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Man does not live by bread alone. The vast majority of land owners want their garden to be well-groomed and their flower garden to be in order. And in this case, you cannot do without pilots. They bloom almost all season and do not require special care. Some of them can be sown in the ground immediately in a permanent place, but most annual flowers will bloom too late in this case. Therefore, they are grown as seedlings. This is exactly how zinnia is grown.
With this flower you can decorate any flower bed. A huge number of plant varieties of different heights and with different types of inflorescences allow it to be widely used in landscape design. And the color palette - almost all colors and shades - further contributes to this.
Zinnia comes from Central America, where there is no frost. The plant does not tolerate them in our climate either. Even a drop in temperature of just 1 degree below 0 is detrimental to it. Therefore, zinnia can be sown in open ground only after the end of the return spring frosts.
Why seedlings
For most varieties, the period from germination to first flowering lasts almost 70 days.If you add the time from sowing to the appearance of sprouts, it turns out that blooming zinnia can be seen in almost 3 months. Our summer is short, and when sown in open ground, the flower simply does not have time to show everything it is capable of. Therefore, the only way to get early flowering is to grow seedlings.
How to sow zinnia so that it does not stretch
The seeds of this flower have good germination and emerge from the ground quickly - sometimes even in 6 days. To speed up germination and ensure the quality of the seeds, they must first be soaked. Any growth stimulator will be a good help; it must be used according to the instructions. Plants grown from seeds treated in this way will show better health and lush flowering.
The seeds are placed in furrows to a depth of 0.5 cm. The soil should be slightly moist, but not waterlogged. To grow zinnia seedlings, it is very important to choose the right containers. A well-developed root system requires room for growth, so the height of the container for growing seedlings should not be less than 10 cm. When picking, which is carried out approximately 3 weeks after germination, it is necessary to take care of tall cups of sufficient volume. Pinching the root when picking will make the roots fibrous; they have the greatest suction capacity and will feed the plants well.
To make seedlings appear faster, put a plastic bag on the container with the crops and place it in a warm place.After the seedlings emerge, the most important thing for them is a sufficient amount of light. Therefore, their place is on the brightest windowsill.
Comfort for seedlings
Like any plant, zinnia has its own preferences when growing. This also applies to seedlings. In what conditions will she be comfortable?
- Where seedlings are grown, the air temperature should be approximately 20 degrees.
- This light-loving plant requires good lighting, and daylight hours should last at least 12 hours.
- Watering zinnia seedlings should be moderate. In this case, it is better to slightly underfill than to overfill. Do not forget that the water should be at room temperature and well settled.
- The soil for growing zinnia seedlings is selected with a neutral reaction, well permeable to air and excess moisture. It should not be too dense - roots do not develop well in such soil. The content of organic nutrients in the soil should be moderate; it is better to feed zinnia with organic matter after planting in the ground.
- An important point is fertilizer. Zinnia seedlings are fed only with mineral fertilizers; at this stage, they do not need organic matter. It is best to use a complex fertilizer with microelements that is highly soluble in water. The dosage for seedlings is reduced by half.
If these conditions are not met, problems will arise:
- the seedlings will stretch out, this happens especially often in the cotyledon leaf stage;
- thin stems are unable to support their own weight and fall to the ground;
- weakened plants are susceptible to fungal diseases, the stems can be affected by blackleg and rot;
- plant growth and development will slow down.
Why do seedlings stretch out?
The main reason is non-compliance with growing conditions.What does this mean?
- The seeds were sown too early. This plant is characterized by rapid growth. In the middle zone, it is not worth sowing zinnia for seedlings earlier than in the middle or end of April. In warmer regions, this can be done 2-3 weeks earlier. It is preferable to obtain a seedling with fewer leaves, but strong and stocky. It will take root better and begin to grow faster after transplantation.
- The temperature on the windowsill is too high. Under these conditions, the seedlings will certainly stretch out, as their growth will accelerate.
- Poor lighting. This circumstance forces the stems to stretch out in search of light; without it, plants simply cannot exist.
- Sowing too thick. If it is not possible to plant the plants in separate containers, you cannot sow them too thickly. Competition for light and nutrition will inevitably cause seedlings to stretch out.
How to help stretched plants
If, despite all efforts, the seedlings still stretch, what measures should be taken:
First of all, adjust the measures for caring for seedlings:
- If there is a lack of light, organize additional illumination with special phytolamps; if they are not available, ordinary fluorescent lamps will do. When using conventional incandescent lamps for additional illumination, they should not be placed close to the seedlings - they may overheat and even burn.
- Dry the containers with plants and then water them less abundantly, making sure that the water is not cold;
- if the temperature in the area for growing seedlings is too high, organize frequent ventilation; if it is too low, arrange heating to increase it;
- sometimes the air temperature is quite high, but the ground is cold, it is blown from the cracks in the window.In this case, the seedlings will not grow and develop normally; you need to insulate the window sill.
The plants will have enough nutrition that is in the soil.
What else can you do to help plants? The best thing you can do is plant a flower garden for them. Unfortunately, a lot here depends on weather conditions; it is not always possible to perform a transplant. Measures that can be taken indoors:
- add soil to the seedling container. This will not only help the plants, but also make them stronger, and additional roots will form on the stems.
- dig a hole next to each seedling, place a stem in it and cover it with soil, the leaves should be on the outside;
- slow down growth by correcting the temperature regime - keep it cool at night and in the sun during the day;
- spray the seedlings with preparations that inhibit the growth of seedlings, for example, Atlet - it is also suitable for zinnia.
Dilute the drug according to the instructions. Spraying should be done twice at weekly intervals. - If the plants are too crowded, you can plant them in separate cups, deepening the stems to the cotyledon leaves;
- a good way is to simply pinch each sprout; this technique will cause the plant to bush, side shoots will grow, and not the central stem.
Such plants, after planting in the ground, will produce more luxuriant flowering. - If the seedlings are large enough, you can tie each one to a support made of bamboo skewers. This must be done carefully, trying not to damage the stem; do not press it against the support.
You can watch the video to see how you can help elongated zinnia seedlings:
Zinnia is one of the ten most attractive and common annuals. Sow it as seedlings, help it if it has become stretched, and the plant will thank you with lush and long-lasting flowering.
