Osteospermum is an incredibly beautiful flower a bit like a daisy that came to us from Africa. It can be different in size, color, as well as in the shape of petals. The diameter of the flower reaches 8 cm, and the height is 1 m. Unlike chamomiles, in osteospermum the seeds are on reed lobes, rather than on tubular ones. Osteospermums look very beautiful in the garden plots, brochures , mixborders and flower beds.
In this article, I would like to tell you what kind of care is needed for osteospermma during cultivation in our non-African continent.
How to grow osteospermum?
Despite the fact that osteospermum is quite unpretentious, it also needs care. If you follow some rules, he will please you with beautiful inflorescences.
- Soil and lighting. In order for osteospermum to take root, it is necessary to plant it in a loose fertile soil, mainly in a sunny place. However, despite this, he does not lose decorativeness even during a bad weather. If you grow osteospermum in containers, then you need to take humus, leaf and sod land, as well as sand. All this must be mixed in the proportions 1: 1: 1: 1.
- Temperature. The flower well tolerates heat and cold, as well as any unfavorable weather conditions. However, in no case can you keep it in a room that freezes.
- Watering. In the first few weeks after planting, watering should be fairly frequent and abundant. During the cultivation of osteospermum in containers, dry soil should never be tolerated, however, it is also not worth pouring a flower, because from overmoistening it can die.
- Fertilizer. During the care and cultivation of osteospermum, you need to feed the flower every week - in this way you can achieve good and abundant flowering.
- Topping. In order to get a lush bush and excellent branching, osteospermum should be plucked twice.
- Pruning. In order to prolong the flowering of the flower as a whole, it is necessary to periodically remove the discolored inflorescence.
Reproduction of osteospermum
There are two types of reproduction of osteosperm: cuttings and seeds. Some species can be propagated by seeds. For this, it is necessary to sow the seeds in the soil in March-April and cover the containers with glass.
However, most osteospermum varieties are propagated exclusively by cuttings, only in this case the typical flower attributes and properties are preserved, because during the sowing the characters can be divided between offspring. Moreover, if you want to declare the copyright of a hybrid individual, you must breed the osteospermum exclusively in a vegetative manner.
For reproduction, cuttings should be taken from the top of the plant in January-February. Root them at a temperature of 20 ° C for a month and only then put in a pot. When the threat of frost is no longer foreshadowed, it is necessary to plant the grown and grown plants to a permanent place of cultivation.
In order for osteospermum to become a perennial plant, during the onset of autumn it must be placed in a house in a cool and bright room - so osteospermum will well survive the wintering. During wintering, watering should be minimal, but do not overdry the soil.
Seeding and care of osteospermum
If breeding is not important for the conservation of plant species and hybrids, then osteospermum can be planted in seeds. To blossom osteospermum began in June, it is necessary to plant it at the end of March. In order to avoid damage to the root, it is possible to plant the osteospermum immediately into the pots, then the picking will not be necessary.
Seeds we immerse to a depth of 0.5 cm and fall asleep on the ground. After this, the pot must be transferred to a place that is warmed up well enough by the sun. The temperature should be around 18-20 ° C. If you follow these rules and maintain a moderate watering, then in a week you will notice the first shoots.
As we have already said, osteospermma tolerates temperature changes quite well, however, at the moment of appearance of the first leaves it is best to temper the plant and begin to gradually reduce the temperature. To do this, you can literally open the windows next to the flower for 10-15 minutes. Time should be gradually increased, and the temperature lowered to 12 ° C.