For the lobelia to be completely covered with flowers, the plant needs special care. Inexperienced gardeners often make mistakes that lead to the death of a flower. How to grow and care for lobelia.
Sowing Lobelia Seeds
Sowing lobelia seeds is the most time-consuming process during cultivation. The fact is that the seeds of the flower are very small, more like dust. Beginners in gardening will have to face a number of difficulties. To prevent this from happening, first select seeds in granules, which will greatly facilitate the planting process.
It’s easy to grow lobelia and take care of it. It is best to prepare seedlings than sowing seeds in open ground. Since, flowering begins only 3-3.5 months after planting. If you sow the seeds immediately on the bed, then the lobelia will bloom only in early autumn.
Properly grown seedlings allow you to admire the bright colors in June. It is better to start sowing seeds in early February. Prepare containers for seedlings in advance and start planting.
1. Prepare the soil for planting lobelia, for this garden soil is mixed with sand and roasted in the oven to disinfect.
2. At the bottom of the containers for seedlings, make a hole for water drainage, lay a thick layer of expanded clay.
3. Containers are filled with prepared soil, level the surface and slightly tamped.
4. Moisturize the soil from the spray with warm, settled water with the addition of potassium permanganate.
5. Seeds are evenly distributed over the surface of the soil, trying not to thicken. Here, seeds in granules will help to ease the task.
6. Capacities are covered with glass or a bag and cleaned in a warm and well-lit place.
Important! Dense planting leads to the death of tender sprouts of lobelia. And frequent thinning injures delicate roots.
To distribute lobelia seeds evenly over the soil surface, each gardener has his own tricks:
• before sowing, the seeds are mixed with sand, and then placed on a blank sheet of paper. With careful movements pour seeds into the soil with grooves;
• seeds are distributed using a toothpick. To do this, its end is moistened in water and lowered into a bag of seeds, after which they are easily distributed on the soil;
• a layer of snow is poured over the soil in the seed container, after which the seeds are gently poured onto it. They are clearly visible on its white surface and are easy to distribute.
Lobelia seeds need light to germinate, so they are not sprinkled with soil. But the containers should be in a room where the temperature is not lower than 20 degrees. The first shoots will be noticeable in two weeks. After that, the glass is removed from the containers.
Lobelia seedling care
When growing lobelia, care for it begins immediately after emergence.
1. When there were mass shoots of lobelia, it is necessary to reduce the temperature in the room to 15-18 degrees.
2. Immediately remove the shelter is not recommended, as gentle shoots need high humidity.
3. Every day you need to ventilate the seedlings for at least 30 minutes and wipe the glass.
Lobelia grows very slowly and the formation of leaves begins only in the second month of life. Therefore, picking is carried out after two pairs of leaves appear on the plants, they will get stronger.
There should be a hole in the pick-up tanks for liquid drain, so that the flower seedlings are not affected by the black leg. Seedlings are raking several pieces in one container.
Throughout the entire growing time, lobelia is well looked after. Watering is carried out in a pan so as not to soak delicate plants.
The first feeding of seedlings is carried out a week after a dive. To this end, apply fertilizer for blooming indoor flowers, reducing the dose by half.
15 days after the pick, they begin to form a lobelia bush. For better branching and the formation of a large number of shoots, pinch the growth point. In the future, the formation of the bush is carried out as necessary. Too overgrown lobelia lashes can be cut to a third of the length.
Planting lobelia seedlings in the ground
Lobelia is an annual, so it is grown as a pot plant. You can plant seedlings directly on the bed, and ampelous varieties - in a hanging planter.
They begin to plant seedlings in mid-May, when the threat of frost has passed. At first, tender plants are sheltered at night.
If lobelia is grown in a container, then for the normal development of the root system it needs enough space. The diameter of the pot should not be less than 20 cm.
The soil for planting lobelia is chosen neutral in acidity. In acidic soils, the flower slows down growth. Also, do not use too oily soil, otherwise the plant will grow green at the expense of flowering.
Plant lobelia you need five plants per container, which will give greater bushiness to the bush. After planting, the container with seedlings is removed to a place protected from wind and sun. In a few days, the flower fully adapts to new living conditions.
Pots are transferred to a permanent place after three to four days. To grow lobelia, they choose a well-lit place where direct sunlight and rainwater do not fall. The containers are placed at a comfortable height so that care for the lobelia does not cause trouble.
Watering and feeding lobelia
Water the flower pots every other day, but in conditions of too dry summer, you may need more frequent watering. In this case, the water is used as standing or rain.
Once a week, check that the roots of the plant are not exposed during watering, if you need to sprinkle with fresh soil.
Often, lobelia does not need to be fertilized, as it will cease to bloom. It is enough to feed the flower with complex fertilizer once a month.
Bush pruning
Pruning of lobelia is necessarily carried out after the first wave of flowering in order to stimulate the laying of new flower buds. During pruning, all shoots are shortened to a height of about 5 cm from the ground. It is such a haircut that allows the flower to grow new lashes, which will be better to bush and bloom longer. Leaving longer lashes, you can not wait for the flowering again.
The second time the lobelia is trimmed selectively, shortening and cutting only weak and damaged shoots.
To admire the beautiful flowers of lobelia to the very frosts, the flower needs to be cut again in August. Do as during the first pruning, completely cutting off all the shoots. After this, the flower needs to be fed.
Important! To collect lobelia seeds, the third time it does not need to be trimmed, otherwise the seeds will not have time to ripen.
Reproduction of lobelia: seed method and vegetative
Lobelia propagates by seeds, so for further cultivation they must be collected on time.
Lobelia seeds are very small and can crumble, so you need to monitor the condition of the flowers. When they have completely faded, the shoots are neatly tied together, after which the seeds are knocked off them on white paper.
The collected lobelia seeds are stored in paper bags or containers.
Many gardeners propagate lobelia by cuttings. To do this, the flower must be preserved until spring. Lobelia does not tolerate frost, so it can not be left on the street for the winter. The pot is brought into the house, where they create comfortable conditions for wintering.
In the room, the plant blooms almost until December. After that, cut all the shoots at ground level and send the plant to winter in a cold room. Lobelia is at rest until April. With the onset of spring, the container with the plant is brought into the room, and the bush is divided into several parts. Each process is planted in a separate container.
