Content
Carnation Shabot is the most recognizable and beloved variety of the carnation family by many gardeners. This is a hybrid species, memorable for its aroma and grace. It is grown in any region and in almost every area.
Even fastidiousness in care does not stop summer residents. The color range of the plant is so diverse that it is difficult to list all the variations. There are single-color flowers and mixed ones, in which shades flow from dark to light. Some simultaneously combine several tones in one petal.
To place a beautiful plant in a flowerbed, you need to grow seedlings of the garden carnation “Shabo” at home. This is not an entirely simple matter, but the result will make you forget all the troubles. In our article we will describe in detail the step-by-step process of how to plant Shabot cloves with seeds.
Description and characteristics
Slow development from sowing to flowering is the main reason for growing Shabot carnations from seeds. It takes about six months from the date of sowing to cutting the bouquet. Some gardeners practice propagation of the flower by cuttings, but most prefer to plant seeds to grow Shabot garden carnations.
The plant does not belong to a separate type of carnations, but is considered the most popular and recognizable.
Garden carnation Shabo is different:
- Compact rhizome without branches. The depth of the rhizome is from 10 to 20 cm.
- Leaves of a grayish or pale green hue are arranged in pairs on the shoot.
- Shoots up to 50 cm high, knotty and thin. There are new Shabot hybrids with a small shoot height and abundant flowering.
- The flowers are large (diameter 6-8 cm), double, with a persistent pleasant aroma. The coloring is very varied.
Garden carnation Shabot is valued for its ability to bloom for a long time and for the fact that this flower lasts a long time when cut. Flowering of Shabo begins in July and lasts until frost. In the southern regions, carnations quietly remain in the ground for the winter. In order for the plant to survive wintering in the regions of the Middle Zone, it needs to be provided with shelter.
If a beginner in gardening wants to grow Shabot garden carnation from seeds at home, it is better to take a variety mixture for sowing. An experienced flower lover can be advised to work with new products. There are modern hybrids that bloom 1-2 months earlier, but require proper care. And if you know how to grow Shabot cloves from seeds, then you can get acquainted with new varieties. They have not yet been tested much, so the strategy for growing them still requires study. Let's move on to a description of how to plant Shabo variety of carnations for seedlings.
Sowing seeds and growing seedlings
Let's take a closer look at growing Shabot garden cloves from seeds at home.
To sow Shabot cloves yourself, you can get seeds in two ways:
- buy a sachet in a store;
- grow and harvest yourself.
The first option is more reliable, but you need to purchase seeds from a trusted manufacturer. Planting material retains the ability to germinate for 2-3 years, and the germination rate is a record 85%-95%. But despite this, attentiveness is always needed.
It is much more difficult to independently obtain seeds from plants grown on the site. If cloves grow in the south, this will not be a problem. But when growing Shabot garden carnation from seeds in the regions of the middle zone, collecting planting material will require additional effort. The plant blooms in the second half of the growing season, so seed ripening occurs during a period of moisture and variable temperature. In order for the seeds to ripen, the plants need to provide certain conditions - warmth and lack of moisture. Experienced gardeners transplant cloves into containers and transfer them indoors, where the seeds ripen within 1.5-2 months. As soon as they easily fall out of the fruits, they are already considered fully ripe.
The seeds are very small, so it is worth putting a cloth or gauze bag over the fruit to collect the planting material. 1 g contains up to 550-600 seeds. You will be able to grow about 450 plants. This quantity takes into account rejection and ungerminated specimens.
When the seeds are prepared, the next question arises. When to sow Shabo cloves for seedlings? The crop is sown in the winter months, starting in December and ending in mid-February. Optimally - January or February. In December, you will need to add more light to the seedlings due to the very short daylight hours.The date when to sow Shabot carnations can be shifted to the end of February if modern hybrids with an earlier budding period are grown.
Land preparation
To grow high-quality Shabot carnation seedlings, you will need to prepare the soil. The soil in which flowers grow in the garden is not suitable for the normal development of seedlings. Therefore, gardeners have two options:
- buy ready-made soil for flower seedlings marked “universal”;
- Prepare the mixture at home in advance.
To sow Shabot cloves for seedlings, prepare the following components:
- garden or turf soil – 1 part;
- humus – 1 part;
- peat – 1 part;
- sand – 0.5 parts.
Additionally, perlite is added to improve the quality of the soil. And if you add hydrogel, it will help reduce the number of waterings.
All parts are mixed and pre-sowing preparation begins. The soil is spilled with a solution of potassium permanganate or Fitosporin-M. Then it is calcined or frozen in the cold.
Preparing containers
For convenient sowing of Shabot cloves for seedlings, seedling boxes of different sizes, plastic containers, flower pots, peat pots or tablets are used.
Important requirements for landing containers are:
- The height is no more than 6 cm. If you take a deeper container, then there is a danger of the seedlings becoming waterlogged and the seedlings falling out.
- The presence of drainage holes and a drainage layer. Seedlings do not tolerate stagnation of water, so it is necessary to ensure the outflow of excess moisture. If this is not done, the seedlings will be susceptible to the spread of rot and leaf wilting.
- Mandatory disinfection. Use a solution of potassium permanganate, “Fitosporin-M”. Some summer residents limit themselves to treating with boiling water.
The next stage when growing Shabot cloves from seeds at home is the proper preparation of planting material.
Seed preparation
Pre-sowing treatment is needed for seeds that were collected independently. If they were purchased in a specialized store, then the manufacturer has already taken care of this. Such a seed can be immediately placed in the soil.
In order for the planting of Shabot carnation seedlings with seeds from your own plot to be successful and the seedlings to germinate well, you need to prepare the planting material:
- First it is calibrated. This is necessary for the selection of suitable full-weight specimens. A 3%-5% solution of table salt is prepared, into which clove seeds are placed. Mix several times and then select only those that have settled to the bottom.
- The second stage is disinfection from pests. To do this, heat treatment is carried out. This is the name for soaking for 1 hour in water heated to 50°C with the addition of potassium permanganate.
- Some gardeners additionally place seeds in a solution of a growth stimulator.
After such events, you can safely begin planting Shabot cloves with seeds.
Sowing
Sowing Shabot cloves for seedlings is carried out using technology for small seeds.
The container is filled with soil mixture and compacted a little so that the seed does not fall into the voids. It is convenient to use the bottom of a glass jar for this. The earth is not poured to the very top, leaving at least 1 cm from the side.
Let us consider in detail how to sow Shabot cloves for seedlings in order to obtain the maximum percentage of germination. Small seeds are not immersed in the ground, but simply scattered over a compacted surface. Then sprinkle with calcined sand. It is prepared in advance.You need to pour sand in a thin layer on a baking sheet and bake in the oven at a temperature of 65 Cº -100 Cº for half an hour. This technique protects seedlings from being damaged by blackleg.
How to sow Shabo clove seeds for seedlings if they were soaked in a growth stimulant? Only after drying. Otherwise, they will stick together and you will not be able to distribute them evenly over the surface of the soil. After sowing, the sand should be lightly compacted and the container covered with glass or film. This creates a greenhouse effect.
Many gardeners prefer to sow Shabot cloves in a snail. This is done in the same way as for seeds of peppers, tomatoes or other crops. Learn more about growing Shabot garden carnation from seeds in a snail in the video:
Seedling care
After sowing has been done correctly, you need to provide the Shabot carnation seedlings with proper care. For seed germination, you will need to maintain the air temperature around +15°C. Garden carnation Shabo does not require bright light and heat in the first days. But the soil needs to be adequately moist. A spray bottle is used for this purpose.
If favorable conditions are created when growing Shabo carnations from seeds, the first shoots appear after 4-5 days (see photo). The rest appear after 10 days. At temperatures higher than required, germination slows down. When all the seeds have sprouted, the film is removed.
As soon as the seedlings hatch, the main attention is paid to watering. Seedlings are susceptible to blackleg. Therefore, overwatering is unacceptable. Watering too hard will lead to the death of the seedlings.If a problem appears, diseased specimens are removed and the soil is sprinkled with ash or crushed activated carbon.
Another important aspect. The depth of seed placement is small, therefore, during the period of seedling growth, soil addition is required.
The air temperature is maintained within 12-13°C.
Picking
When growing Shabot cloves, double picking is required. The seedlings dive for the first time when the first pair of leaves appears. This usually corresponds to the plants being 3-4 weeks old. At this stage, the transplantation aims to plant the seedlings according to a 4 cm x 4 cm pattern. The picking is done very carefully, trying not to damage the delicate roots.
The second time, seedlings with 3-4 pairs of leaves are transplanted. How to properly pick a Shabot carnation for the second time:
- It is best to plant the plants in separate containers.
- Add humus or nitrogen fertilizers to the soil to improve growth.
At the time of the second picking, the seedlings are buried to the root collar. How to pick a Shabot carnation can be seen in the photo.
In the 5-leaf phase, seedlings are additionally pinched. This makes it possible for the plant to form a lush bush.
Video about the correct picking of the Shabot carnation:
Flower growers are interested in the question of how to sow Shabot carnation seeds directly into open ground.
In this case, the main problem is the long growing season of the plant. To get flowering on time, you need to sow in a greenhouse, hotbed or conservatory. Then the seedlings are transferred to open ground when the appropriate temperature is established. When to plant Shabot carnations in a greenhouse when growing from seeds can only be decided taking into account the climatic characteristics of the region.The temperature for seedlings is low, but the daylight hours are long. Therefore, sowing is not carried out before March.
Useful video about growing seedlings of garden carnation Shabo:
