A detailed guide to growing Pentas from seed, step by step

  Pentas, whose flowers split into five lobes forming a five-pointed star shape, is also known as the star flower. Dozens of star flowers cluster together into dense balls, very brilliant and pleasing to the eye. It is drought-tolerant, heat-tolerant, and long-blooming, with many flower colors, suitable for pot cultivation and for arranging flower stands, flower beds and landscape displays.

  Pentas can also be grown as a potted plant kept indoors; it adds beautiful color to the indoor environment and brings a rich natural feel indoors. Pentas is suitable for placing on balconies or windowsills; while beautifying the environment, it can also purify the air. During respiration it can break down and absorb many harmful substances in the air, letting people breathe purer air.

  So how do you sow and propagate such a widely used plant as Pentas? Below is an explanation to help you grow Pentas.

  I. Conditions for sowing and raising seedlings

  1. Seedling facility: plug tray.

  2. Medium: use a humus-rich, well-drained, sterile seedling medium such as Nongyou Seedling Company's "Zhuangmiao No. 3".

  3. pH value: 6.5-6.8.

  4. EC value: 0.75ms/cm.

  5. Light: the seeds need light to germinate, so do not cover with soil. But provide appropriate light and control the temperature.

  6. Temperature: the optimum germination temperature is 20-30°C.

  7. Humidity: keep the relative humidity in the air at 100% until the cotyledons emerge, and avoid the seedling medium being too wet. During the plug seedling growth stage, lower the relative humidity to 50% to prevent leaf diseases.

  II. Steps for sowing Pentas

  1. Sow the seeds by dibbling them into plug trays or by drilling them in rows in a seedling tray, one seed per cell; the cell hole size should preferably be 1.5-2 cm.

  2. About 10-14 days after sowing, they germinate; keep the growing temperature at 23°C-26°C and maintain the relative humidity in the air at 100% until the leaves emerge.

  3. During germination, water thoroughly to speed up the dissolving of the outer layer of the pink flower and promote germination.

  4. 7-9 weeks after sowing, Pentas can be transplanted into pots; the pot diameter should preferably be 10-15 cm, and the growing medium should be sterile, slightly fertilized, well-drained peat soil, with a pH of 6.5-6.8.

  III. Key sowing tips

  1. Before sowing, apply a completely balanced fertilizer and a slow-release fertilizer to the medium to keep the soil fertile and provide sufficient nutrients for the seeds.

  2. During the plug seedling growth stage, the relative humidity should be lowered to 50% to prevent leaf diseases.

  3. If appropriate light is maintained during germination, the new shoots will grow more evenly and the quality will be higher.

  4. As the seedlings grow, the light level must be increased appropriately, and the temperature controlled.

  5. After germination, let the seedlings receive sunlight as soon as possible to avoid leggy growth and promote rapid plant growth.