On the contrary, some Dianthus chinensis plants with no management stay green all year round, with low-growing branches and leaves, and are full of flowers in early summer.

II. Use less or no plastic greenhouses or plastic film for raising seedlings

The disadvantages of using greenhouses or plastic film to raise seedlings are: the interior of the greenhouse is warm and humid, making it easy for various pathogens to breed. After the seedlings are transplanted to the field, once the rainy season arrives, the pathogens multiply rapidly, easily causing large-scale disease and death of Dianthus chinensis. A better method is to raise seedlings in an open field in autumn. After the seedlings endure the test of severe winter cold, they are transplanted to the field the following spring. Such seedlings basically have no pathogens and are well developed from the start. Practice has proven that after many construction units used seedlings that had gone through the test of severe winter, the survival rate of Dianthus chinensis reached over 90%.

III. Planting in early spring or late autumn gives the best results

Dianthus chinensis sprouts relatively early. When the frozen soil in the north thaws, it begins to initiate flower buds. Transplanting at this time will not cause too much damage to the plant, the survival rate is extremely high, and it does not affect the full blooming period in June. Transplanting from September to early November is also the best period, and after the plant goes through the severe winter, a large number of pathogens are killed by freezing, making its vitality stronger the following year. In short, for the management of Dianthus chinensis, as long as you emphasize one word, "lazy," remember one word, "prune" (prune the spent flowers once after the full blooming period), and do not forget two "no's" (no watering, no fertilizing), that is enough.