Chinese carnation is a perennial grass, but in the central zone of Russia it is grown as an annual. This is one of the oldest garden flowers, whose Latin name translates as divine. Unpretentious plant is very popular.
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Species and varieties
In the last century, hundreds of new varieties appeared, obtained by selection and hybridization. Low-growing varieties whose height does not exceed 15 cm have gained distribution (in nature, Chinese cloves can grow up to half a meter).
Beautiful varieties of Chinese cloves:
- Ideal Rose differs in long flowering and stunting, plant stems do not exceed 20 cm in height, flowers are pinkish-purple;
- Telsta Purple Picoti - with a pinkish-red center, which gradually turns from pink to snow-white to the edge of the corolla, the height of the stems is not more than 25 cm;
- Color Magic (Color Wizard) - flowers in pink, snow-white and red tones, plant height up to 30 cm.
Distributed in Russia Geddevig's Chinese Carnation, sometimes it is considered a separate species. The color of its flowers can be two-tone - with a red or white border on the edge of the petals.
Popular varieties of Geddevig variety:
- Vesuvius - with terry fiery red flowers;
- Schneebal - white corollas with a greenish tint;
- Diamond - burgundy double flowers with serrated edges;
- Lucifer - fiery red flowers with dissected terry petals;
- Schwartz Prince - Terry flowers, burgundy, with a white border.
Schneibal, Vesuvius and Lucifer are medium-sized plants up to 30 cm high.
The seeds of some varieties are sold as variety types; it is known in advance that they will be uneven in color.Chinese carnation Terry mix Suitable for growing in the garden and at home. It is distinguished by large flowers of various colors.
Growing Chinese carnation from seeds for seedlings
The most suitable month for sowing seeds at home is the end of February. If there is no backlight for seedlings, it is better to sow the seeds in mid-March or early April.
The soil is used universal, adding coconut substrate and vermiculite for friability. To better maintain moisture in the soil, you can add soaked hydrogel granules.
Growing from seeds, order of sowing in containers:
- take loose fertile soil;
- pour it into a plastic container;
- moisturize from a spray bottle;
- seeds sow superficially;
- cover with a transparent lid or cling film.
Put the seeds for germination at a temperature of 23–25 ° C in a well-lit place.
Seedlings sprout quickly, after about a week, so that they do not stretch, it is desirable to reduce the air temperature in the room to 16 ° C. It is also necessary to organize illumination of plants, the duration of daylight should be at least 10-12 hours. Seedlings dive in stage 4 of real leaves.
To make an adult plant more lush and multi-stemmed, with a large number of flowers, pinch the seedlings when 6-8 leaves grow.
The top is carefully cut with sharp scissors, leaving 4-6 lower leaves. New shoots will begin to grow from the buds at the base of the leaf blades, they will also be nipped over 4 or 6 leaves, then the bush becomes very lush and beautiful.
Plant propagation methods
Cloves are propagated by seeds and cuttings. Hybrid varieties can only be grown from seeds bought in a store or from cuttings cut from a bush.
Cut shoots take root well in the soil. Before planting, they remove the lower leaves and the top, the bottom cut is made oblique.
Having placed the cuttings in a moist substrate, they are covered with a film, and put in a warm, bright place until rooted. Humidify the soil and ventilate seedlings as needed.
Planting Chinese carnations in open ground
Carnation seedlings are planted in open ground in late April or May; she is not afraid of spring frosts. Chinese carnation is undemanding to lighting - it can grow in bright sun or in light partial shade.
The soil on the flower bed should be calcareous. Seedlings are placed at a distance of about 30 cm from each other, dwarf varieties can be planted closer.
Planting seedlings complement sowing seeds in open ground. Cloves produce buds approximately 3 months after emergence.
How to care for the plant
Carnations bloom beautifully in sunny flower beds. They do not like excess moisture in the soil, so they are best planted in elevated places that do not get wet during heavy rains.
A flower grows well on fertile loamy soil with normal acidity. It is undemanding to care, does not need organic dressing. Mineral fertilizers are applied in minimal quantities during budding and flowering.
After flowering, the bushes are pruned. The leaves of silver or green color retain their decorativeness until frost. Sometimes pruning can cause flowering again.
Pest and disease protection
Cloves are resistant to disease if they are cared for properly. It is not recommended to grow these flowers in one place for more than 5 years, this contributes to the development of fungal diseases. If red or dry spots appear on the leaves, it is better to dig up and destroy the plants, and treat the ground with fungicides. Acaricides are used against the spider mite, aphids and scabies are destroyed by insecticides. Spend several treatments at intervals of a week, according to the instructions.
Plant diseases are facilitated by thickened plantings, waterlogging, an excess of nitrogen in the soil and a lack of potassium. It is undesirable to grow cloves on acid peat.
Combination with other plants
Cloves are used for decoration of borders; low lush bushes with bright colors and a delicate aroma look beautiful along the garden paths.
In the flowerbed, carnations serve as a beautiful backdrop for lavender, santolin, sage, artemisia. It is undesirable to plant them next to roses and tulips, these flowers require different care.
Thanks to the unusual leaves, cloves perfectly shade other herbaceous plants for open ground. It helps to visually delimit the areas of the flowerbed, emphasize the beauty of flowers and decorative deciduous perennials, for example, host, bruner, medunits, heicher. Carnations next to conifers look beautiful.
The nuances of winter care
Chinese carnation is afraid of severe frosts, so it can not winter in the open ground in a temperate climate. To preserve a valuable variety, it is dug up in the fall, planted in a container, and brought into the room.
If buds remain on the shoots, they are cut, flowering can weaken the plant. Put cloves in a cool, bright room or on a cold window sill, reduce watering to a minimum, do not introduce any additional fertilizing.
In late February or early March, cuttings are cut from bushes wintering in the room, and rooted in a container with soil. In May, plants are planted on flower beds, they begin to bloom earlier than those that were planted with seeds.
Carnation looks attractive during flowering. It forms bright color accents on the flower beds, serves as a groundcover, beautifully frames garden paths or flower beds. They plant a flower on alpine slides and in variegated flower beds.
