When to plant ageratum seeds in order to arrange a flower garden in time?

The flower bed, made up of a variety of tastefully selected flowers, fascinates with its beauty and originality. But even among this magnificent variety, it is impossible not to notice the ageratum. As if someone had cut thousands of fluffy pom-poms from children's hats and scarves and scattered them among the plants. Blue, pink, pale purple ...

Features - graceful and unpretentious

Experts still argue about the homeland of the Ageratum. Some believe that he began his triumphant march through the gardens and flower beds from East India. But most scientists are of the opinion about the American origin of the plant. Outwardly, the flower resembles our aster, and it belongs to the Astrov family. Its height is in direct proportion to the species:

• Semi-shrub. It grows up to 55-60 cm.
• Herbaceous plant. Sizes from 8 cm to 20 cm are considered common.

The leaves are rough to the touch, each type of ageratum has its own distinctive shape. They are triangular, oval and diamond-shaped. The leaves have one thing in common - sharp denticles at the edges. The diameter of each flower does not exceed one and a half centimeters, but when they are collected in inflorescences, they create the effect of a huge fluffy ball.

Advice: landscape designers planted blue ageratum in flower beds or flowerpots in combination with various varieties of petunias. Pink or lilac terry petunias are great.

The ageratum is especially loved by gardeners for its long and lush flowering. The meaning lies in its very name - long blooming. From June until the first snowfall, the plant forms new inflorescences. It is possible to further grow the shrub at home on closed loggias or verandas, when flower growers transplant plants into ceramic pots.

Spring - it's time to start planting

Ageratum is easy to grow from seeds; propagation by cuttings is also possible. But experts prefer the first method. Because no matter how many cuttings are taken from the original plant, the result will be many copies of the same type. And when the soul of a florist craves colors ...

This is where growing ageratum from seeds will help. During the winter, you can study new varieties and get bags of seed. Some advanced gardeners already have a plan for a flower bed by spring. They also purchase the seeds of accompanying plants in advance.

Advice: Pay attention to the date of packaging. You cannot buy seeds that are more than two years old - cultivation may not give positive results.

It is not worth sowing ageratum immediately on a flower bed, since it comes from the tropics and subtropics. After all, the weather can bring surprises. You will not surprise anyone with the May frosts. A warm-loving guest will not survive them, and dreams of a beautiful flower garden will remain dreams, and growing is a waste of time.

We act according to plan

When to start sowing at home? It is best to plant seeds in the second decade of March. By this time, boxes or small greenhouses should be prepared. Ageratum is considered an unpretentious plant, but heavy, organic-rich soil for its seeds will not work. Ideal for growing in the following soil:

1. Fine sand - 1 part.
2. Peat - 1 part.
3. Normal soil - 1 part.

When these ingredients are mixed in equal proportions, an excellent soil is obtained for growing ageratums from seeds. You can purchase tropical plant land at the store. The main thing is to pay attention to the composition and production date.The acidity index of the soil should not be higher than 6.5.

Advice: Normal sand can be infested with larvae or worms. It should be baked in the oven before use.

It is also worth preparing a fluorescent lamp if it gets dark too early on the street. A wall thermometer does not hurt - the optimum temperature for seeds is 15 ° C. A layer of expanded clay is laid at the bottom of the boxes, and then the prepared soil. It is important to thoroughly spill the entire mixture with boiled water.

Growing without loss

Ageratum seeds are so small that you need to be careful already at the stage of opening the bag. One gram contains up to seven thousand tiny seeds. Shallow (about 1 cm) parallel furrows are made on the ground and seeds are planted at a distance of 2 cm from each other. Do not sprinkle them with a thick layer of earth, just a few millimeters of soil, which should be moistened.

Advice: moisturizing is best done with a spray bottle. The seeds are very light, so under running water they will wash out of the watering can to the surface or deepen unnecessarily. Growing seeds will not be one hundred percent.

The containers now need to be closed to create a greenhouse effect for the seeds. The following materials are used at home:

• Parchment paper;
• Film, food grade can be used;
• Glass.

Hour ventilation should be arranged every day to avoid decay of the planting material. It's important not to overdo it with hydration. It is enough to spray water on the surface of the soil once every three days. When all the conditions are met, then in a few days the first shoots will appear from the seeds.

It's time to resettle

The terrible is over - all the seeds have sprung up, it remains to take proper care of them in order to get strong seedlings at home for flowering in the ground. It's time to remove glass (paper, film) from the boxes and maintain a regular air temperature. Thermometer readings for growing ageratum at this stage should fluctuate between 22-23 ° C. It is worth installing fluorescent lamps above the containers, otherwise the sprouts will stretch and weaken.

Advice: experts recommend making the first top dressing at this stage of seed germination. It will saturate the roots with nutrients, they will grow and get stronger. A suitable compound fertilizer can be found in the store with the help of a salesperson.

It's time to observe and count the emerging leaves. When the ageratum opens the third, gardeners begin to transplant the babies into separate plastic cups. The bottom of each of them should have several holes for the drain of excess water. If the boxes are not completely filled with seedlings, you can simply plant the seedlings less often.

After another ten days, the leaves should be counted again. Has every seedling got five? It's time for a new dive. Here are the options:

1. Fortified plants can be immediately planted in separate flowerpots, which will become their permanent residence.
2. Ageratum is placed in pots up to 15 cm in diameter. The next step will be to grow it outdoors.

The volume of the pots should be selected in accordance with the root system, since the plant requires a lot of space for full development. It is worth taking care of one more fertilizing. Now it remains to wait for the appearance of the first inflorescence. This will mean only one thing - it's time to plant the ageratum in the ground.

Even in the process of growing ageratum from seeds, its reputation is fully confirmed. The plant is unpretentious and does not require an individual approach to grow at home. Valuable qualities for a tropical dweller. Avoid waterlogging of the soil and provide it with a stream of fresh air.

In our harsh climate, Ageratum is an annual plant. But the popularity of the shrub does not decrease from this. On the contrary, seeing fluffy inflorescences, many gardeners rush to stores to purchase seeds.It remains only to choose a color: blue, pink or two at once? And growing will only bring a lot of pleasure.