Portulacaceae Sunflower Seed Planting Methods, Pest and Disease Control, and Medicinal Value

Sunflower, also known as moss rose and Portulaca grandiflora, prefers a warm, sunny and dry environment. Its flowers open in sunlight and close in the early morning, evening and on cloudy days, hence the names "sunflower" and "noon flower". So do you know what the seed planting methods for sunflower are? How to control pests and diseases? What medicinal value does it have?

I. Sunflower Seed Planting Methods

Sowing time: can be sown in spring, summer and autumn

1. Morphological characteristics:

It is an annual succulent herbaceous plant. The plant height is 10-15 cm. The petals are bright in color, including white, dark yellow, red, purple, etc. There are many horticultural varieties, divided into single-petaled, semi-double-petaled and double-petaled types.

2. Growth habits:

It prefers a warm, sunny and dry environment, is extremely tolerant of poor soil, can adapt to ordinary soil, and can self-sow and reproduce. Its flowers open in sunlight and close in the early morning, evening and on cloudy days, hence the names "sunflower" and "noon flower". The flowering period is June to July.

3. Cultivation and propagation:

Sunflower seeds are very small. Seedling trays are often used for sowing, with only a very light covering of fine vermiculite, or merely slight compaction after sowing, to ensure sufficient moisture. The germination temperature is 21-24°C, and seedlings emerge in about 7-10 days. The seedlings are extremely delicate, so if a relatively high temperature is maintained, the young seedlings grow very quickly and can form relatively sturdy, succulent stems and leaves. At this point the young seedlings can be directly potted, using pots about 10 cm in diameter, with 2-5 plants per pot. The survival rate is high and growth is rapid.

4. Cutting method

Flatten the surface of the potting soil in the container, insert the cut young sunflower shoot tips into holes made with a bamboo chopstick, going no more than 2 cm deep into the potting soil. To make the potted flowers take shape and become full as quickly as possible, depending on the size of the pot, multiple cuttings can be inserted in one pot as long as a 2 cm spacing can be maintained (when the grown seedlings become crowded, they can be divided into other pots). Then water thoroughly. Newly inserted cuttings can be shaded or not shaded; as long as a certain humidity is maintained, they generally survive in 10 to 15 days and enter normal care.

5. Overwintering of seedlings

After the Frost's Descent solar term each year (in the Shanghai area), move the double-petaled sunflowers indoors to a sunny spot. After the beginning of winter, place them on the inner side of a glass window and let the potting soil be a little on the dry side, and they can overwinter safely. After Qingming the following year, the flower pots can be placed outside the window; if a cold wave arrives, they still need to be brought inside the window for care.

Sunflower planting must go through a series of processes: preparing the potting soil, sowing, raising seedlings, thinning seedlings, transplanting seedlings, pinching tips, watering, and collecting seeds.

6. Preparing the potting soil

Although "tolerance of poor soil" is one of the characteristics of sunflower, and its growth does not depend on whether the soil is good or bad, as flower growers we always hope the flowers can grow with strong roots, abundant leaves and brilliant blooms, so it is still best to prepare a loose, breathable soil with fertilizer efficiency.

During this period, you can collect expired oil-based foods from home, such as sesame powder, the leftover okara from home-made soy milk (let it ferment), or fish intestines (fermented in advance) to use as base fertilizer.

7. Sowing

At the end of April and the beginning of May, the climate conditions in the Jiangnan area are most suitable for sowing. Last year I sowed the seeds on April 28, and three or four days later the flower seeds broke through their shells and sprouted; on June 14 they budded and bloomed. The growth period from start to finish was 1.5 months, a full 10 days earlier than the previous 55 days. It can be called fast-growing and fast-developing, and the secret lies in the step of sowing.

To make the seeds closely contact the soil, when planting sunflower seeds you only need to evenly scatter the seeds on the surface layer of fine-grained potting soil, and then cover with a very thin layer of fine soil.

8. Raising seedlings

To ensure the seedlings safely pass through this critical period, the seedling-raising stage is very important. You must have enough patience to care for and tend them, just like treating an infant in swaddling clothes. With the slightest carelessness, the seedlings die, which greatly reduces the survival rate of the seedlings.

Thinning and transplanting seedlings

Thinning seedlings, also called pulling seedlings, means keeping a certain spacing between seedlings. Choose a pair of pointed-tip tweezers as the thinning tool. When the flower seedlings grow a few millimeters tall, you can begin thinning. Adopt a batch-by-batch, time-by-time method, always pulling out the relatively weak ones and keeping the sturdy ones, until there is still a gap of three or four centimeters between seedlings.

9. Pinching tips

When the young seedlings grow to 3 or 4 cm tall, branches also grow from the roots. At this time, pinch off the tip of the main branch, and before long a cluster of buds will sprout again at the broken end. When the branches at the root have grown to a certain length, the branches can also be pinched. After such treatment, the sunflower is dwarfed and the plant shape also becomes more attractive.

10. Watering

During the seedling-raising stage, the weather is not yet very hot and water evaporates slowly, so it is not suitable to water too much. The flowering period is right in the dog days of summer, when it needs to be watered thoroughly so it can fully absorb water.

11. Collecting seeds

Mature sunflower seeds are silver-gray, but it is very difficult to harvest them at exactly the right moment; either the seed pods have split open, or the seeds have flown away. So you should often touch those yellow seed shells with your hand; the seed shells that fall off at a touch are the best; if they do not fall off when touched, but the outer shell has already turned yellow to the point of whitening, also pick them off, pinch them with two fingers, and what is revealed is black seeds. This is because they are still a little damp; after a little while, the black seeds turn into silver-gray seeds.

II. Sunflower Pest and Disease Control

Focus on controlling aphids, almond bees, almond spherical scale insects, etc.

Aphids: The key to controlling aphids is to spray before germination, that is, during the flower bud expansion stage. At this stage, imidacloprid 4000-5000 times dilution can be used. After germination, use imidacloprid 4000-5000 times dilution plus cypermethrin 2000-3000 times dilution to kill aphids, and it can also control almond bees at the same time. After fruit set, aphid-killing 1500 times dilution can be used.

Spherical scale insects: Spray before germination and in late May respectively with machine oil emulsion 50-80 times dilution plus Lorsban 1500 times dilution.

III. What medicinal value does sunflower have?

It has the functions of clearing heat and detoxifying, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, reducing swelling and relieving pain, and anti-cancer. Jiang Yi's "Supplement to the Materia Medica Mirror" records that "Portulaca grandiflora is a miraculous herb for treating snake bites." In folk use, besides treating venomous snake bites, it is also used to treat tumors, with a certain curative effect. "Revised Compendium of Materia Medica" records that "this grass bears purple-white flowers, the grass is purple-red, with opposite paired leaves, harvested in July and August." It treats sore throat, scalds, bruises and cuts with bleeding, and damp sores. For sore throat, pound the juice and gargle with it; for the others, pound it into a paste and apply externally.