How to Plant Baby's Breath Seeds? A Full Guide to the Planting Method
Baby's breath is basically propagated by scattering seeds, but many flower growers find that no shoots appear after sowing. Today let's take a look together.
Baby's Breath Seed Planting Method
Tools/Materials
One flower pot
Loose flower soil
Baby's breath seeds
Method/Steps
1. Baby's breath, originally named double-petaled Gypsophila, is native to the Mediterranean coast. It belongs to the Caryophyllaceae family as a perennial herbaceous flower. It is an evergreen dwarf small shrub, with a plant height of about 65-70 cm, thin and smooth stems, and very many branches. The leaves are narrow and long, sessile, opposite, and pinkish green in color. It likes a warm, humid environment with plenty of sunlight, and is suitable for planting in flower beds, roadsides and flower hedges. It is also very suitable for potted ornamental display and bonsai making. It blooms in early summer, with flowers like beans, each with 5 petals. The flower language of baby's breath is: purity, care, etc.
2. Choose loose soil, first soak the soil thoroughly, then scatter the seeds after the soil has settled, cover with a thin layer of soil. Sunlight and temperature are essential. The watering principle is to water only when completely dry. After leaving the seedling stage, the amount of watering should be reduced. As baby's breath grows, leggy growth will appear, so soil needs to be added continuously to stabilize it, and it must not be too dense.
3. Because baby's breath is rather afraid of heat throughout its growth period, and the most suitable temperature for sowing is 15-20°C, sowing is usually carried out after mid-to-late September: first disinfect the substrate used for sowing. The best method is to put it in a pot and heat it by stir-frying for high-temperature sterilization. (It is recommended to use special sowing peat for sowing.)
4. Points to note when sowing:
1) First wet the peat soil, then sow.
2) Avoid light, and cover with soil (just enough to cover the seeds).
3) Cover with plastic wrap, and poke some small holes in the wrap with a toothpick.
4) Place in a light-shaded area, and be careful to maintain ventilation.
5. Baby's breath very easily dies when repotted, but if transplanted with soil, it is easier to survive. After transplanting, watering must be done very carefully, and the seedlings must not be knocked over by watering!!
6. About 20-35 days after planting, lateral buds begin to sprout from the lower part of the plant. At this time, you can keep the lower 3-4 pairs of leaves and pinch off the main tip to let the side branches grow, so as to obtain high yield. Generally, 6-8 side branches are kept per plant. Most varieties need 70-90 days from pinching to flowering. Not pinching is also possible, but the yield will be lower.
Precautions
Like other herbaceous flowers, baby's breath seedlings grown from seed have a relatively high demand for fertilizer and water, but they are most afraid of random fertilizing, concentrated fertilizer, and one-sided application of nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium fertilizer. The two fertilizing principles to follow are: apply dilute fertilizer frequently, with small amounts and more times, complete nutrition, and alternate dry and wet, drying thoroughly when dry, not watering when not dry, and watering thoroughly when watering. Also, after fertilizing, keep the leaves and flowers dry at night. After planting, topdress in stages, mainly with nitrogen fertilizer in the early stage and mainly with phosphorus and potassium fertilizer in the later stage.
Seed collection: After the capsules mature, wrap them in a small bag and tap them a few times to collect baby's breath seeds.
Seed characteristics: The capsule of baby's breath is spherical, slightly longer than the persistent calyx, and splits into 4 valves; the seeds are small, round, about 1 mm in diameter, reddish brown, with neat blunt wart-like protrusions.
Seed storage: First put the seeds in the sun to dry. In the evening, when the seed temperature has dropped to room temperature, wrap the seeds in newspaper and store them in a sealed bag. Some desiccant can be placed inside the sealed bag. At home, you can stir-fry rice grains until golden brown and use them as desiccant, then place them in a cool, dry place. They should not be stored too long; generally they should be sown the next year.
The above is an introduction to the method of planting baby's breath seeds. I hope everyone likes today's article.