How to grow firecracker flower? Cultivation methods and precautions
Firecracker flower, also known as paozhanghua (Pyrostegia venusta), gets its name because it blooms during the Spring Festival, with bright red flowers that match the festive atmosphere. Firecracker flower grows quickly, and its branches and leaves remain evergreen all year round. It is an excellent climbing greening plant that can be used to cover balconies, walls, and more. Below, the editor will introduce the cultivation methods and precautions for firecracker flower: how to plant firecracker flower?
Introduction to firecracker flower
Firecracker flower, also called firecracker plant or lucky grass, is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Pyrostegia in the family Scrophulariaceae. The plant height is 60-100 cm, and it can bloom all year round. It is an evergreen woody large vine with linear, 3-lobed tendrils, and can climb up to 7-8 m. There are 2-3 leaflets, ovate to ovate-oblong, 4-10 cm long, with acuminate apex, broad cuneate to rounded base, and pubescent petioles. The flowers are orange-red, about 6 cm long. The calyx is bell-shaped with glandular dots. The corolla is thick and reflexed, with obvious white down, and many flowers are closely arranged in drooping panicles. Firecracker flower is native to Mexico and likes a warm, humid environment with plenty of sunlight. The stronger the light, the better it blooms. Therefore, during cultivation, it should receive as much light as possible, and shading is unnecessary even in midsummer. It can be used as a potted plant to decorate balconies, courtyards, and interiors, and can also be grown in hanging baskets and hung under corridors, in front of windows, and other places for viewing.
1. Potting soil
Whether planted in the ground or in pots, firecracker flower requires slightly larger holes and pots so that plenty of organic humus can be applied as base fertilizer. Firecracker flower is not strict about soil, but heavy clay soil is unfavorable for its growth. It grows best in fertile sandy soil that drains well and is rich in organic matter.
2. Light
After firecracker flower is newly planted or potted, it should be properly shaded, and only after it resumes growth can it be fully exposed to sunlight. Firecracker flower likes light and can also tolerate slight shade, and the cultivation site should maintain good ventilation. Firecracker flower is a tropical plant, likes warmth, and is not cold-tolerant. The winter temperature should not be lower than 10 degrees.
3. Water and fertilizer
When planting, the holes dug should be larger, and decomposed organic fertilizer should be applied. For open-field cultivation, earth up and fertilize 2-3 times each year; for potted plants, fertilize once a month. Firecracker flower is not drought-tolerant and is slightly tolerant of wet conditions. After planting, water thoroughly, once every 2-4 days, and during the growing period water 1-2 times a day.
Water promptly in hot weather. During the growing period, apply decomposed cake fertilizer water about once a month, and then it will grow vigorously and bloom abundantly. In summer, apply liquid fertilizer made by soaking hoof and horn once a month. After the Beginning of Autumn, the plant enters dormancy and fertilization should stop. In winter, appropriately reduce watering, mainly according to soil moisture, about once every 2-3 days.
When the plant height reaches about 2 m, a trellis needs to be set up to guide its branches onto the trellis, and pinching should be done to encourage more side branches and more flowers. The plant grows by fixing itself with its tendrils. During the growing period, do not turn the vines or break the tendrils, otherwise it will affect the absorption of water and nutrients, resulting in poor flowering or even no flowering.
Precautions for growing firecracker flower in pots
1. Choose large, deep clay pots for planting. Because firecracker flower grows quickly and has lush branches and leaves, the growing soil should preferably be mountain soil. Where mountain soil is unavailable, leaf mold or peat soil can be used as the main component, mixed with some compost soil and a small amount of bone meal.
2. Water and fertilize reasonably. Firecracker flower likes moist soil, so during the growing season it is appropriate to keep the potting soil moist often. In dry seasons and hot summers, it is also necessary to spray water on the branches and leaves 2-3 times a day and sprinkle water on the ground around the flower pot to increase air humidity. In autumn, when it enters the flower bud differentiation stage, watering should be reduced, and it is better to keep the potting soil slightly moist. In the peak growing season, apply dilute cake fertilizer water about once every half month. After autumn begins, fertilization should focus mainly on phosphorus fertilizer, and compound chemical fertilizer can also be applied as a top dressing.
3. Put it on a trellis in time. Because firecracker flower has a climbing nature and the plant grows very fast, it needs to be put on a trellis in time. If grown on a balcony, thick iron wire and relatively thick bamboo poles can be used to build a frame of a certain shape, and then its stems and vines can be guided onto the flower trellis and distributed evenly. When it blooms, strings of bright flowers hang all over the trellis, which people greatly enjoy. Firecracker flower is not cold-tolerant, so in northern regions it needs to be moved indoors to overwinter after winter begins.
1. Cultivation environment
It is a sun-loving positive plant, prefers a warm, high-temperature, humid climate, and is suitable for planting in sunny and ventilated places. The soil should preferably be well-drained sandy loam. It has strong vitality, grows vigorously, and is easy to cultivate. It is often planted in courtyards, on trellises, at flower gates, and on fences for vertical greening.
2. Cultivation substrate
Ground planting requires deep soil layers and good soil permeability. It has strong adaptability, and can also grow normally in ordinary soil. For seedlings from layering, if planted in the current year, they bloom the next year. Never let fertilizer and water become dry; keep the soil moist, and water twice a day in high-temperature seasons. Apply dilute liquid fertilizer 1-2 times a month. For shaping and maintenance, vertical greening requires setting up supports to guide growth. During the growing period, do not turn the vines, so as not to damage the tendrils, causing poor growth and weak flowering.
3. Propagation and seedling raising
Mainly by cuttings and layering. Cuttings are done in spring and summer. Old stem cuttings are a good way to quickly form plants. Use old stems sprouting from the base, 2 m long, as cuttings; they root after 2 months, then let them grow freely and transplant the next year. Layering is done throughout the year, preferably in spring and summer. Choose short-jointed, sturdy branches, keep the leaves, cut below the node, and press them nearby into soil or a pot. Keep them moist; they root in 30 days and can be cut from the parent plant in 60 days.
It has strong vitality, grows vigorously, and is easy to cultivate. It is often planted in courtyards, on trellises, at flower gates, and on fences for vertical greening.
2. Cultivation substrate
Ground planting requires deep soil layers and good soil permeability. It has strong adaptability, and can also grow normally in ordinary soil. For seedlings from layering, if planted in the current year, they bloom the next year. Never let fertilizer and water become dry; keep the soil moist, and water twice a day in high-temperature seasons. Apply dilute liquid fertilizer 1-2 times a month. For shaping and maintenance, vertical greening requires setting up supports to guide growth. During the growing period, do not turn the vines, so as not to damage the tendrils, causing poor growth and weak flowering.
3. Propagation and seedling raising
Mainly by cuttings and layering. Cuttings are done in spring and summer. Old stem cuttings are a good way to quickly form plants. Use old stems sprouting from the base, 2 m long, as cuttings; they root after 2 months, then let them grow freely and transplant the next year. Layering is done throughout the year, preferably in spring and summer. Choose short-jointed, sturdy branches, keep the leaves, cut below the node, and press them nearby into soil or a pot. Keep them moist; they root in 30 days and can be cut from the parent plant in 60 days.