Every florist knows that the spring for him will begin much earlier than for other people. After all, he flinches with trembling leaves of the calendar, waiting for the moment when it will be possible to finally drop the first seed into the ground.
Most often, the cultivation of flowers begins with the purchase of seeds. Taking a bag in hand, do not forget to check the expiry date: the germination of old seeds is much lower. In addition, take an interest in the conditions in which you like a flower.
Before you start breeding in your own area of ​​unpretentious and loved by many marigolds, let's find out when to plant them on the seedlings and what are the conditions for growing these wonderful flowers.
Seeding of marigolds on seedlings
These flowers can be grown in two ways - the seeds are planted immediately in the open ground or the cultivation of marigolds is used through seedlings. The first way is better to practice at the end of February or beginning of March. Bloom marigolds about 75-77 days after sowing. Therefore, you can sow seeds for seedlings with an interval of one to two weeks and plant seedlings also at different times. As a result, you will have flowers in flowers until the frosts.
By the time when the time has come to sow the marigolds on the seedlings, you have to stock up the containers for its cultivation. These can be peat pots , plastic cassettes, mini-greenhouses or other containers. If you plan to sow seeds in homemade dishes, for example, in glasses from yogurt, then they must first be washed with soda and do in the bottoms drainage holes.
If you are not stocked from the fall of the earth for seeding seeds, you can buy in the store soil mixture for growing seedlings of vegetables and flowers. It consists of peat, sand and humus.
At the bottom of the tank we pour small expanded clay for drainage , and from above we fill the soil. It is advisable to treat it before sowing with a hot and strong solution of potassium permanganate. Do not start sowing until all the water has drained off, and the soil does not cool down and does not dry up.
Sowing sufficiently large seeds of marigolds, we cover them to a depth of about 1 cm. We water, we cover the containers with polyethylene film or glass and put them in a warm, not necessarily bright place. The first shoots will appear about the fifth day.
Marigolds - planting and care
After the friendly shoots of marigolds appear, open the containers and transfer them to a well-lit place. The presence of sufficient light for growing seedlings in the future will provide the plant with a beautiful decorative color.
After the appearance of the first two leaves, seedlings of marigolds can be dived. To do this, you need to dig out the sprouts, pinch the root from it and plant the plant in another container, deepening it to the level of the cotyledons, which will promote a better root formation. After picking, hold a few days of the container with seedlings away from direct sunlight.
Approximately 10 days before planting the seedlings in the open ground, it is necessary to begin its hardening. Put containers with plants in fresh air, gradually increasing the time of "air procedures". With the onset of warm weather, leave seedlings on the street for the whole night.
Do not water the seedlings of the marigold in the evening - it will stretch from this and become more prone to disease. To water it is desirable only in the first half of the day and only with standing water at room temperature.
Marigolds are very heat-loving plants, afraid of frost and recurrent colds. Therefore, planting their seedlings in an open
Before planting seedlings of marigolds in the ground prepare the soil: dig a site and remove the weeds, and then pour the ground. Saplings too, pour and, dug them together with an earthen lump, gently place in the previously prepared fossa about 5 cm deep. This moment of care and planting of marigolds you see in the photo. Seal the ground around the plant and moisten it again.