Perennial phlox from seeds growing at home. Perennial phlox: growing from seeds. Video: growing and caring for annual phlox

Phlox is a bright and unpretentious perennial crop that will fit perfectly into any garden design. Not only the colors of phlox flowers are varied, but also the height of these plants. There are tall crops, as well as ground covers. Thus, they can be combined and successfully combined in flower beds and flower beds.

This unpretentious crop is not demanding in terms of soil composition, light, weather conditions, and also overwinters excellently even in the coldest winter.

Small star-shaped or wheel-shaped flowers form corymbose large inflorescences. The colors are varied: white, pink, purple, blue, and multi-colored.

Cultivation height depends on the variety. Thus, paniculata grows up to 100 cm, and awl-shaped - only up to 15 cm. Flowering varies in duration, the timing depends on the type and variety of the crop. They usually bloom throughout the summer season, and some until October.

Planting and growing does not require special skills and knowledge. In addition, phlox grows on almost any soil.
It is better to plant them from mid-spring until the end of May. Planting at the end of August is also allowed.

Site selection and soil preparation

At the place where the phloxes are to be planted, it should be low level groundwater , since plants do not welcome stagnant moisture. Accordingly, it is advisable to choose hills and elevated areas.
Phlox loves light, but the best option There will be planting in slight partial shade.

Bright sun and strong shade are contraindicated for phlox. At the same time, in the shade of bushes and large trees Growing phlox is not recommended, since their horses will take nutrients from the soil.

The ideal place for planting phlox is in partial shade.

You should not choose northern areas or areas that are too windy. Winds are especially unfavorable in winter time of the year.

The soil must be neutral or slightly acidic. If the site has high soil acidity, it is recommended to add lime to the soil to neutralize it.

Sand is added to heavy soil, and peat is added to sandy soil. If the soil is fertile, this does not mean that phlox will grow better and bloom profusely. On the contrary, on poor soil, phlox bloom much more intensely.

Planting process

The process of planting perennial crops is slightly different from planting annuals. The distance between seedlings should be somewhat greater, as the plants grow greatly.

Seeds are sown at a distance from each other 40-70 cm depending on the height of the crop. You can sow the seeds often, but then plant them at a specified distance from each other;
Soil is necessary mulch after planting using sawdust, peat, humus;
The planting depth should be less than 15 cm at spring planting and about 25 cm during autumn planting;
If the seeds are sown in the fall, then the crops must be covered for the winter.

Seedlings before planting in the ground

Some gardeners believe that sowing seeds is best done in late autumn - early winter.

If the seedlings were grown at home, then plant the seedlings in the ground after at least 4 leaves have formed. The distance between seedlings should be more than 20 cm.

Care

Phlox is considered unpretentious culture. The process of caring for a plant is not complicated and even a beginner in floriculture can cope with it.

Autumn care basics

Before winter comes Hilling up of plants will be required soil, manure or humus. The thickness of the layer should be within 10 cm. This will prevent the buds from freezing in winter. This is especially important for recently planted cuttings.

After flowering has ended, it is advisable to treat the plants with fungicides as preventative measure fungal diseases.

If the seeds on the flowers have ripened, but have not yet ripened before the beginning of winter, then the phlox can be dug up and moved indoors, planted in a pot.

At the end of flowering remove faded flower stalks. In addition, you can divide the bush in order to rejuvenate the crop and replant the plants.

The following basic rules are also observed:

Watering is necessary only in early autumn in dry weather. It is better to water in the evening. Then the plant does not need watering. It is important to use warm water for irrigation;
Phlox can grow equally well in the sun and in partial shade;
Fertilizers are applied after planting phlox, as well as during the formation of buds. Used as fertilizers mineral fertilizers, ash.

Phloxes respond very well to feeding from mullein infusion and bird droppings.

Transfer

Phlox can grow in one place for up to 15 years, but it is advisable to replant them at least once every 7 years. You can replant at any time of the year, but it is best in the fall after flowering has completed.

How to transplant:

Phlox is dug out of the ground;
The root system is cleared of soil;
The bush is divided into parts, with two stems remaining in each part;
Planted in a new area at a distance of at least 30 cm from each other.

It is better to transplant in the evening.

Reproduction methods

They reproduce using the following methods:

Seed;
Dividing the bush;
Green cuttings;
Autumn cuttings.

Seeds

Sowing of seeds is carried out before winter;
Seeds can be sown directly in open ground ;
If seeds are sown in winter, then monthly stratification is necessary. To do this, the crops are kept in the cold;
The seedlings are thinned out and planted after the appearance of 4 or more leaves.

Dividing the bush

The plant is removed from the soil;
The bush is cut into pieces. Each division must have at least 2 kidneys;
The resulting plants are planted in previously prepared soil.

Green cuttings

At the end of spring, cut off the tops of shoots with 2 or more buds;
Immerse the cuttings in a container of water for an hour;
Cut off the lower leaves and shorten the upper ones by ½;
The stalk should be about 10 cm long;
Plant the cuttings in open ground, where there is no excess sunlight. You can cover the seedlings with damp paper.

Reproduction autumn cuttings carried out in the same way as in summer. Only cuttings are harvested at the end of summer or early autumn.

Diseases and pests

The most common disease is powdery mildew. It appears in the form white plaque on leaves and stems.

Main reasons - keeping in the shade, planting too densely and improper care . To combat the disease, it will be necessary to treat the crop with a solution of soda ash and laundry soap or a solution copper sulfate and soap.

Prevention is carried out before winter using Bordeaux mixture and in summer using fungicides.

Kinds

Douglas

This is a low-growing variety whose height is does not exceed 5 cm. The Douglas variety is grown as a ground cover. It blooms twice per season - in early summer for a month and in September. The colors of the flowers are varied: white, pink, purple and blue.

Ice Mountain

subulate

These are ground-blooded plants no more than 15 cm. The flowers form small, bright inflorescences.

Colors: pink and lilac. Flowering is early - from May to June. When flowering, it forms a floral carpet. The species is also called carpet lights.

creeping

Another low-growing variety. Plant height no more than 20 cm. Up to 10 inflorescences, which are shaped like umbrellas, can form on one bush.

The shoots are distinguished by strong branching. Blooms from late spring for a month. Colors: purple, pink and red.

Thus, perennial phlox are elegant and unpretentious crops that can become a wonderful decoration for the garden. Caring for them is not difficult, they are not demanding on the soil. Perennial phlox amazes with its variety of species and varieties.

Bright phloxes are often found in city flower beds, as well as in areas near dachas. They are grown on balconies and placed in school flower beds. Such popularity is completely unsurprising. The name of this plant is translated from Greek as fire.

Phlox are able to bloom for a long time, they give owners a pleasant aroma and treat any weather vagaries with calm. These flowers are most often propagated vegetatively, by dividing bushes or by cuttings. However, it is possible to grow them from seeds. In most cases, seed division is used when growing annual varieties of this plant, however, perennials can also be grown in this way.

Seed preparation

Collect phlox seeds. Before this, it is necessary to determine the degree of their maturity. on their appearance This is not particularly reflected, because they are located inside the boxes. If you miss the moment of ripening, the seeds may scatter from the ripened boxes, and you won’t even notice it. If you collect seeds that are not ripe enough, they will not be able to ripen.

To determine the degree of ripeness, take an awl, carefully drill through one box and examine its contents. It should contain fairly large seeds, colored green color and having a dense structure. Planting material can also be purchased at flower shop.

Seeds of perennial phlox quickly lose their viability, which is why you should not wait until spring to plant them. Please note that full development of plants is possible only after the seeds are frozen, so planting should be done soon after collecting them.

Soil preparation and site selection

Determine a place on your site where the plant can grow quietly for several years. Remember that phlox loves sunny areas and semi-shaded areas. Do not plant them in swampy lowlands or under dense tree canopy.

Prepare the soil thoroughly for planting. It should be loose and nutritious, since on such soil phlox will grow well, and their flowering will not only be long-lasting, but also very lush. These plants do not do well in soils with high content sand, they do not like heavy soils with strong acidity. You are unlikely to be able to achieve seedlings in such places. Flowerbeds or beds should be prepared before the first frost.

Planting seeds

It is worth sowing seeds in late autumn-early spring. This process can also be carried out in January. You should not postpone this process to February, and even less so to March, since such crops most likely will not sprout. If there is snow on the beds, simply shovel it to the side.

Place the prepared seeds on the frozen area of your flower garden, placing them four to five centimeters from each other. Sprinkle them with a small amount of ordinary garden soil on top. You can prepare it in advance and store it in a fairly warm room without letting it freeze. The optimal soil can be selected in gardening stores, where it is sold throughout the year.

The layer of soil does not need to be made continuous, just sprinkle some seeds. Place snow on top of the bed and leave it until spring. Thus, you will get almost one hundred percent spring germination, while half of the plants should also bloom.

Home cultivation

If you plant seeds of perennial phlox at home, it is worth subjecting them to artificial stratification. First, place the container with the sown seeds in a room with room temperature, then after fifteen to twenty days, move them to the cold (from minus two to plus four degrees) and leave for fifteen to twenty days.

Then place the container with the seeds near the window and put a screen away from the room and heating appliances, so that the temperature around it does not rise above twelve degrees. If phloxes were planted in February, then in April you can take the container with them out into the garden, covering it with agrospan or plastic film. Plants germinate best between five and twelve degrees.

After two or three pairs of true leaves appear on the flower, transfer them to the main place of growth, keeping an interval of twenty centimeters between them.

Care

The main care for phloxes is systematic weeding, loosening the soil, watering and fertilizing. Small plants can be mulched between them with mowed grass. Thanks to this, the soil remains soft longer and retains moisture, and weeds do not grow on it.

On hot and dry days, phlox should be watered, at the same time they may suffer from powdery mildew. For this reason, the plant must be sprayed with fungicides, otherwise it may die.

After the flower has grown stronger above the fifth pair of leaves, a clothespin is made. This procedure helps phlox tillering. The flowering of these plants lasts from mid-summer until the end of September. It is important to promptly remove faded inflorescences. Once every three to four years it is worth dividing the rhizomes, best time for this – early spring or September.

For the winter, the plant needs to be pruned, mulching the roots with dry peat or plant debris.

Phloxes are able to grow over a fairly significant area, forming a bright, beautiful carpet during the flowering period.

Thanks to its varied shades, abundant flowering and unpretentiousness, phlox has received well-deserved love among gardeners. Growing in nature in North America plants are very popular in all European countries. Even a beginner in floriculture can cope with their cultivation and care, subject to all recommendations and rules.

Description, types and varieties of phlox with photos

Annual phloxes have the greatest variety of shades, shapes and varieties. They can be star-shaped or terry, blue, white, cream or different shades red

One of best annuals Phlox is considered to be Drummond's, which is native to Texas. The plant is bush with branched stem, the height of which can be from 12 to 30 cm. Its opposite leaves have an oval-lanceolate shape. The fragrant flowers can be salmon, yellow, white, dark red or purple.

The most popular varieties of annual phlox Drummond are:

Annual phloxes: growing from seeds

To achieve longer flowering, Drummond phlox It is recommended to grow seedlings. Seeds sown immediately in the ground take a very long time to germinate, and plants grown from them bloom only at the end of summer. Earlier flowering can be obtained if you sow the seeds in open ground before winter.

Sowing seeds in open ground

Seeds should be planted directly into the flowerbed in October - November. If there is already snow, it is removed, and the seeds are scattered at a distance of 4-5 cm directly onto the frozen soil. To protect plants from freezing, the beds are first sprinkled with soil prepared in advance, then with snow and cover with leaves or straw. The seedlings will hatch in early spring. When two true leaves appear, they will need to be picked out, planted at a distance of 20 cm from each other.

Sowing phlox for seedlings

At home, sowing is done at the beginning - end of March. It all depends on when the last frost in your area ends. In order for the seeds to germinate quickly, there is no need to press them into the soil. They are sprinkled with a little earthen mixture on top and sprayed warm water.

Seedling boxes covered with glass or polyethylene, and put away in a warm place. The soil needs to be ventilated daily. When the first seedlings appear, the containers are placed in a well-lit place, and the glass or polyethylene is removed. At this stage, caring for seedlings consists only of keeping the soil moist.

After two or three true leaves appear, the young plants are planted in separate pots. Behind them already will need special care:

In the first days, the seedlings are covered from sun rays opaque film or newspaper.
When the sprouts take root and grow their sixth true leaf, they are pinched to form a lush and compact bush.
Before planting in open ground, seedlings are fed twice with mineral fertilizers.
In April, young plants need to start hardening off. To do this, the pots are exposed for an hour or two. open balcony or to the garden.

Annual phloxes are planted in open ground after the end of frost, at the end of May. By this time, some varieties will have already formed buds.

Drummond phloxes: planting and growing in open ground

Grown, strengthened and hardened seedlings are planted in well-lit areas, protected from the scorching sun. Plants will grow best in partial shade in high flower beds. In the sun, phlox inflorescences fade, but in partial shade the color saturation remains for a long time.

Landing Features

Annual phloxes do not like acidic areas and soils with poor drainage. The best soil mixture for them is fertile sand without clay. Lime can be added if necessary. If the site has heavy loams, then they are diluted with peat, organic fertilizers and sand.

Seedlings are planted in shallow holes, at the bottom of which compost or vermicompost is poured and some ash. The roots are carefully straightened horizontally and sprinkled with soil. The plants are watered and the soil around them is mulched.

Watering and fertilizing

Caring for Drummond phloxes after planting them in open ground will not be difficult. a lot of work. Over the entire season, it is necessary to loosen the soil twice a month and hill it up in the second half of the growing season. In this case, the root system will form faster.

Phloxes are watered sparingly but regularly. For one square meter Planting requires one and a half to two buckets of water. On hot days, watering is done in the morning and evening. The water is poured directly under the root. It should not be cold, otherwise the roots may crack in the heat.

Phlox Drummond is fed several times a season. organic and mineral fertilizers:

During the season, the tops of young plants are pinched off. In this case, the bushes begin to branch better. Faded and wilted flowers are regularly deleted to preserve the attractive appearance of the flower and prolong its flowering.

A flowerbed of Drummond phlox of different shades and varieties looks beautiful and impressive. They can be used to decorate alpine coaster and curbs. A large flowering ball decorating the yard can be obtained by planting annual phloxes in pots or buckets and placing them nearby. With proper care and cultivation, you can admire its flowering throughout the warm season.

Phlox drummond

Phlox are able to bloom for a long time, they give owners a pleasant aroma and treat any weather vagaries with calm. These flowers are most often propagated vegetatively, by dividing bushes or by cuttings. However, it is possible to produce them from seeds. In most cases, seed division is used when growing annual varieties of this plant, however, perennials can also be grown in this way.

Seed preparation

Collect phlox seeds. Before this, it is necessary to determine the degree of their maturity. This does not particularly affect their appearance, because they are located inside the boxes. If you miss the moment of ripening, the seeds may scatter from the ripened boxes, and you won’t even notice it. If you collect seeds that are not ripe enough, they will not be able to ripen.

To determine the degree of ripeness, take an awl, carefully drill through one box and examine its contents. It should contain fairly large seeds, green in color and having a dense structure. Planting material can also be purchased at a flower shop.

Soil preparation and site selection

Prepare the soil thoroughly for planting. It should be loose and nutritious, since on such soil phlox will grow well, and their flowering will not only be long-lasting, but also very lush. These plants do not do well in soils with a high sand content; they also do not like heavy soils with strong acidity. You are unlikely to be able to achieve seedlings in such places. Flowerbeds or beds should be prepared before the first frost.

Planting seeds

After two or three pairs of true leaves appear on the flower, transfer them to the main place of growth, keeping an interval of twenty centimeters between them.

Care

On hot and dry days, phlox should be watered, at the same time they may suffer from powdery mildew. For this reason, the plant must be sprayed with fungicides, otherwise it may die.

After the flower has grown stronger above the fifth pair of leaves, a clothespin is made. This procedure helps phlox tillering. The flowering of these plants lasts from mid-summer until the end of September. It is important to promptly remove faded inflorescences. Once every three to four years it is worth dividing the rhizomes; the best time for this is early spring or September.

For the winter, the plant needs to be pruned, mulching the roots with dry peat or plant debris.

Phloxes are able to grow over a fairly significant area, forming a bright, beautiful carpet during the flowering period.

Phloxes are beautiful and unpretentious, they will worthy decoration any garden, thanks to the huge variety of not only shades of color, but also the very different shapes of the petals. Therefore, today we will learn how to grow phlox from seeds, what are the tricks of growing these flowers, as well as caring for seedlings and adult plants.

The soil

The composition of the soil is important in the process of growing phlox. Humus-rich soil, loose with a small loam content for low acidity, is suitable for them. The seeds are sown in pre-moistened soil, in fairly large boxes for the free development of the powerful root system of phlox. A week before planting, we treat the soil with potassium permanganate, as for any other plant.

Fertilizing the soil

Despite the fact that phlox is very unpretentious and can grow even in harsh conditions for flowers, fertilizing at the stage of growing seedlings is mandatory. Fertilizer applied in small quantities will help support and accelerate development and rapid growth.

Landing

Phlox seeds are not buried, but placed on the surface of the soil, just like. It is best to place the container with seedlings on the windowsill and monitor the constant moisture of the soil. In this case, it is best to use a spray bottle.

Annual and perennial phlox

Among annuals there are often frost-resistant varieties, such as the Drummond variety, the seeds of which can be sown directly into the soil. Moreover, they bloom three weeks earlier than flowers from seedlings. The main condition is to cover the shoots during spring frosts, especially if sowing was done before winter.

After all, the Drummond variety can be sown even in December (in November for middle zone). We trample down the snow, sow the seeds and cover with nutritious soil on top. Apply a 30 cm layer of snow on top of the sowing.

However, not all varieties of annuals can be sown before winter, so it is better to sow in the spring, then the first crops can germinate within a week.

Conditions for seedling growth

The temperature in the room with seedlings is 21 C with fairly high humidity,
Covering with film in the first days to speed up germination,
After the seedlings emerge, we greatly reduce the humidity to avoid rotting of the seedlings,
There should be as much light as possible, remove the film at this time, and periodically turn the container towards the light,
As the seedlings grow, the temperature is reduced to 15 C so that the seedlings do not stretch ahead of time,

Hardening off the seedlings

The hardening process can begin from late April - early May. At this time, seedlings should be taken outside during the day.

Sowing perennials

Practically no different from sowing annual phlox. The only difference is that perennials are most often planted directly into the ground - in a flower bed or flower garden. They do this from the end of May, focusing on the weather in your region, so that night frosts do not damage the seedlings.

Place four seeds in the sowing hole, water with warm water and cover with film. Further care the same as for seedlings sown in boxes. Feeding can begin as early as the second week.

Flowers planted immediately in the ground bloom a couple of months later, but thanks to this, flowering continues until late autumn in the company of, and.

Unlike annuals, perennial phlox It is better not to sow before winter, so that they do not germinate ahead of time and die from the cold.

Seedling care

2 - 3 weeks after sowing, seedlings can be planted if they have two true leaves. It should be taken into account that different varieties, the time of appearance of leaves is different.

Feeding can begin a week after the dive. During this period, nitrogen fertilizers should be applied in small quantities. Other complex fertilizers are introduced immediately after disembarkation.

So, if you want phlox to bloom in your garden from early spring to late autumn, use both methods of growing phlox - seedlings and sowing directly into the ground.