Proper cultivation of verbena from seeds and care for it

Verbena

Verbena amazes with its unusual diversity. This is a bright and amazing flower, so everyone will find a variety to suit their taste. Verbena has more than 200 varieties. Previously, it was distributed only in America and the Mediterranean. Gradually, this amazing flower filled almost the whole world.

Verbena will perfectly decorate your flowerbed and please the eye. In addition, since ancient times it has been grown for medicinal purposes, but now few people know about it. If you decide to plant verbena, but don’t know how to care for it, then this article is just for you. By planting verbena at home, in addition to its beauty, you will also receive a little doctor of traditional medicine.

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How to collect planting material?

The easiest way, of course, is to purchase verbena seeds in the supermarket. If you want to collect planting material yourself, you must adhere to the following instructions. Verbena should be harvested when the bolls have dried and turned brown.

This indicates that the seeds are at the ripening stage. Carefully cut off the brown inflorescence with scissors and place it on a sheet of paper in a dry place. This is done to ensure that the inflorescence dries completely. While drying seeds turn the cut material over. This action will prevent it from molding and dry evenly.

After all these procedures, remove the verbena seeds from the nuts and pour them into the box. Now you have the seeds, but do not forget that the collected seeds do not always carry the same quality characteristics as their parents. Now you know the method of collecting seeds and we hope that you will not have any difficulties. The main thing is to adhere to the scheme for collecting planting material.

If you are buying, how to choose, what to pay attention to?

Verbena flower

It is better to buy seeds in a specialized store. When choosing packaging, pay attention to its condition, carefully inspect for any defects. Each bag must contain the name of the crop, as well as the name of the variety. Don't forget to look at the expiration date of the seeds and the lot number. Who produced this product, that is, its name, address and telephone number of the seller.

In addition, many sellers provide a brief description of the product and a photograph. Give preference mainly to well-known seed companies. It is better to buy seeds without the “F” mark. GOST must be present on the packaging. GOST is a guarantee that these seeds have been tested and are suitable for sowing parameters.

Preparing seeds and soil for planting

Verbena is a perennial plant, but often grown like annuals. It is best to grow it from seeds in seedlings, because this plant came to us from warm climatic conditions. It is worth sowing seedlings of this flower in late February, early March. Make sure the soil is loose and with enough fertilizer before sowing. In addition, the soil needs to be slightly warmed up.

Bring the soil into a warm room and let it warm up for several hours. Verbena seeds are sown superficially.

There is no need to dig huge holes in the ground, but simply place the seeds on top and lightly sprinkle them with humus or fine sand. Verbena that is not sprinkled with anything will germinate just as well. Cover the planted seeds with glass and maintain a temperature of 18-20 degrees, not forgetting to ventilate the crops. Verbena will germinate in 20-30 days, after which we transfer it to a cool place before planting it in the ground.

Choose the soil for planting verbena in a sunny place so that it grows well. Before planting, the soil is prepared as follows. For 1 sq. meter requires 1/2 of a bucket of humus with the addition of 1 cup of ash and 60 grams of ammonium nitrophosphate. In the future, when growing In this way you can fertilize the grown verna.

Verbena planting and subsequent care

Do not forget that verbena seedlings should be planted in the ground after the end of frost, since this is a heat-loving plant. If you want to get compact verbena bushes after planting, then you need to plant the seedlings at a distance of 20 cm, and if you want to get creeping bushes, you need a distance of 25 to 30 cm.

Verbena in the garden

Now let's move on to preparing the soil. Pour a small amount of finely broken bricks or crushed stone into all holes. This action will help prevent water from stagnating in the roots, which will save them from rotting. In case of dry soil, before planting verbena, pour a glass of water into all holes and wait for it to absorb a little.

Now the soil is ready for planting this beautiful flower. Place the sprout with a lump of earth into the hole and cover it with soil, lightly pressing the hole around the bush with your hands. If verbena is planted during or after rain, there is no need to pre-moisten the soil. After landings Verbena requires self-care. It is necessary to enrich the soil with fertilizer. You should not do this too often or in large quantities.

In case of excessive addition of fertilizer to the soil, the flower produces shoots abundantly, and flowering takes place. With proper care, verbena blooms from July to September.

The plant needs to be fed. It will be enough to just do this three times. The first fertilizing must be done before the plant blooms, then twice immediately during flowering. Use the complex fertilizer solution described earlier. In addition to fertilizer, do not forget about watering the verbena until the seedlings are completely rooted.

The flower should be watered regularly, but not abundantly. This way you will save the plant from various fungal diseases. When the plant has grown, watering should be carried out if the soil under the flower is completely dry. For long and abundant flowering of verbena, it is necessary to constantly cut off the inflorescences that have bloomed by 1/4 of the length of the shoot.

Due to our climatic conditions, verbena is annual plant. Therefore, when late autumn sets in, the flowers need to be removed and the area dug up so that it is suitable for planting next year. Don't forget to collect the seeds before harvesting the plant if you are not going to buy them in the store, because you already know how to do this. Now you know all the nuances of growing verbena. Despite such painstaking cultivation, it will certainly thank you with its beautiful flowering.

Video about planting and growing verbena:

Verbena flowerVerbena in the garden