Eustoma or Irish rose is an ornamental plant belonging to the gentian family. In the literal translation, the name of the flower means "beautiful mouth", but in more literary terms - "beautifully speaking". Indeed, the plant is very beautiful and tender.
Eustoma, grown in the open ground, can reach a meter in height. Her stems are strong, but elegant. Approximately from the middle of the stem, the branch branches strongly, so that at its end a whole bouquet of 35 buds can be formed, which blossom one by one.
The leaves of the eustoma are opaque, grayish in color. Flowers are terry and non-marble, from 5 to 8 cm in diameter. Can have different shades - from white and pink to purple and lilac. Sometimes their edges are outlined by a contrasting border. While the bud is not fully opened, it looks like a rose, but then opens completely and resembles a poppy.
The garden eustoma is a one-year plant, although it lives in its natural environment for two years. A perennial form is only possible in a potted room variant.
Eustoma - planting and care
It is quite easy to grow eustoma from seeds. Seeds are highly germinated, so this rarely presents problems. With properly selected soil and the observance of all conditions, you can plant the eustoma on the seedlings so that you can then plant it on pots or on a flower bed in your garden. In addition, you can use this as a business idea , as the popularity of the flower is growing.
Before starting to grow eustoma, you need to know about the features of this process. The best soil for the plant is humus from the tree bark and peat in equal parts. The plant likes bright but diffuse light. To water a flower it is necessary only after drying of a substrate on pair centimeters in depth. The home-grown eustoma blooms more often in a cool room. It is not advisable to transplant her, as her root system can not bear it.
Cultivation of eustomomy is possible only from seeds, since cuttings propagation does not yield results, and fragile rootlets simply do not tolerate division. To obtain seeds, one must resort to artificial pollination with the help of a brush. Then from the boxes remaining after flowering, you need to extract the seeds, which are very many. They are small, black and round. A large number of plant specimens can be planted from a gram of seeds.
How to plant and grow eustoma?
So, go directly to the rules of growing a perennial eustoma. We remember that for many years it can only be at home, so if you plant seeds in a flower garden, the grown plant will please you only for one season.
For the house, the seeds must be sown in the period from July to September. You can take a small container first, fill it with a moist substrate of sand and peat in a ratio of 1 to 1, and just scatter the seeds on its surface.
Next, cover the container with glass or a film and place it in a warm and well-lit place. Periodically, you need to spray the seeds from the spray gun. When the seedlings will appear, and they will grow
After the appearance of the second pair of leaves, you can arrange them on separate pots, in which they will grow, develop and blossom. The first flowering with proper care should come in January-February.
Care for an adult plant involves the arrangement of pots at the western or eastern window, maintaining a temperature of at least + 19 ° C, regular airing, moderate watering with soft water, which must be made as the top layer dries.