Chrysanthemum keeled: cultivation and care in open ground, photo.

In the second half or even towards the end of summer, a wide variety of chrysanthemum varieties can be seen in many gardens and flower beds. There is probably no gardener who would not love these flowers for their excellent decorative properties, as well as their relative unpretentiousness. Especially when we're talking about about such a species as a perennial garden chrysanthemum. And yet, in order for them to delight you with their flowering year after year, certain rules must be followed. The very name of this type of flower has become so commonplace for us that few people think about its origin.

However, the word "chrysanthemum" comes from two ancient Greek words, chrysos, meaning "gold", and also, anthemos, meaning "flowery". In Russian, accordingly, the name is roughly translated as “golden blossom”. After all, bright and colorful autumn flowers can be compared with the sun. In our article we will talk about growing chrysanthemum keeled with seeds

Chrysanthemum keeled description

An unpretentious cold-resistant and drought-resistant plant with a height of 35-60 cm, which will delight you with its long flowering all summer and early autumn. The inflorescences look like multi-colored umbrellas with a ring. The stems are fleshy, erect, almost hairless. The inflorescences are baskets, non-double, fragrant, rather large, 5-7 cm in diameter, on long and strong peduncles. The outermost reed flowers are yellow, white, pink or red. The leaves are slightly fleshy, doubly pinnately divided. Used for growing in groups, mixborders, near bushes, they go well with bells and yarrows. Chrysanthemums are very unpretentious, and their cultivation does not cause almost any trouble.

Sowing chrysanthemum seeds for seedlings

To speed up the flowering of the annual chrysanthemum, it is grown through seedlings. To do this, at the very beginning of spring, the seeds are sown in a common container. Soil for seedlings can be purchased in special stores or prepared yourself: mix peat, humus and greenhouse soil in equal proportions, sift and calcinate. Expanded clay can be poured onto the bottom of the container as drainage.

Simply scatter the seeds over the surface without deepening them, and sprinkle a half-centimeter layer of soil on top. Spray from a spray bottle and cover with film to create greenhouse effect. Periodically, the container needs to be ventilated and the soil moistened.
If you maintain a constant temperature of about 25 degrees in the container, the seeds will sprout in 2 weeks, after which the film can be removed. But this should not be done immediately, but gradually harden the seedlings, lifting the film.

As soon as 4 true leaves grow, plant the seedlings in separate pots. It is better to discard weak sprouts immediately. Transplant the grown seedlings into a flowerbed at the end of May, leaving at least 30 cm between the bushes, since the keeled chrysanthemum will eventually grow into a lush bush. Chrysanthemum grown from seedlings will delight you with flowering at the beginning of summer.

Growing chrysanthemum keeled from seeds in open ground

Annual chrysanthemums are usually grown from seeds. Cultivating flowers in the open ground by seed is quite simple, but you need to take into account the biological characteristics of the plant and comply with the following requirements:

Caring for chrysanthemum keeled

Caring for chrysanthemums begins on the day of planting. During the growth process, it is necessary to monitor the soil. It should not be too dry, so watering is taken seriously. Regular loosening is advisable. It can also grow in shade, but bright places are still desirable. Do not forget about removing weeds and fertilizing, which, as in the case of home cultivation, is carried out once a week with the same mineral compounds. Feeding is stopped before the buds open. Pruning is carried out in order to give the bush a suitable neat shape.

Nutrition for chrysanthemums

In order to give the chrysanthemum good nutrition, I add mullein infusion to the soil after watering. During the period of active growth, the chrysanthemum's need for water is 60-70%, i.e. the soil should be moist and loose. That's why its composition is important.

In the nutrition of chrysanthemums, phosphorus promotes abundant and long-lasting flowering and increases resistance to disease. With its deficiency, growth is retarded, the leaves become smaller and hang along the stem. Using OMU fertilizer allows you to apply the entire dose at once. If you use other mineral fertilizers, then in total there should be at least three feedings per season. The need for nitrogen is also high. The fact is that with frequent watering, nitrogen easily dissolves and is transferred in the soil. Therefore, I do foliar fertilizing with nitrogen, spraying on the leaf (2 teaspoons of urea per 1 liter of water). You can use mullein for this. At the same time, there is a double benefit: feeding and protection against bacterial diseases. During budding, the need for water decreases to 25-30%, significantly decreasing towards the end of flowering.

Diseases and pests of chrysanthemum keeled

Chrysanthemums do not get sick very often, but when large weeds appear and care rules are not followed, various diseases can appear.

• Verticillium wilt - a fungus that attacks the rhizome of a plant, causing the leaves to begin to turn yellow and the shoot to wither and die.
• Powdery mildew - forms a white coating on the foliage and flowers of chrysanthemums.
• Rust covers all plants with brown spots, the foliage turns yellow as a result of the attack, and the shoots become thinner.
• Gray rot - forms spots on the leaves, which over time become covered with fluff and spread to the entire plant.

Slugs and snails eat top part chrysanthemums. The most dangerous pests are aphids and spider mite, weevils, saricides (tomato mosquito), bud mite. At the base of chrysanthemums, shortened shoots with thick, deformed leaves appeared - leaf cancer. The plant is destroyed along with a lump of earth. Brown spots appear between the veins - nematodes.

Perennial garden chrysanthemums have eclipsed in popularity annual chrysanthemum species, but these flowers are worth paying attention to. Annual chrysanthemum keeled (Chysanthemumcarinatum) blooms almost all summer, from June - July to September - October, and if flowering began in August, then the inflorescences will decorate the flowerbed until the onset of frost.

For its spectacular inflorescences with brightly colored multi-colored rings with a dark center, the keeled chrysanthemum is sometimes called the tricolor chrysanthemum. This is an annual plant with an erect, densely branched stem 60-70 cm high. Feathery bright green leaves create beautiful openwork greenery in the flower garden, which is an excellent background for bright large inflorescences in the form of multi-colored daisies.

Inflorescences - baskets with a diameter of 5-7 cm are formed one at a time at the ends of the shoots, and due to the large branching, one plant can form dozens of inflorescences, which bloom alternately all summer. The center of the inflorescence is dark, along its edge there is a row of brightly colored reed flowers; they can be red, white, yellow, two or three colors.

Varieties of chrysanthemum keeled come with simple flowers, which have one row of petals, and there are also double flowers with inflorescences, which have several rows of petals.

Due to their rich color and delicate greenery, these annual flowers attract all the attention, so they are difficult to combine with other garden flowers. Chrysanthemum keeled will look great against the background of the lawn, as a spot of color or next to other daisies, combining with them in the shape of the inflorescences.

Growing keeled chrysanthemum is very simple; these unpretentious flowers require almost no care. Like all chrysanthemums, these flowers love a sunny place with fertile, loose, neutral soil. If the soil is acidic, it is better to lime it before planting flowers.

Propagation of chrysanthemum keeled seeds. After the seeds germinate, annual chrysanthemums bloom in 2-3 months. Young seedlings can withstand light frosts, so these flowers are often sown before winter or in early spring in late April - early May; with such sowing dates, keeled chrysanthemum will bloom in July. You can grow keeled chrysanthemum through seedlings, sowing in pots in March. When planting seedlings in the middle or end of May, the chrysanthemum will bloom in June.

Planting seedlings chrysanthemum keeled at a distance of 25-30 cm, since each plant forms a lush spreading bush. This plant tolerates transplantation well, even in the flowering stage. After the plants reach a height of 15-20 cm, the top of the main stem is pinched so that side shoots begin to form. The more branches the main shoot gives, the more inflorescences are formed.

Caring for these flowers simple - weeding and watering in dry weather. These flowers are quite drought-resistant and can tolerate short-term drying out of the soil. Feed the keeled chrysanthemum in early summer nitrogen fertilizer, you can use mullein infusion, and from the second half of summer, only with complex mineral fertilizer no more than twice a summer. During the flowering period, remove faded inflorescences so that the plants do not direct their energy to the formation of seeds, but continue to bloom as long as possible.

The ancient Greeks called the chrysanthemum “golden flower”. And they had their reasons. These flowers, like the sun, open their heads and fill the garden with their specific aroma. According to eastern ancient wisdom, those who grow them are happy and live long.

General information

From the second half of July, and in some regions closer to September, many people can see different varieties of this flower in their garden plots and flower beds. Most flower growers prefer to choose annual chrysanthemums, which are easy to grow, moreover, they have excellent decorative properties and are relatively unpretentious. Of course, in appearance they are slightly inferior to perennial varieties, but they do not require complex and time-consuming care.

The annual chrysanthemum is a member of the Asteraceae family. Its genus includes more than forty species of these herbaceous plants. It is believed that the annual chrysanthemum came to us from the Mediterranean. There is hardly a person who will remain indifferent to the beauty of this flower. The annual chrysanthemum Kilevataya is found most often in our gardens. Although in some regions other varieties are quite common, for example, Posevnaya, Uvenchenennaya and other varieties. Their bright, cheerful inflorescences, collected in simple and semi-double baskets, decorate flower beds from mid-June to mid-October.

Description

For almost every person born during the Soviet era, this plant brings back childhood memories. After all, the first thing we saw at my grandparents’ dacha or in the village was the annual chrysanthemum. Photos of this flower are presented in this article. This culture is relatively undemanding to growing conditions. Chrysanthemum rhizomes are branched, they develop parallel to the surface. The shoots are either bare or pubescent.

The annual chrysanthemum has leaves arranged alternately. They are simple, but different in shape and size. The plant may have notched or jagged, dissected leaves, or may even not be present at all. The color of the greens is usually light, although in some varieties it can be dark. Small flowers chrysanthemums are collected in a basket. Sometimes it can be quite large. The fruits of chrysanthemums are achenes.

This plant begins to bloom somewhere in mid-June for two months. This period may vary depending on the region. Thanks to its abundant and very long flowering, annual chrysanthemum is used with great success in landscape design. It is beautiful in ridges and prefabricated flower beds; it is often planted in large groups against the backdrop of a lawn. The annual chrysanthemum is also suitable for cutting, since it can stand in water for quite a long time.

Varieties

In our country, several decorative species are most common. The annual Vidnaya chrysanthemum is most often found in gardens. Its bushes are about fifty centimeters in height. The foliage is elegantly arranged, the inflorescences are large (5-6 cm), double, with a pronounced convex receptacle. The plant blooms for a very long time. The chrysanthemum seen as a cut is especially good, which is why it is also called “bouquet”.

Another variety - Sowing - has highly branched bushes strewn with large lemon flowers with a contrasting dark brown core. The seeds of the annual chrysanthemum navicular give the name to this species. They look like a boat with a keel, which is why the variety is also called Kelevata. The inflorescences of this chrysanthemum are very colorful, its flat dark red-brown disk is surrounded by reed petals with multi-colored rings: white, red, pink, burgundy, yellow, brown, orange. There are so many variations that it is impossible to find two bushes with the same coloring.

Care

The plant prefers fertile and well-drained soil. It sets seeds easily, and some varieties are characterized by abundant self-sowing. Young annual chrysanthemum grows quite quickly. This flower is undemanding to care, cold-resistant and tolerates light frosts. He loves a sunny position in the garden.

The annual chrysanthemum is quite intolerant of excess moisture. In order for the plant to bloom on time and delight until late autumn, it needs to be planted in sunny, open areas. If the place is shaded, then the annual chrysanthemum will stretch out, and the color of the buds will be very dull, and the flowering will be short-lived. The plant does not like cold winds.

Soil preparation

Chrysanthemums prefer medium-heavy, loamy and moisture-absorbing soil with good drainage, rich in micronutrients. It is strictly not recommended to grow them in acidic soil, since the flower feels very bad on it. Unrotted manure also negatively affects the normal growth of chrysanthemums.

Before planting, two buckets of humus, superphosphate and potassium magnesium should be added to the soil at the rate of fifty grams per bucket. square meter. Then the place needs to be dug up to a depth of about two spade bayonets, after which the crop must be planted and watered abundantly.

Landing

The plant can grow in almost any garden soil, although it prefers fertile, limed soil without excess organic compounds. Annual chrysanthemum grows best on loam. The plant is sown for seedlings in April, diving into pots. Planting material is transferred to the ground in mid-May. Seedlings are sown at a distance of twenty to thirty centimeters from each other.

Planting material is sown only after the soil has been warmed by the sun, in previously prepared furrows. Then they are covered with peat two to three centimeters thick and watered well. After the formation of the first pair of true leaves, the seedlings should be thinned out.

Features of cultivation

For lush growth, annual chrysanthemum requires timely and high-quality watering. The flower also needs periodic loosening of the soil to remove all weeds. After planting, it is better to mulch the soil around it: this helps maintain the necessary moisture at the roots.

Like any other flower crop, annual chrysanthemum requires periodic feeding. At the same time, the main thing when applying fertilizers is to be sure to water at the root so as not to burn the leaf part.

Chrysanthemum annual: growing from seeds

In the central zone of our country, this crop is grown both by sowing in the ground and by seedlings. Seeds of all varieties of annual chrysanthemums are sown in March or April in a greenhouse in compost soil with the addition of peat and sand. The seed is sprinkled with leaf soil, pressed lightly, and then watered quite generously. When growing seeds densely, it is necessary to thin out the seedlings.

Other mandatory conditions for normal growth are regular watering and ventilation of the greenhouse. The last procedure is extremely important, since annual chrysanthemum grows very quickly, so at high temperatures it can outgrow, and in this case the seedlings will turn out to be defective. The result should be a squat plant with well-developed roots.

It is better to place seedlings of annual varieties in open ground only in May. Blooming chrysanthemum is a real decoration of gardens in autumn. This bright gift of nature, which has a tart wormwood aroma, seems to have been sent to prolong the summer days.

– herbaceous plants, can be annual or perennial. Belong to the Asteraceae family. Bright flowers of various shapes and colors look equally beautiful both in cutting and in a flower bed. Gardeners are well aware of the perennial varieties that decorate the site in the fall. However, annual chrysanthemums also have their own advantages in planting and care, which also deserve the attention of flower lovers.

Annual chrysanthemums go through a full life cycle (from seed to seed) in one growing season. This is convenient, since you don’t have to worry about how the plant will survive the winter, make complex shelters, or remove the underground part of the flower for storage.

There are several types of annual chrysanthemums, of which the following are most often grown in cultivation:

• Keeled or navicular (Ch. carinatum). The plant is from 20 to 70 cm high, the stem is erect. The inflorescences are basket-shaped and can be either simple or double. The diameter of the flower is 5-7 cm. The colors are varied, often not monochromatic, but a combination of white, red, orange or yellow. Seeds of different colors are available in mixtures. Varieties: Cockade, Dunetti, Stern, Merry Mix, Flamen Spiel.
• Sowing (Ch. segetum). Grows up to 50-80 cm. It has an erect stem that can branch. The flowers are 3-7 cm in size, can be white or yellow, plain. This type of chrysanthemum looks like an ordinary field chamomile. Can grow like a weed in fields. Varieties: Gloria, Eldorado, Zebra, German flag, Helios, Eastern Star. Gives rich self-seeding.
• Crowned (Ch. coronarium). Reaches a height of 70 cm. The stems are fleshy and branched. This species has very decorative dissected leaves. The inflorescence is solitary, up to 7 cm in diameter, can be white or yellow. Popular varieties: Nivea, Orion, Tetra Comet, Primrose Gem, Cecilia, Golden.
• Odorless (Ch. inodorum). Fast-growing bush up to 20 cm tall. The size of the inflorescences is 5-7 cm. Cultivated variety: Wedding dress with snow-white double flowers and feathery foliage.
• Prominent or rotated (Ch. spectabile). A tall bush, reaches a height of 120 cm and 70 cm in transverse diameter. Inflorescences up to 11 cm in diameter. Varieties: Annette, Cecilia.

All these types of annual chrysanthemums are characterized by long flowering from June to September and even October (depending on the growing region). Some types of chrysanthemums (for example, maidenhair, daisy or marsh), although they are perennial plants, are grown as annuals in our climate. This means that the same growing rules apply to them as to the above species.

Annual chrysanthemums are propagated by seeds, which are sown in two ways:

• in March - for seedlings
• in May - immediately into open ground (sown and crowned can be sown in April)

Features of growing seedlings:

1. For seedlings, seeds are sown to a depth of 1 cm in separate containers or common boxes in moist soil. The soil is loose, well permeable to air, with the addition of sand and peat.
2. To prevent the seeds from going deep, during the first days the crops are not watered, but rather sprayed. In the southern regions, it is possible to sow seeds before winter.
3. Before emergence (after 5-15 days), the container is covered with film or glass to create greenhouse conditions.
4. Regular ventilation is necessary, otherwise mold may appear. With the emergence of seedlings, the shelter is removed.
5. Chrysanthemum is a plant of temperate climate; high temperatures can harm it.
6. Two weeks after germination, young plants are placed in separate pots and sprayed with growth stimulants for better survival (Epin, Zircon).
7. A week after such a transplant, they can be fed with universal flower fertilizer.
8. Optimal conditions for growing seedlings: air temperature 15-18 ° C and good lighting.

Grown plants are planted in the ground when the danger of return frosts has passed. When planting seedlings in a permanent place, the plant is deepened into the soil so that the cotyledon leaves are 1-2 cm below ground level. This method of planting will stimulate the formation of a lush bush.

Sowing immediately in a permanent place has a number of advantages: young flowers immediately adapt to the external environment, there is no danger of damaging the delicate roots during transplantation.

However, in this case, flowering will occur several weeks later than with the seedling method. On average, annual chrysanthemums bloom 8-10 weeks after sowing.
Seeds are sown in open ground in different ways:

• in the holes at a distance of 30-40 cm, 2-3 seeds are placed in one hole
• into the grooves

Then the seeds are sprinkled with soil or peat in a layer of 2-3 cm and watered abundantly. To speed up germination, you can cover the bed with film or non-woven material, leaving holes for air access. After two to four true leaves appear, the seedlings must be thinned out: one sprout is left in each hole or for every 30-40 cm of groove.

After 10 days, you can feed the young chrysanthemums with complex fertilizer for the first time. The distance between specimens of crowned chrysanthemum is left up to 60 cm.

Annual chrysanthemums are unpretentious plants. The quality of these flowers that is very useful for gardeners is their cold resistance, the ability to withstand return frosts down to 0 °C.
When choosing a landing site, we are guided by the following factors:

• maximum illumination with shelter at midday
• shelter from drafts
• good soil aeration without stagnant water

Annual chrysanthemums do not require rich soils; they prefer light, moderately fertile ones. The attitude towards lime content differs by type: for chrysanthemum keeled, its presence in the soil is beneficial, while chrysanthemum sativa, on the contrary, requires soil poor in lime.

The area where it is planned to place chrysanthemums is prepared in the fall.

They dig it up and apply mineral fertilizers: superphosphate 50 g/m2, potassium sulfate 20-30 g/m2. Depending on the needs of the selected type of flower, lime is added to the soil. Chrysanthemums grow better where manure was added 2-3 years before planting.

Caring for the flower is simple. Watering is required only in hot weather. To prevent the soil from drying out, it is useful to mulch the soil around the chrysanthemum. This will reduce the number of weeds and make maintenance easier. Fertilizers are applied 3-4 times per season, preferably in liquid form (20-30 g per 10 liters of water).

In the first half of summer, until the plant has gained strength, you need to remove weeds and carefully loosen the soil next to the flower. To ensure long flowering, faded buds are regularly plucked off. To ensure that chrysanthemums bush well, their tops are pinched. High varieties are tied up so that they do not lose their decorative effect from exposure to rain and wind.

Among the diseases, chrysanthemum can be affected by gray mold and powdery mildew. Common causes of fungal diseases are increased soil moisture, low temperatures, and excess nitrogen fertilizers.

An external sign of powdery mildew is a whitish coating covering the entire plant. Gray rot appears brown spots, on which plaque gradually forms and a focus of rotting develops. To combat fungal diseases, use a 1% solution (spraying) or other copper-containing preparations.

Among the pests, annual chrysanthemums are attacked by:

• thrips
• meadow bug

Aphids can be called the main pest of chrysanthemums. It depletes the plant by sucking nutrients from the leaves. For minor infestations, aphids are collected by hand, washed off with water, or cut off along with part of the plant. If there are a lot of pests, use chemicals: Actellik, Aktara, Fitoverm (use according to instructions).

The meadow bug, like the aphid, sucks the juice from the plant. This causes white spots to appear on the leaves. Over time, the leaves turn brown and dry out, and the inflorescences become deformed. Control measures are the same as for aphids. As folk remedy use spraying with a solution of baby shampoo. The external manifestation of thrips activity will be white and yellowish spots on the leaves of the flower. The fight is carried out with special drugs, for example, Actellik.

This unpretentious, long-flowering annual can become a real decoration of the site. He will look good both in mono groups and as part of a mixborder. Particularly beautiful are the flowerbeds of chrysanthemum keeled in different colors. Low-growing varieties are suitable for creating ridges and borders, and for container gardening.

In combination with cosmos, snapdragons, annual chrysanthemums will create the mood in a natural or rustic garden. There is a place for the chrysanthemum in the Asian garden, because in these countries it is especially loved. The low-growing, odorless chrysanthemum looks good with, cineraria and. True lovers of this flower can come up with a garden project entirely consisting of annual and perennial chrysanthemums.

In addition to growing in flower beds, keeled and odorless chrysanthemums are used for cutting, as they retain their decorative effect for a long time in bouquets.

The use of crowned chrysanthemum is interesting: in Asian countries, its leaves, young shoots and inflorescences are eaten. The species is valued for its rich content of vitamins B, C, PP, macro- and microelements. It tastes like chrysanthemum. Young leaves and petals are eaten raw in salads; the tougher parts are stewed, boiled or fried, and then used as a side dish.

Thus, the annual chrysanthemum has a number of advantages: it can be grown without seedlings and does not need to be covered for the winter. While perennial chrysanthemums bloom only in the fall, you will be able to enjoy colorful annuals as early as July.

More information can be found in the video:

Chrysanthemums are annual and perennial, shrubby and herbaceous, with different shapes and structures of leaves and flowers. The flowers have a pleasant aroma and a wide range of shades. There is probably no gardener who would not love these flowers for their excellent decorative properties, as well as their relative unpretentiousness. Especially when it comes to a species such as the perennial keeled chrysanthemum. Chrysanthemum keeled (tricolored chrysanthemum) is a representative of an annual species. Externally, the bush looks more like a chamomile, only very large and more colorful. This variety attracts attention not only with its unusual inflorescences, which have at least three colors, but also with the duration of its flowering - from summer to frost. Practical, like any annual, keeled chrysanthemum is grown from seeds.

Description of chrysanthemum keeled

The plant is annual, densely branched, erect, 20-70 cm tall, almost pubescent, with a fleshy stem. The leaves are slightly fleshy, twice pinnately divided, on petioles. Inflorescences are baskets, often simple, less often semi-double or double, fragrant, rather large, 5-7 cm in diameter, solitary or collected in groups of 2-10 on leafy lateral branches, do not form a complex corymbose inflorescence, bloom in different times. Reed flowers are white, yellow with a whitish or reddish limb, less often single-colored, yellow or white; tubular - dark red. Blooms profusely from late June to September. The fruit is a triangular or flattened achene with wing-shaped outgrowths. Seeds remain viable for 2-3 years. There are 300-350 seeds in 1 g. In culture since 1796.

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The inflorescences of plants belonging to numerous varieties and variations of chrysanthemum keelata look like multi-colored umbrellas with bright stripes. They are not suitable for every composition and therefore are not seen too often. However, those who decide to decorate flower beds with them will be rewarded with their proud, albeit slightly old-fashioned appearance. Chrysanthemums are very unpretentious, and their cultivation does not cause almost any trouble. They bloom within ten weeks after sowing the seeds. In order for the plants to bush intensively, they pinch off the tops. Young plants can withstand light frosts, so in areas with mild climates, seeds can be sown before winter. However, in most places, chrysanthemum sowing is timed for early spring.

Sowing dates for chrysanthemum keeled

This is done in mid-May. Flowering occurs only in the fall, but if you want to see flowers as quickly as possible, then seedlings are planted, they quickly adapt to open ground and conditions environment. Seeds of perennial chrysanthemums are sown at the end of January. If the winter turned out to be cold, then you can wait another month and sow chrysanthemums in February. The development of seedlings occurs slowly, so if you plant a flower in spring or later, flowering will occur only the next year. When grown by seedlings, the seeds are sown in March. Will throw out the first inflorescences in July.

Features of soil for growing chrysanthemum keeled

Chrysanthemum keeled prefers medium-heavy, loamy and moisture-absorbing soils with good drainage and rich in micronutrients. It is strictly unacceptable to grow perennial varieties in acidic soils, because chrysanthemum grows very poorly on them. Unrotted manure also has a negative effect on growth.

Sowing chrysanthemum seeds in open ground

• To sow seeds in a flower bed, make holes and water them with warm water.
• Sow the seeds sparingly - 2-3 seeds per hole.
• The distance between the holes is at least 20 cm. The same indentation can be made between the rows. Then sprinkle the seeds with earth, without trampling them, and cover with film so that the moisture does not evaporate.
• As soon as the first shoots hatch, the film must be removed and the soil in the holes loosened (to ensure free access of air to the sprouts). 10 days after the chrysanthemum shoots emerge, they can be fed with a weak solution of Ideal fertilizer.
• When the seedlings develop 4 true leaves and grow to about 10 cm, you will need to leave one, the most developed, sprout in the hole. Carefully remove the rest and replant.

Articles for flower growers

Sowing chrysanthemum keeled seeds for seedlings

To speed up the flowering of the annual chrysanthemum, it is grown through seedlings. To do this, at the very beginning of spring, the seeds are sown in a common container. Soil for seedlings can be purchased in special stores or prepared yourself: mix peat, humus and greenhouse soil in equal proportions, sift and calcinate. Expanded clay can be poured onto the bottom of the container as drainage. Simply scatter the seeds over the surface without deepening them, and sprinkle a half-centimeter layer of soil on top. Spray with a spray bottle and cover with film to create a greenhouse effect. Periodically, the container needs to be ventilated and the soil moistened. Germination occurs in a room where the temperature is from 23 to 25 degrees. Make sure the soil in the box is moist. When sprouts appear from the ground (approximately after 10-14 days), remove the bags or glass, and move the boxes with seedlings to a room where it is from 16 to 20 degrees, then they will not stretch.

Seedlings can be picked when each of them has four developed (not cotyledon) leaves. Before the procedure, we recommend moistening the soil. Then, to stimulate growth and quickly adapt, sprinkle the seedlings with water with the addition of the Zircon biological product. In the future, you can feed small plants once or twice. If little light falls on the plants, then they are illuminated. Two weeks before transplanting to country flower beds, the seedlings begin to be hardened off daily, first by opening the window, and then the boxes can be placed on the loggia or in the garden during the day.

Caring for chrysanthemum keeled

Caring for chrysanthemums begins on the day of planting. During the growth process, it is necessary to monitor the soil. It should not be too dry, so watering is taken seriously. Regular loosening is advisable. It can also grow in shade, but bright places are still desirable. Do not forget about removing weeds and fertilizing, which, as in the case of home cultivation, is carried out once a week with the same mineral compounds. Feeding is stopped before the buds open. Pruning is carried out in order to give the bush a suitable neat shape.

Articles for gardeners

Diseases and pests of chrysanthemum keeled

Chrysanthemums do not get sick very often, but when large weeds appear and care rules are not followed, various diseases can appear.

• Verticillium wilt - a fungus that attacks the rhizome of a plant, causing the leaves to begin to turn yellow and the shoot to wither and die.
• Powdery mildew - forms a white coating on the foliage and flowers of chrysanthemums.
• Rust covers all plants with brown spots, the foliage turns yellow as a result of the attack, and the shoots become thinner.
• Gray rot - forms spots on the leaves, which over time become covered with fluff and spread to the entire plant.

Slugs and snails feed on the top of the chrysanthemum. The most dangerous pests are aphids and spider mites, weevils, saricides (tomato mosquito), and bud mite. At the base of chrysanthemums, shortened shoots with thick, deformed leaves appeared - leaf cancer. The plant is destroyed along with a lump of earth. Brown spots appear between the veins - nematodes.