Basic information about African chamomile or gatsania

Agree, a rather unusual name is African chamomile. Its other name - gatsaniya - sounds even more unusual, therefore the first is used by the people. They came up with it, of course, because of the similarity of this plant with all the familiar chamomile, which can be found in almost any fairly warm corner of our country. But the usual chamomile is not so bright and beautiful, so gardeners prefer to plant gatsania in their plots.

Content:

• The main thing in African chamomile
• African Chamomile Care Basics
• What does gating look like and what can affect its appearance?

  The main thing in African chamomile

Despite the apparent fragility, this flower is quite resistant to various types of influences. Many pests and diseases that literally knock down the rest of the plants on the site do not cause african chamomile no harm. Yes, and you do not need to constantly look after her - but we will talk about this in the next section of our article.

Gatsania is an insanely light-loving flower.

She can survive any hardship, but not the absence of light. Placing a flower in the shade even for a very short time, you doom it to rapid death: first it will stretch out, weaken, and then it will stop blooming altogether. Otherwise, you can plant it almost anywhere - there are examples in which the African chamomile simply stood on the balcony (which was well lit at the same time).

African chamomile propagates with the help of seeds, which can be purchased at any specialized store. Sowing is best started in early April. Seedlings will appear in the period from 5 to 15 days (germination rate depends solely on temperature).

Naturally, it is not worth putting the seeds in the cold, but a slight decrease will only reduce the growth rate, no more. In May, sprouted flowers can be planted, flowers will appear closer to June. If you have a rather mild climate with early spring, you can plant flowers directly in the ground - this should be done in early March.

The method of propagation by cuttings is also practiced.

Some species African chamomile reproduce only in this way - be sure to clarify this, because if you want to get flowers of a certain variety, it is useless to buy various mixtures of seeds. Flowers propagated by cuttings do well in regular flower pots. The air temperature around can be in the region of 8-10 degrees Celsius - the main thing is that there is always enough light in the room.

In general, the main component of success in caring for African chamomile is enough light in the room, everything else is not so important. But this does not mean that you can completely ignore the flower.

African Chamomile Care Basics

Despite the fact that we said that maintenance of this flower is practically not required, there are a few basic points to remember if you want to get a strong plant with beautiful flowers, and not a pathetic elongated bud that is a shame to look at.

The plant is drought tolerant, but the less water the flower receives during growth, the less likely it is to produce bright flowers.

Some gardeners simply forget about regular watering, and then wonder why the buds, which swayed on the stems a day ago, immediately crumbled.If the water table is high, drainage needs to be installed - a mixture of gravel and sand is placed on the bottom of the planting pit.

Watering should not take place very often. In winter, it is enough to monitor the condition of the soil - if it is completely dry, you can pour a little water. Try to soak the whole soil with moisture, but at the same time do not allow treacherous puddles to accumulate near the root - a few such waterings and the plant will simply "choke".

If we talk about the soil in which the plant is planted, it is worth remembering that it should be light enough. It is desirable that it contains about a third of the sand - this way the moisture that gets into the soil will quickly pass through it. Without lingering near the roots of the flower. This is very important - excess moisture can easily destroy more resistant plants, which usually grow in places with high humidity, let alone African chamomile.

Withered inflorescences should be removed. As soon as you see that the flower wilted and wilted, immediately pluck it - it will be better both for the plant and for the appearance of your site or apartment.

As you can see, African chamomile is a very undemanding plant with little needs. If you remember a few simple rules that we talked about above, everything becomes very simple.

What does gating look like and what can affect its appearance?

This is a very diverse flower in terms of existing varieties. Yes, when he was just brought into the country, few knew about him, and the choice was small, but deliberate selection and years of experimentation took their toll - now any gardener can come to the store and choose exactly the variety of gatsania that will fill the void in his flower bed. perfectly fitting into the color scheme of other colors. Connoisseurs can choose terry forms - they practically do not give seeds, require a certain skill when propagating by cuttings, but their unusual appearance will delight you every day throughout the entire flowering.

Despite the fact that the plant is quite resistant to various kinds of influences, there are diseases and pests that can cause serious harm to the flower:

• Gray rot.
• Aphid
• Snails
• Spider mite.

The latter is much less common than all the previous ones, but it is not worth excluding its appearance from the list of possible risks. All of the above diseases and pests are not as scary as they might seem at first glance.

The main thing is to constantly monitor the condition of the plants.

There is no need to drive it to fanaticism, but a routine inspection of the plants will not hurt, especially if you decide that you overdid it a little with watering.

However, diseases do not always arise due to non-observance of the rules for caring for a flower. If you planted an African chamomile outside, be prepared for the fact that the plant will not be very good during heavy rains. You can protect it from excess moisture, planting a flower to a place where water will not run. Naturally, the lowlands, in which rainwater will accumulate, turning into huge puddles, is not the best place for gatsin.

In general, if you want to plant unpretentious, and, at the same time, very beautiful flowers on your site, then african chamomile - a great option, which you are unlikely to find better. Due to its resistance to light frost, this plant can please even gardeners from not the warmest corners of our country.