Growing eustoma from seeds: varieties and care features

You can only grow a beautiful eustoma flower from seeds. The plant is whimsical, so you need to be ready for careful work.

Content:

• Characteristics of eustoma
• Growing eustoma from seeds
• Further care of eustoma sprouts
• Eustoma care
• Possible problems when growing eustoma

Characteristics of eustoma

Large-flowered eustoma (Lisianthus Russell):

• An ornamental herb belonging to the Gentian family. Depending on the species, it can be annual or perennial. If the plant is provided with a cold winter, then it is grown as a biennial.
• The homeland of eustoma is the United States of America, Mexico, the Caribbean, in natural conditions the plant grows in warm places (it prefers a subtropical climate).
• The stems of the plant are erect, leaves are densely located on them.
• The leaves have a light green hue, they are lanceolate or ovoid in shape, sessile.
• The average flower height is 45 cm.
• Bell-shaped flowers, located singly, can be of a wide variety of shades: blue, purple, white, pink, the surface of the petals is waxy. The flowers are delicate resemble peonies.

Eustoma is becoming more popular, it can be found more and more often on the shelves of gardening stores. You can grow the plant in the garden and indoors. Each variety has its own characteristics.

Eustoma peduncles are strong, in the middle they branch widely and densely, so each branch holds a full-fledged bouquet.

In terms of height, all varieties are divided into two categories:

1. Tall plants reach a height of 80 cm, such plants are often used for cutting. One plant contains about 25 buds, which look great in a vase and do not wither for a long time.
2. Low-growing varieties grow up to 30 cm. They are more often grown indoors on windowsills. Plants look neat, do not require additional colors for the composition.

Also, the buds can be simple or double. Varieties with simple flowers look aesthetically pleasing, elegant, the buds are neat, compact. Non-double flowers are grown in the garden, the most popular of them are: Charm, Laguna, Piccolo.

Terry varieties are more spectacular and chic. They are grown for cuts, which can be seen in flower shops. The most commonly grown varieties are ABC, Borealis, Dream, Mariachi, Pink Picotee, Rosita.

Breeders are also engaged in breeding eustoma. They have successfully created a wide variety of hybrid varieties, each with a different height, quantity and quality of buds. Peach, yellow, red and blue shades were added to the palette of colors. We also managed to produce two-color specimens.

Growing eustoma from seeds

Although eustoma can be propagated by cuttings and division of the root system, the plant does not always root successfully. Therefore, the most efficient and fastest way to grow flowers is to grow them from seeds.

When buying seeds, the bag will indicate whether the variety is one year old or two year old. It is better for a novice gardener to start their acquaintance with eustoma with an annual crop.

They will need to be grown in a greenhouse or at home.Any representatives of the ABC F1, Echo, other terry and non-terry varieties are suitable.

Growing with seeds:

• The seeds are very small, so they are sold in granular form. Sowing seeds is carried out from December to January.
• After the shoots appear, the buds will begin to form after 18 weeks, so you need to calculate the date when the plants should decorate the garden or home. If the seeds are sown in the spring, they will bloom only by winter, which is fraught with the death of flowers.
• The seeds are sown in a small cup. You can use ready-made primer, which is sold in stores. Soil for violets (Saintpaulia) is suitable.
• Before planting the seeds, the soil is slightly moistened from the spray gun, about 3 seeds are planted in each glass. Each is squeezed slightly with tweezers.
• For successful growth, a greenhouse effect is provided. The container is covered with glass or plastic wrap.
• For eustoma, a temperature of 21 degrees is suitable. If everything was done correctly and favorable conditions are provided, then the sprouts will break through the soil in a week and a half.

Full-fledged leaves will appear only after a month, and flowering will come in a month. You can choose hybrid varieties that are distinguished by early flowering, they prefer a lower temperature, up to 18 degrees.

The seeds can be planted in peat tablets.

When the tablet swells well in water, 3 seeds fit into it, which are also pressed, as mentioned above. The seeds do not need to be deeply buried in the tablet, since they need sunlight. After that, the tablet is sprayed to dissolve the seed granules. The tablet also needs a greenhouse effect.

Further care of eustoma sprouts

The film over the seeds ensures constant moisture. If condensation collects under the film, but seedlings do not appear, then you need to wait a little longer. Periodically, the film rises to ventilate the soil and wipes dry.

When at least three leaves appear, the sprouts dive into separate pots. You can plant flowers in a permanent place in pots or pots when 5-6 leaves grow. The approximate diameter of the pot should be 15 cm. If the plant was planted in spring, and not in winter, then sprouts will need to dive only once.

Flower picking:

• Plants must be dived carefully, as they are still too fragile.
• Experienced gardeners use an awl or other device to remove the sprout from the soil.
• In a new pot, a small depression is made in the soil.
• After planting the plant, it is pressed down with moistened soil and the greenhouse effect is again made.

Seedlings should not stretch out quickly. To do this, they are not placed in a very sunny place. For the first two months, the pot is placed under fluorescent lamps or special phytolamps. Water a young plant also rarely needed. For the first two months, watering is carried out every three weeks. once a week, the film is removed and cleaned of condensation.

For prevention, seedlings can be watered with Fundazol solution, it will protect flowers from pests.

Seedlings grow slowly, so you have to be patient. To activate the development of eustoma, growth stimulants are used. The most popular of them are Epin and Zircon. When planting a plant in a permanent place in the garden or in a pot for indoor growing, expanded clay is laid on the bottom, it will provide a good drainage system.

When the plant blooms, it will need more heat. The ambient temperature should be between 22-25 degrees. In order to provide rest to the plant in winter, the temperature drops to 10 degrees.

Eustoma care

Eustoma is a sun-loving plant, so you need to plant it in well-lit places. To prevent the plant from getting burned, it is planted on the west, east or south side.

Eustoma makes special demands on the soil, only with the correct organization of this condition will flowering be lush and bright. The soil should be light, well-drained. If you choose the right soil, then the plant can be grown as a perennial crop. The acidity of the soil should be at the level of 6.5-7.0. If the soil is very acidic, then zinc will accumulate in it, which will lead to a cessation of the growth of eustoma.

Although there are no complex rules in the growing environment, it is still quite difficult to grow full-fledged healthy flowers. You can independently prepare the soil for eustoma according to the following scheme:

• 1 piece of garden land
• 1 part humus
• 1 part perlite or coarse sand
• Handful of lime

For irrigation, warm, settled water is used. The soil should be moderately dry between waterings. Top dressing is applied every 2 weeks. Any water-soluble fertilizer is used as a fertilizer.

If the correct temperature regime was not observed when growing eustoma from seeds, then it may not bloom for the first year. In this case, the flower will form a rosette of leaves and behave like a biennial plant. To grow eustoma in the garden by planting seeds directly on the site, the seeds are scattered onto the prepared soil at a distance of 15-30 cm.

The seeds are planted in slightly damp soil. Due to its low height, it is advisable to plant eustomas in curbs.

Experienced gardeners say that if plant seeds in the garden in spring, then flowering will come only next summer. After flowering, the buds are pruned to provoke their reappearance after 1.5 months.

To transplant seedlings from pots into the garden, the following manipulations are carried out. In the evening, a hole is dug for a plant, which is watered with warm water. The plant is moved to a prepared place along with an earthen clod. So that the plants adapt faster and do not freeze on cold nights, they are covered with plastic bottles. The shelter can be removed after 2 weeks. In the garden, the first feeding is done one month after planting the plants. Used by "Kemiru" or "Plantafol Growth". The next top dressing is applied during the period of flower setting, that is, July August, is used by "Plantafol Budding".

Possible problems when growing eustoma

Eustoma is sensitive to pests. The most common and at the same time the most dangerous diseases are:

• Fusarium wilting
• Powdery mildew
• Gray rot

You can identify powdery mildew by the white bloom on the leaves and shoots of the plant. The disease appears due to non-compliance with the rules for caring for eustoma. Powdery mildew appears due to high humidity and low temperatures. To get rid of the problem, use "Saprol" or "Topsin". Various preparations are used in turn, several sprays are enough.

As a preventive measure plants are also sprayed... The following substances are used: Fitoverm, Mospilan, Confidor. The above drugs are used for slugs, mushroom gnats, miners, whiteflies and aphids.

When affected by fungal diseases, the plant becomes soft, slowly withers. If gray spots appear on the leaves, then this is botrytis. The problem arises from a lack of sunlight, while the plant can grow, but never bloom.

The plant can wilt due to lack of moisture and strong drafts. Due to the dry soil, the flowers quickly wither and fall off.

It happens that the seeds show poor germination. Even if a few seeds have sprouted, the seedlings may die in a short time. To avoid problems, the seeds must be selected fresh and immediately after the purchase, start planting. The soil must be steamed, disinfected. Water for irrigation is used settled or boiled.

Eustoma is extremely negatively tolerates sudden changes in temperature, so you should not rearrange the seedlings from place to place.To avoid flooding the seeds, you can water them from the pallet. It is important not to forget to adjust the acidity of the soil and add sand to the soil. No requirement can be neglected. Eustoma is a rather whimsical plant, so you will have to suffer a little to grow it. But during flowering, it will become clear that all the efforts are worth it.

More information can be found in the video.