A Detailed Guide to Autumn Care and Management Methods for Potted Flowers
For potted flowers, autumn care is especially important, because in autumn the climate changes from hot summer to cool and gradually colder weather. At this time, potted flowers may very likely wither and fade because they cannot adapt to the sudden change in climate, so at this time the following care tasks should be carried out with attention when managing potted flowers.
I. Key Points for Autumn Care of Potted Flowers
1. Sufficient light. Some light-loving woody flowers that bloom in summer, such as jasmine, hibiscus and orange jessamine, should still be placed in a sunny place so the plants can fully receive light, allowing the leaves to carry out photosynthesis better, supply nutrients in time, promote the maturation of current-year branches, enable them to overwinter safely, and ensure lush flowers and leaves the following year. Potted flowers that bloom around Spring Festival, such as azalea, clivia, cyclamen, poinsettia and Christmas cactus, should also be placed in a sunny place to receive full sun; otherwise flowering will be delayed or they may even fail to bloom. Generally, foliage plants are more shade-tolerant, so some light can be provided appropriately, while avoiding direct strong light at noon.
2. Appropriate water and fertilizer. For flowers, begin controlling the amount of watering in early October and stop fertilizing, so as to avoid root rot from too much water and leggy branches and leaves from too much fertilizer, which would affect overwintering. Flowers that bloom around Spring Festival, such as cyclamen, clivia, Christmas cactus and azalea, have already passed the dormant period and begin to enter the peak growing season, so from autumn to Spring Festival flowering, fertilizer and water management should be strengthened, and phosphorus and potassium fertilizer can be appropriately increased to help flower bud formation.
3. Reasonable pruning. Except for flowers that bloom in early spring, most flowers such as jasmine, crape myrtle and pomegranate can be pruned and shaped in autumn. This can reduce nutrient consumption in winter and promote more flowering of potted flowers the following year. When pruning, remove diseased branches, dead branches, overly dense branches and leggy branches, laying a good foundation for potted flowers to overwinter.
4. Timely propagation. In autumn the temperature is lower, and for some biennial flowers, such as pansy, dianthus, cineraria and hollyhock, this is a good time for sowing. After sowing, pay attention to spraying water to keep the soil moist. Some woody flowers are suitable for autumn cuttings, such as rose, geranium and jasmine; the survival rate of autumn cuttings is relatively high. For perennial flowers that grow densely and need division, such as tree peony and Chinese peony, division propagation should be carried out in time. For flowers that bloom around Spring Festival, such as hyacinth, tulip and amaryllis, potting should be done promptly.
5. Timely moving indoors. The time for moving potted flowers indoors can vary depending on the flower. Warm-loving flowers and trees such as hibiscus, poinsettia, begonia, cyclamen, jasmine, coleus and Swiss cheese plant should be moved indoors when the temperature is 10°C; spider plant, asparagus fern, cast-iron plant, Schefflera and rubber tree should also be moved indoors when the temperature is 5°C. For the vast majority of flowers, it is best to move them indoors before Frost's Descent.
II. Three Timely Tasks for Autumn Flower Care
1. Light
Timely light. Some light-loving woody flowers that bloom in summer, such as jasmine, hibiscus and orange jessamine, should still be placed in a sunny place. Potted flowers that bloom around Spring Festival, such as azalea, clivia, cyclamen, poinsettia and Christmas cactus, should also be placed in a sunny place.
2. Pruning
Timely pruning. Except for flowers that bloom in early spring, most flowers such as jasmine, crape myrtle and pomegranate can be pruned and shaped in autumn. This can reduce nutrient consumption in winter and promote more flowering of potted flowers the following year.
3. Propagation
Timely propagation. In autumn the temperature is lower, and for some biennial flowers, such as pansy, dianthus, cineraria and hollyhock, this is a good time for sowing. After sowing, pay attention to spraying water to keep the soil moist. Some woody flowers are suitable for autumn cuttings, such as rose, geranium and jasmine; the survival rate of autumn cuttings is relatively high. For perennial flowers that grow densely and need division, such as tree peony and Chinese peony, division propagation should be carried out in time. For flowers that bloom around Spring Festival, such as hyacinth, tulip and amaryllis, potting should be done promptly. Cao Qidong
III. How Should Potted Flowers Be Managed in Autumn?
1. Appropriate water and fertilizer
After the beginning of autumn, water and fertilizer management needs to be handled differently according to the habits of different flowers. For autumn chrysanthemum, osmanthus, camellia, azalea, wintersweet and others that bloom once a year, apply 2 to 3 liquid fertilizer applications mainly based on phosphorus fertilizer in time; otherwise not only will the flowers be fewer and smaller, but bud drop may also occur. For rose, Milan and jasmine and others that bloom multiple times a year, relatively sufficient water and fertilizer should continue to be supplied to promote continuous flowering.
For most flowers, in northern regions after Cold Dew, generally no more fertilizing should be done, in order to facilitate overwintering. As the temperature drops, except for flowers that bloom in autumn, winter or early spring and autumn-sown herbaceous flowers, which can continue to be watered normally according to the actual needs of each type of flower, for other flowers the frequency and amount of watering should be gradually reduced to avoid excessive water and fertilizer, which can cause leggy growth, affect flower bud differentiation and lead to frost damage.
2. Pruning and shaping
After the beginning of autumn, when the temperature is around 20°C, most flowers tend to sprout many tender branches. Apart from retaining some as needed, the rest should be cut off in time to reduce nutrient consumption. The retained tender branches should also be pinched in time. For chrysanthemum, dahlia, rose, jasmine and others, after buds appear in autumn and when the buds grow to a certain size, apart from retaining 1 well-growing large terminal bud, all the other side buds should be removed.
3. Timely seed collection
The seeds of many flowers mature successively around mid-autumn and need to be collected in time. After harvesting the seeds of scarlet sage, cypress vine and morning glory, remove impurities and dry them, then put them in cloth bags and store them in a low-temperature, ventilated place. For some seeds with thicker seed coats, such as tree peony, Chinese peony, magnolia and banana shrub, after collection it is best to bury the seeds well with moist sandy soil for stratified sand storage.
4. Sowing at the right time
Biennial or perennial herbaceous flowers cultivated as annual or biennial plants, such as snapdragon, dianthus and daisy among open-field flowers, and cineraria, cyclamen and gloxinia among greenhouse flowers, as well as flowers such as African daisy, larkspur, primula types and begonia types that easily lose germination ability after collection, are all suitable for autumn sowing.
5. Moving indoors at the right time
In northern regions, after Cold Dew, most flowers should be moved indoors one after another for overwintering according to their cold resistance, so as to avoid cold damage. The specific time for moving indoors varies with the flower. For most flowers, when the weather has just changed, do not rush to move them indoors. This is because moving indoors too early affects nutrient accumulation and is unfavorable for growth and development the following year. Therefore, on the premise of not suffering cold damage, it is better to move them indoors a little later.