What are the home care methods for potted chrysanthemums?
Chrysanthemums grow vigorously and have strong sprouting ability; a single chrysanthemum plant can produce thousands of flower buds. Moreover, Chinese people have had a fine tradition of growing and loving chrysanthemums since ancient times. Below, the editor will introduce the care methods for home-grown chrysanthemums.
Soil mix
For chrysanthemums, a slightly acidic sandy soil that drains well, is loose and fertile works very well. In most cases, the mix is rotted plant soil : garden soil : river sand = 4 : 4 : 2. If possible, disinfecting the soil mix is also fine.
Water control
Water control for chrysanthemums follows the principle of "water when dry, drain when waterlogged." Sufficient moisture must be maintained before and after flower bud formation. You can also fertilize while watering, and one more thing to note is
"balanced dry and wet" - neither too wet nor too dry. Spray the leaves once in the morning and once in the evening every day.
Rational use of fertilizer
In the early growth stage of chrysanthemums, use a base fertilizer; for top dressing, mainly use nitrogen fertilizer, supplemented with a small amount of phosphorus and potassium fertilizer and trace element fertilizer
. The purpose of doing this is to make the chrysanthemum branches strong and the leaves thick. In the middle and late growth stages of chrysanthemums, mainly use phosphorus and potassium fertilizer; if conditions permit, you can use fertilizer specially for flowers. Fertilization adopts a combination of soil application and foliar top dressing, and after fertilizing, water promptly. If the chrysanthemum leaves are small, thin and yellowing, you can spray more 0.1% urea solution.
Placement and reasonable light
When growing in pots, some adjustments should be made as the external environment changes. Chrysanthemums need about 12 hours of light per day, and about 12 hours of darkness with a nighttime temperature of 10°C is suitable for germination and growth.
Pruning branches and leaves
Potted chrysanthemums should be pruned during their growth period, and this can be done according to need. In the early growth stage, when branch growth is not yet stable, carry out pinching and bud removal and other steps to promote branch growth and better shape the flower form.
Pruning young shoots, tending the flowers
After chrysanthemums grow seedlings, there will be many young shoots, which must be removed promptly, otherwise they will affect the growth of the chrysanthemum. When small flower buds appear, you should choose which to keep according to need, and remove unwanted ones as early as possible. Later, they can be handled according to the situation.
Pest and disease control
High air humidity, insufficient sunlight, poor ventilation and too large a temperature difference between day and night are all causes of chrysanthemum disease. Therefore, reasonably controlling these is the main means of disease prevention. In addition, chemical agents are also one of the main means of control.