Perennial Gatsania: planting and care + photo

Content

1 Characteristics of the species
2 Sowing African chamomile
3 Transferring seedlings to the ground
4 How to care for exotic flowers
5 Conclusion

There are so many truly beautiful flowers today - there really is plenty to choose from. One of the little-known, but truly beautiful, plants is the African chamomile or, as it is more often called, gatsaniya. The exotic chamomile comes from Africa, but despite this, it feels great in the flowerbeds of European countries.

In hot climates, gatsaniya is grown as a perennial, but it cannot withstand the harsh Russian winter, so here the flower exists as an annual plant.

Gatsania has a lot of advantages, the most important of which are: bright appearance and extreme resistance to external factors. This is quite enough to get interested in the African flower and try to grow it in your own garden.

You can learn about perennial gatsaniya, how to plant it and the necessary care, with photos and descriptions, from this article. Here we will tell you why the exotic flower attracted domestic flower growers, and what you need to pay attention to when growing gatsaniya in open ground.

Characteristics of the species

Perennial gazania (or, as it is called in other sources, gazania) appeared in Europe relatively recently.

Due to its African origin, the flower loves sunny areas and tolerates short periods of drought.

Sudden cold snaps, low night temperatures and even slight frosts are not dangerous for gatsaniya. All this allows you to easily grow African chamomile in flower beds next to local flowers and plants.

Attention! The low-growing compact gazania is perfect not only for flower beds and borders; it is used to decorate alpine slides and other landscape compositions, and is grown in pots and flowerpots.

The description of the gatsaniya flower is as follows:

small bushes, the height of which rarely reaches 30 cm;
almost complete absence of a stem - gatsania leaves simply emerge from the rhizome (there are some varieties of chamomile that have a stem up to 9 cm long);
leaf plates of flowers can have different shapes, but they are always collected in neat rosettes;
the leaves are dark green, quite dense, and have a slight grayish tint;
the bases of the leaves are pubescent, this allows gatsaniya to retain moisture at the roots, and in frost the same villi save the root system of the flower from hypothermia;
African chamomile inflorescences are single, large - about 7-9 cm in diameter;
flower petals are pointed, dense;
The colors of gazania are very variegated and elegant, the flower can be painted in absolutely any shade: pink, sand, bronze, red or orange;
a characteristic feature of gazania flowers is dark spots at the base of the petals, creating a contrasting pattern;
gatsaniya fruit - a fleecy seed capsule with a small tuft;
Gazania flowering continues throughout almost the entire warm season - from the beginning of July until the first frost;
the flower is very unpretentious; gatsania can be safely called a plant that can exist without human intervention.

Important! Gatsaniya propagates by seeds, which the gardener can collect in his own flowerbed.

African chamomile has one amazing ability: the flower's petals open only in warm weather and in direct sunlight. If it is cloudy or cool outside, gatsaniya will curl its inflorescences into dense buds. The same thing happens every night.

That is why The flower should be planted only in a constantly illuminated place, otherwise the gatsaniya will not bloom.

Sowing African chamomile

Gatsania perennial, as already mentioned, reproduces by seeds. The seeds of this flower can be bought or collected yourself - their germination rate is excellent. It is necessary to sow gazania 1.5-2 months before the intended transplantation into the ground.

Early varieties of flowers are sown for seedlings at the end of February or early March. Gatsania with late flowering periods (blooms at the end of summer) is sown only at the end of March or at the beginning of April.

To get strong gatsaniya seedlings, you need to follow the instructions:

First you need to prepare the planting substrate. The best soil for African gatsaniya is considered to be a mixture of turf soil, humus, peat and sand, which are taken in equal parts. The acidity of the soil mixture should be neutral.
Before sowing gatsaniya seeds, the soil should be disinfected. Any method will do: freezing, heating in the oven, or pouring with a solution of potassium permanganate. The main thing is that the soil for flowers is clean and does not contain pathogenic bacteria.
Select boxes and containers for gatsaniya seedlings and fill them with substrate to approximately 70% of the volume.
Now you need to water the soil with warm water and spread out the gatsaniya seeds, observing a checkerboard pattern.There should be about a two-centimeter gap between adjacent seeds in a row.
Each flower grain is lightly pressed onto the soil and the plantings are sprinkled with a thin layer of dry peat (about 5 mm).
Now the top layer is slightly moistened with a spray bottle and the boxes are covered with film.
Gatsania seeds should be kept in a warm place with a temperature above 20 degrees until shoots begin to appear. Until then, it is necessary to periodically moisten the soil using a spray bottle.
When the seeds germinate en masse, the film is removed and the boxes with gatsaniya are placed in a lighter and cooler place.

Attention! Gatsania vitally needs light. In late winter or early spring in most regions of Russia there is not enough sunlight, so African chamomile seedlings are illuminated with fluorescent lamps. If this is not done, the sprouts will become painful and stretch out too much.

You should definitely pluck gazania seedlings when the plants have three true leaves. It must be remembered that the root system of the flower is of a taproot type; seedlings should be moved very carefully, trying not to damage the central root.

Immediately before planting in the ground, flower seedlings are hardened off by gradually lowering the temperature in the room (by opening a window or balcony).

Advice! To avoid picking and not injure the fragile gazania, it is recommended to grow its seedlings in peat cups or tablets. When the time comes, organic containers with flower seedlings are simply placed in holes in a flowerbed or flowerpot.

Transferring seedlings to the ground

It is necessary to plant gatsaniya in a flowerbed when the temperature is consistently warm and the weather is good.Usually, this happens in mid-May (early varieties of flowers in the southern regions are planted in early May). At a later time, seedlings may “burn” under the hot rays of the spring sun.

The soil for an African flower should be fertile and light. If the soil in the flowerbed is depleted, before planting it is fertilized with humus, ash or mineral complexes.

Gatsania is planted according to a 20x20 or 25x25 cm pattern. Tall varieties should be planted at large intervals. After planting, the flower bed is watered with warm water and covered with agrofibre to protect the gazania from cold and sun. After a few days, the cover from the flowers needs to be removed.

Attention! An adult gatsaniya can withstand temperatures dropping to -7 degrees, but young seedlings really do not like the cold.

How to care for exotic flowers

Caring for gatsaniya is very simple: just water the flowers periodically and loosen the soil between the rows. Step-by-step flower care should be like this:

Gazania requires rare but abundant watering. It’s okay if the flower turns out to be overdried; excess humidity is much more dangerous for African culture. Therefore, it is recommended to water a flower bed only during periods of prolonged drought.
You need to fertilize the flowerbed no more than once a month. For these purposes, it is most convenient to use complex mineral fertilizers, which are pre-diluted with water for irrigation. For example, nitroammophoska is suitable, 25 grams of which should be dissolved in a bucket of water. Usually, flowers need preliminary fertilizing, which was carried out before planting the seedlings.
It is recommended to periodically loosen the soil between the flower bushes and remove it from the flowerbed weeds. To avoid constant weeding, you can use mulch: it will save the gatsaniya from grass, from drying out, and from pests. Sawdust is suitable as mulch; on alpine slides it is allowed to use stones, pebbles, and crushed stone.
In order for new buds to constantly form on the bushes, it is necessary to regularly remove wilted flowers. Drooping inflorescences are simply torn off by hand and taken away from the flowerbed.
Diseases practically do not affect gatsaniya, but this flower is often threatened by gray rot. Rot appears due to improper care or incorrectly selected planting site. Affected gazania bushes should be pulled out and burned, and the remaining flowers should be treated with phytosporin or another antifungal agent.
Of the pests, gatsaniya may be interested in aphids, spider mites and snails. The first two insects need to be fought with special chemicals (Ditox, Akarin, for example), but snails will have to be collected manually.

Not in all regions of Russia gatsaniya has time to go through its entire life cycle, so the seeds on the bushes may not ripen. But, if the summer turns out to be hot and dry, you can expect a “harvest” of African chamomile seeds.

Gazania seeds look the same as dandelion fluffs, so they scatter easily. To collect the seeds, the flower bud is wrapped in several layers of gauze, then picked and dried.

Attention! Many hybrid varieties of gatsania are grown in Russia; it makes no sense to collect seeds from such flowers - they do not contain all the information and genes. Seeds are collected only from varietal flowers.

Conclusion

Perennial flowers of gatsaniya are perfect for the Russian climate, because they can withstand not only heat and drought, but also slight frosts. In pots and flowerpots, gatsaniya can bloom almost all year round if the plant is provided with suitable conditions (warmth, light, watering).

The African variegated flower will be a wonderful addition to any flower bed, will help decorate borders and edgings, and is often used to decorate alpine slides and other landscape objects. Gatsania harmonizes well with other low-growing flowers and plants, so creating a bright composition with its participation will not be difficult at all.