Requirements of crops for growing conditions
For the successful cultivation of various flower plants, it is necessary to know and take into account the fact that cultures differ from each other in their biological characteristics and unequal relation to environmental conditions, namely light, heat, soil and water. It is necessary to create optimal conditions under which plants will be distinguished by increased decorative, abundance and duration of flowering, resistance to diseases and pests. When choosing types and varieties of colors, you need to know in what conditions they grow well.
For a variety of requirements, flower plants are conventionally divided into groups in relation to:
to light - light-loving, shadow-tolerant and
shade-loving;
to heat - thermophilic and cold-resistant;
to water is hygrophilous and drought-resistant.
Light-loving plants grow only in sunny places or with very little shading. Such plants include most of the mono- and perennials. A small shading tolerate balm, marigolds, lemon, lobelia, reseda, salvia, tobacco. From biennials in the penumbra can grow pansies, ges-peris, daisy, digitalis and forget-me-not. From perennials with a slight shading grow aquilegia, soap and primroses. In a shady place, only a very few plants can grow( hellebore, periwinkle, host).Those who do not tolerate frost are those who are thermophilic. They are sown and planted when the danger of frost is minimal. Of the annuals of low temperatures do not tolerate ageratum, amaranth, balsam, marigold, dahlias, gomfrena, nasturtium, petunia, sunflower, salvia, ornamental beans, cesium and zinnia. In the autumn, some of these annuals can continue to grow and bloom after freezing -1-2 ° C( zinnia, petunia).In some cases, one-year-olds are referred to heat-loving plants, which, in conditions of the middle belt, can not bloom on sowing into the ground: they lack heat. Such plants are grown from seedlings, but many of them are not afraid of autumn frosts. This antirinum, arktotis, verbena, gazaniya, carnation, helichrysum, levka, orebe-cue, phlox one-year.
Cold-resistant annuals include ambomium, astra, cornflower gaylardia, gypsophila, yearlings, fragrant peas, dimorphoteca, Iberis, calendula, clarkia, coreopsis, cosmos, xeranthemum, lavatera, lobelia, lobularia, malopa, matthiola, nemesis, nigella, reseda, stati-tse, chrysanthemum, schizanthus, eschsolcia. The seeds of these plants sprout at a temperature of 15-18 ° C, but they can begin to germinate at 5-8 ° C.
Almost all biennials and perennials are cold-resistant plants, otherwise they would not be able to winter in the ground. The exception is some bulbous and tuberous plants: gladiolus, tuberous begonia, dahlia, montbretia. Their bulbs and tubers have to be excavated from the soil and stored until the spring in a cool non-freezing room. Moisture-loving plants grow well in places where there is always a lot of moisture and do not tolerate a lack of water. Of annuals it is balsam, gypsophila, beans;from biennials - ges-peris, forget-me-not, pansies;from perennials - catchment area, gaylardia, gypsophila, lichen, lupine, malopee, nasturtium, petunia, rudbeckia, salvia, salpiglossis middle and shtrozosa. Other species do not tolerate both excess and lack of water, they need to be watered as the soil dries up. To meet the need of plants in the light and partly in the warmth, first of all you need to find a suitable place for them. To do this, determine the location of the site in relation to parts of the world, the direction of the prevailing winds and the movement of the shadow during the day. The warmest and brightest places are located in the south, south-west and south-east, especially if the back of the house, a fence or a dense shrub The coldest areas from the north, north-east and north-west side. It is even colder there if they are not protected from winds, have a north slope or are in the lowland. On a damp and high place during wintering, plants will freeze faster than on a dry and even level. In high winds, high and winding plants do not grow well. The flowering of plants is caused genetically. If, contrary to your expectations, the flower plant does not bloom at all, you need to find and eliminate the cause. One of them may be the duration and intensity of illumination that do not correspond to a particular plant, that is, a lack of light for photophilic animals or its excess for shade-loving crops. Another reason for the lack of flowering may be a lack of heat before flowering and during it. These factors of environmental impact on plants should be taken into account and, if possible, try to neutralize or reduce their negative impact through good plant care.
All plants need systematic irrigation, loosening, feeding, protection from pests and diseases. Some require shelter for the winter. For a number of flower crops it is important to keep moisture in the soil, others must be protected from overheating.
Good plant care can compensate for negative environmental influences and give you the joy of lush flowering of ornamental plants.
Soil preparation
Different flower crops present specific requirements to the properties and qualities of the soil. Some flowers are undemanding, grow well and develop on soils of medium quality, while others, with their majority, make special demands on the soil.
Many flower plants prefer soils of light mechanical composition. So, for bulbous( tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, crocuses) and tuberous( dahlias), sandy loam soils are most suitable, good water permeability and air supply of which promote rapid growth of bulbs and tubers and prevent their decay. To grow annuals( cloves, gillyflowers, asters, etc.), light loams are required, for rhizome flower crops( phlox, delphinium, peony, iris), and for gladiolus - medium loamy soils. The latter are optimal for a rose culture.
For good development and flowering of plants, it is very important to take into account their soil requirements.
In light soils( sandy loam, light loams) rich in humus and nutrients, one-year-old amaranth, arctitis, lion's owl and zinnia, two-year-old shtrozza, perennial Clematis, tuberous begonia and bulbous - tulip, narcissus, hyacinth, lily, snowdrop, muscari, as well as corms - gladiolus and crocus.
Light medium-rich soils prefer annuals - aster, verbena, space, lobelia, poppy, scabiosis;perennial - koreopsis and li-nis.
On light, lean soils, one-year-olds grow well: cornflower, dimorphoteka, Iberis, lavateur, lobularia, portulac, eshsolcia.
Rich medium-loamy soils prefer: annual marigolds, yearlings, sweet peas, lemon, reseda, sweet-smelling tobacco, Drummond's phlox, chrysanthemum, sage;biennial - carnation, forget-me-not, pansies;bulbous - Kandyk, white-flowered, Pushkinia, Scilla, Hionodox, tuber colchicum;perennial - peony, astilba, daylily, host, dahlia, aquilegia, delphinium, bell, poppy, as well as rose and clematis.
Medium loamy poor soils are suitable for annual - cloves, calendula, clarkey, nasturtium, petunia;perennial - gaylard, cloves, cucurbitus, lupine, nivianica, primrose, perritum, rudbeckia and phlox.
Clay medium-rich soils prefer mattiola, hesperis, daisy and iris.
If local soil is not suitable for growing flowers, it should be improved in a known way: clay, manure, peat, humus, compost is added to the sandy soils; in addition,
is lime, which increases the bonding of sand and increases the content of organic matter;in clay and heavy loam soils for their relief make sand, peat, sawdust, as well as manure, humus and compost to improve its fertility. Thus, the mechanical composition of the soil is improved, and it becomes suitable for growing cultivated ornamental plants.
In areas with stony soil, planting flowers is best done in prepared pits and trenches filled with fertile soil, the size of the pits depends on the range of plants.
It is recommended to dig a bayonet shovel as the main soil treatment. It is carried out in the fall to a depth of 20-25 cm, if the plant is to sow seeds or grow annual flowers, and to a depth of 30-35 cm, if it is necessary to plant perennial flowers. When treating with a shovel, the soil should not be crumbled, it needs only to be turned over. In spring, the soil surface is treated with a hand cultivator. Thus, we fight against weed germination. In autumn the site is cleaned, leveled and processed depending on what is to be done - sowing seeds or planting plants, in accordance with the requirements of culture. When preparing the soil for flower beds, attention should be paid to increasing its fertility. For this, organic and mineral fertilizers are applied. In the open ground, various kinds of organic fertilizers can be used - manure, peat, various com-posts. They are introduced 4-6 weeks before planting, they not only increase the fertility of the soil, but also contribute to the improvement of its structure and water-physical properties. When preparing the soil for flower beds, along with organic before planting, mineral fertilizers are also used. They allow satisfying the need of plants in nutrients at the earliest stages of growth-during root formation, the development of the first leaves, stimulating the further development of the plant.
Several groups of plants can be identified according to the requirements for preplant soil fertilization. The most demanding are the dahlias, since all modern varieties have an underdeveloped root system and a powerful overground mass. The optimum rate of application of a full mineral fertilizer before planting for tall varieties is 90 g / m 2, and for undersized ones with a small aboveground weight of 45-60 g / m2.
The second place for demanding dopo-sadochnomu( basic) application of mineral fertilizers are single and biennials( asters, gillyflowers, carnations), as well as perennials planted in the spring, - gladiolus, phlox, delphinium. The rate of planting application of a full mineral fertilizer for these crops is not more than 60 g / m2.Under bulbous cultures - tulips, daffodils, hyacinths - a full mineral fertilizer is used before planting at the rate of no more than 45 g / m2.Even lower doses of these fertilizers are used for iris - 20-30 g / m2.
The rate of application of mineral fertilizers depends on the degree of soil cultivation. On slightly cultivated soils, doses of nitrogen fertilizers should be increased to 60 g / m2 in the pre-planting application, and phosphorus fertilizers should be reduced to 20-30 g / m2, the dose of potassium fertilizers may be 45 g / m2.
On average cultivated soils, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are applied in the same amount - 60 g / m2.
On well-cultivated soils, the dose of phosphate-potassium-potassium fertilizers can be 60 g / m2, and the dose of nitrogen must be reduced to 30-45 g / m2.
Different types of flowers make certain requirements for the acidity of the soil( pH).Most flower crops prefer neutral soils with an acidity of 6.0-6.5.The exception is the rhododendron, which requires acidic soils( pH 4.5) to grow, and cloves, for which a slightly alkaline reaction of the medium is preferred( pH 7.0-7.5).Lupine, lily, goldenrod, primula, aquilegia feel quite well on the unknown sod-podzolic soils( pH 5.0-6.0).Sites for all other flower crops should be limed 2-3 weeks before planting at a rate of 250-500 grams of lime per 1 m2.The acidity of the soil can be regulated: the reaction of acidic soils, which in most cases is not suitable for cultivating flower crops, can be improved by adding sodium nitrate, bone meal, slaked or quicklime. The reaction of strongly alkaline soils can be improved by the introduction of manure, ammonium sulfate and superphosphate.