A Detailed Guide to Carnation Cultivation Methods and Propagation Techniques
Carnations carry the floral meaning of immortal motherly love and "Mother, I love you." Therefore, whether on special holidays or ordinary days, when people want to give their mother flowers to express their love, most of them choose carnations. Some people, because their mother loves carnations, plant a whole garden of them to please her. So what exactly are the carnation propagation methods? Let's take a look together!
Propagation Methods
Carnation propagation falls into two types: asexual propagation (layering) and sexual propagation (seed propagation). Sexual propagation has a low seed-setting rate, the offspring show great variation in traits, and the seedlings grow slowly, so it is rarely used in production. Asexual propagation is widely used in production, mainly cutting propagation, which has the advantages of abundant cuttings, stable traits, and quick results.
[Asexual Propagation]
(1) Selection of Cuttings
Choose plants that are free of pests and diseases, grow vigorously, and have tight internodes, with 3-4 pairs of unfolded leaves and 1 pair of unopened leaves, and with less than 10% of cuttings in the batch bearing flower buds.
(2) Cutting Time
The hot summer months of July-August should be avoided.
(3) Cutting Requirements
The cuttings should be of good quality, with larger-grained perlite used as the cutting medium, good water quality, and a raised bench-type cutting bed.
(4) Taking and Inserting the Cuttings
Cuttings are generally taken at the same time as bud thinning of the carnations. Cuttings should be taken according to standards; when taking them, pinch off the shoots by hand rather than cutting with scissors, to avoid cross-infection by viruses. The base should carry a little of the main stem cortex without damaging the mother branch, and the top 4-5 leaves of the cutting should be kept while the rest are removed. After being sorted into bundles, soak them in clean water for 30 minutes so the cuttings absorb enough water. The cut surface should be pressed close to the internode and treated with growth regulators to improve the survival rate and the rate of plants ready for sale. When inserting, it is appropriate to insert about 1 cm into the medium. In summer, insert deeper, generally 1.5-2 cm. After inserting, spray enough water, and afterwards keep it from being too wet to avoid root rot.
(5) Storage of Cuttings
Storing cuttings greatly facilitates year-round seedling production and balanced flower supply throughout the year, and allows batch work to be done all at once, saving manpower and material resources.
(6) Storage Requirements
① Temperature of 1-2°C, with as small a fluctuation as possible, preferably within ±1°C;
② Slightly dehydrate before storage; cuttings should be packed in ultra-thin plastic film.
(7) Cutting Management
The cutting bed should have intermittent misting facilities, with the spray volume controlled so that the leaves are just moistened. If no misting is available, cover with plastic film, then switch to reed curtains after 1 week, but do not shade too much to prevent leggy growth. When the roots of the cuttings reach 1 cm, transplant them, taking care to damage the roots as little as possible.
[Sexual Propagation]
Conditions the stock plants for cutting collection must meet:
(1) The plants should be relatively young in age, have good flowering traits, and a disease incidence index of zero, and the part taken for cuttings should be strictly controlled above the 6th node.
(2) The stock plants must be tissue-cultured seedlings.
(3) The keys to cultivation management in the stock plant garden are: strengthening soil disinfection, advocating crop rotation, ensuring sufficient base fertilizer, having rain and shade protection measures, advocating drip irrigation, and doing a good job of pest and disease control.
The floral meaning of carnations expresses boundless love for mothers. If some of you are rather reserved but still want to express love to your mother, you can do so by giving carnations to convey deep, enduring affection!