Annual phloxes: growing from seeds, when to plant seedlings

Content

1 Description of the species
2 Reproduction of annuals
- 2.1 Seedling propagation method
- 2.2 Planting in the ground and care
3 Conclusion

Phlox are beautiful flowers, loved by many gardeners and gardeners. Today, more than seventy types of phlox are known, but only half of them are grown in culture. And almost all varieties of these flowers are perennials. Perennial phloxes have a lot of advantages, but they also have a significant drawback - a limited range of colors (pink-raspberry shades) and a monotonous structure of the inflorescences. But annual phlox is replete with different colors, its petals have a carved shape and resemble original snowflakes. Unfortunately, there is also a drawback here - growing an annual is much more difficult.

This article will be devoted to how to grow annual phlox from seeds, when to plant these flowers for seedlings and in the ground. From here you can learn about the characteristics of flowers, what methods of growing them exist, and what care annual phloxes need.

Description of the species

There are only a few types of annual phlox, and only one of them has become popular - Drummond phlox. The homeland of this species is hot Texas, but the annual thrives in the continental climate of Europe and Russia.

Characteristics of Phlox Drummond:

plant of small or medium height - from 12 to 30 cm;
There are subshrub varieties that can grow up to 150 cm in the sun;
the stems of the flower are highly branched and herbaceous;
the leaves are small, arranged oppositely, and have an oval-lanceolate shape;
inflorescences are small but abundant;
the shape of the petals can be different: needle-shaped, star-shaped, round;
the color of annual phloxes is also varied (from white to salmon and blue);
the structure of the flower can be either simple or double;
annual phlox exude a strong sweet aroma;
flowers are suitable for decorating flower beds, borders, ridges, they can be planted in boxes and flowerpots.

Attention! An interesting feature of annual phlox is their sensitivity to light: in the sun the flowers become brighter, while in the shade or cloudy weather their color fades.

It has been noticed that the same varieties of annual phlox can have different heights depending on the planting location. So, on highlands, spherical bushes grow to a maximum of 25-30 cm, while on the sunny plain plants can stretch more than a meter.

Reproduction of annuals

Annual phlox, unlike its perennial relative, can reproduce only in one way - by seeds. It is believed that the germination rate of Drummond phlox seeds that fell to the ground in the fall will be about 70% in the spring. However Ideal conditions are required for successful flower germination:

loose soil;
high humidity;
warm climate;
snowy winter, saving seeds from freezing;
stable temperatures in winter.

Even if all these factors coincide, self-seeding phlox will have its drawbacks. Firstly, flowers will appear where they grew last season, and not in the area chosen by the gardener.Secondly, The flowering of annual phloxes sown directly into the ground will be later - the inflorescences will bloom only in the second half of summer.

Seedling propagation method

In view of all of the above, growing annual phlox from seeds by direct sowing into the soil is very rare. This method is only suitable for southern regions with mild winters and early spring.

In other cases It is not customary to plant phlox with seeds - the Drummond flower is grown through seedlings. Details on how to sow seeds and when to sow annual phlox for seedlings will be discussed further.

What you need to know

For a very long time it was believed that growing annual phlox in culture was a difficult and thankless task. The fact is that the large seeds of these flowers did not want to germinate, so it was impossible to get seedlings.

It turned out that annual phlox seeds do not need to be sprinkled with soil at all - they are simply laid out on the ground. This significantly reduces the seed hatching time. The second thing a gardener at home should take into account is Annual seeds need light to germinate.

So, When starting to independently grow seedlings of annual phlox, you must consider the following:

Immediately after sowing the seeds, the containers must be placed in a warm and, most importantly, bright place. Therefore, containers can only be covered with transparent film or glass.
The soil for phlox needs loose, sandy, well-drained soil. Flowers do not tolerate high soil acidity - the pH should be neutral.
Annual phloxes definitely need frequent feeding. It is necessary to use only mineral complexes for flowers.
Annuals tolerate picking well, so seedlings must be planted in separate containers.
To form a beautiful spherical bush, you need to pinch the tops of the seedlings, starting from the first month of its life.

Attention! In the first days after emergence, annual phlox seedlings must be shaded, since the young shoots of these flowers are very delicate.

Sowing annuals

How to sow Drummond phlox seeds for seedlings will be discussed in more detail. It is recommended to start sowing in March, when there is already enough sunlight. Otherwise, you will have to add artificial lighting to the flower boxes.

Advice! To calculate the exact date for sowing seeds for seedlings, it is necessary to take into account the climate in the region - by the time annuals are planted in the ground, the threat of return frosts must have passed.

First, prepare planting containers, which can be plastic cups, general containers with transparent lids, peat cups or tablets.

Containers for phlox seedlings are filled with a loose substrate consisting of turf soil, sand, humus and peat. The soil is lightly sprinkled with water and the seeds are laid out. The distance between the seeds should be at least two centimeters.

Each seed is lightly pressed into the soil, after which the plantings are sprayed with a spray bottle. Cover the containers with film, a lid or glass and send them to a warm, bright place.

Attention! Phlox seedlings do not appear soon - it can take one or two weeks.

The film from the container must be removed at the moment when the phlox roots sprout from the seeds and begin to attach to the ground (sprouts appear only after this). Until then, the seedlings are ventilated every day, the condensation from the shelter is wiped off, and the soil is slightly moistened.

Seedling care

Seedlings of annual phlox are unpretentious, tolerate diving well and do not require special attention. Picking phlox should be done 2-3 weeks after the flower seeds germinate. By this time, the plants should have formed a pair of true leaves.

Important! If picking is carried out in a common box, the distance between plants should be 4-6 cm.

Now it is important to maintain the temperature regime (not lower than 20 degrees), provide annual seedlings with uniform light, and regularly water the plants. When the seedlings are a month old, they are fed with a mineral complex. Before planting in the ground, phloxes are hardened off and a portion of fertilizer is added again, mixed with water for irrigation.

To ensure that annual phlox bushes are thick and lush, the tops of the seedlings are pinched when 4-5 true leaves grow.

Planting in the ground and care

At the end of May, you can safely plant seedlings of annual phlox in the ground. For these plants in the flower bed, choose a sunny or semi-shaded area with well-drained, loose soil.

An interval of at least 20 cm must be maintained between phlox bushes and other plants. The distance between the holes depends on the type of flowers and their expected height (20-40 cm).

The phlox seedling is carefully transferred into the prepared hole, straightening its long roots. All that remains is to lightly sprinkle the plant with soil and tamp it down with your fingers. Planted flowers are watered with warm water.

Advice! It is recommended to add a handful of wood ash to each planting hole.

Annual phlox seedlings take root well, and subsequently these flowers will not need complex care.

The florist must do the following:

Annual phloxes have roots that overheat greatly, so in hot weather you need to regularly water the plants with cool water.
A couple of weeks after planting the seedlings, the flowers spud up. The soil is regularly loosened, as the roots must “breathe”.
You should constantly pinch the shoots of annual phlox: first to form the bush, then to rejuvenate it (the tops with faded inflorescences are cut off).
Annuals need to be fed with mineral fertilizers at least four times during the summer.
At the end of the season, cut off several dried shoots with phlox seeds and put them in a box.

Attention! A box with annual phlox seeds must have a lid, since the seed pods tend to “explode” and scatter the seeds.

The basic rule for caring for annual phloxes is: do not interfere with their development and growth. A gardener can make his work much easier if he mulches the soil around the bushes.

Conclusion

Drummond phloxes will delight with lush flowering from the beginning of June until the end of September. These are one of the most unpretentious flowers, and the main difficulty lies in their propagation.

The photos of tender annuals are so beautiful that it is simply impossible to remain indifferent. If you look at it, sowing seeds and growing phlox seedlings is not such a complicated process. Knowing the simple rules, you can be guaranteed to get friendly shoots and strong seedlings.