Dos and Don'ts of Soil Selection for Household Flowers and Key Points of Pruning and Shaping

One of the primary priorities of growing flowers at home is the selection of flower soil. What kind of soil is suitable for growing household flowers? Today, the editor will not only bring you the dos and don'ts of soil selection for growing flowers, but also talk about the key points of shaping and pruning household flowers.

In the daily cultivation of household flowers, reasonable pruning and adjustment of the flowers is necessary, so that the flowers will be more beautiful and more pleasing to the eye. Before pruning, full preparation should be made, including understanding the flowering parts, the growth characteristics of the flowers, and other aspects. Pruning is generally divided into 4 situations: heavy pruning, medium pruning, light pruning and pinching.

I. Key Points of Shaping and Pruning Household Flowers

(1) Heavy pruning

Flowers that bloom on one-year-old branches, such as jasmine, crape myrtle and Chinese rose, are suitable for heavy pruning, while flowers on two-year-old branches should not be heavily pruned. The knife used for pruning should be sharp to ensure smooth cuts and prevent splitting, and when pruning, buds facing outward should be selected and kept, so that the branches can spread evenly outward. This not only makes the plant's shape beautiful, but also facilitates ventilation and light penetration.

(2) Medium pruning

Potted flowers such as pomegranate, kumquat and wintersweet, which need proper shortening back to bloom well, are suitable for medium pruning. Thinning and cutting back should be given equal weight. For one-year-old branches that have already bloomed, 2-3 buds should be kept at the base for short cutting, so as to facilitate the sprouting of side branches, and leggy branches, crossing branches and diseased branches should be thinned out.

(3) Light pruning

Flowers that bloom on two-year-old branches, such as ornamental peach, Michelia alba and gardenia, are suitable for light pruning, and only redundant side branches, diseased and damaged branches and top shoots should be cut, so that the main branches become strong. In addition, when pruning, artificial shaping can be carried out according to personal preference and the plant's growth conditions, such as umbrella shape, pagoda shape, etc.

(4) Pinching

Herbaceous potted flowers such as daisy, pot marigold and stock should be pinched and topped multiple times to make them produce more side buds, keeping the plants short, sturdy and beautiful, so as to increase the number of flowers and extend the flowering time. Moreover, after the flowers fade, the spent flowers should be cut off in time to promote the remaining flower heads to bloom more vigorously.

II. Dos and Don'ts of Soil Selection for Growing Flowers

(1) Leaf mold

Leaf mold is the topsoil of forest areas, formed from the fallen leaves of broadleaf trees through long-term accumulation and decomposition. It contains a large amount of organic matter, is loose and fertile, has good air permeability and drainage, and is weakly acidic. It is an excellent loosening agent for heavy clay soil, with strong water and fertilizer retention capacity, and can be used alone to cultivate clivia, orchids and cyclamen, etc. In autumn and winter, materials can be obtained locally, and fallen leaves of broadleaf trees can be collected by oneself (fallen leaves of poplar, willow, elm, Chinese scholar tree, etc., which rot easily, are preferable), mixed with garden soil and piled for 1-2 years; once the fallen leaves have fully rotted, they can be sifted and used. Generally, leaf mold is an excellent potting soil and can also be mixed with other substrates. It is suitable for use in sowing, transplanting seedlings and cultivating a variety of common flowers.

(2) Pine needle soil

In mountainous forests, the humus formed from pine needles after many years of rotting is pine needle soil. Pine needle soil is grayish-brown, loose and fertile, with good air permeability and drainage, and shows a strongly acidic reaction. It is suitable for flowers that prefer strongly acidic conditions, such as rhododendron, gardenia and camellia.

(3) Peat soil

Peat soil, also known as black soil or turf, is formed from the remains of plants in low-temperature wetlands through carbonization by the action of peat moss over thousands of years. Peat soil is soft and loose, free of pathogenic spores and harmful insect eggs, has good drainage and air permeability, and strong fertilizer and water retention capacity, and shows a weakly acidic reaction. It is a good potting soil and cutting substrate. In the north, brown peat is mostly used to prepare nutrient soil, and using peat soil to cultivate acid-loving flowers native to the south, such as orchids, camellias, osmanthus and Michelia alba, is relatively suitable.

(4) Pond mud

Pond mud, also known as river mud, is the sedimentary soil at the bottom of rivers and ponds. It is rich in organic matter, black, and neutral or slightly alkaline. Generally, in autumn and winter, silt is taken from ponds or lakes, and after drying, freezing and weathering, it can serve as the best culture soil for aquatic flowers. After being dried and crushed, it can be mixed with coarse sand, rice husk ash or other light and loose soil, and used for planting foliage flowers.

(5) Turf soil

On natural pastures or grassland, turf is dug from the surface layer of 10cm, piled layer by layer, decomposed for one year or longer, and then sieved to remove stones, grass roots, etc. Turf soil is rich in nutrients and shows a weakly acidic reaction, and can be used to plant Chinese rose, dianthus and dahlia, etc.

(6) Swamp soil

After swamp land dries up, its surface soil is a good raw material for potting soil. Swamp soil is rich in humus, has lasting fertility, and is acidic. However, after drying it easily hardens and cracks, so it should be mixed with coarse sand, etc. Nutrient soil for flower cultivation must be selected from nutritious ingredients, and polluted soil should not be used.