Growing chrysanthemums from seeds in seedlings and without seedlings, care rules

This amazingly exquisite plant blooms until late autumn, when there are no more leaves on the bushes and trees; it continues to decorate the dull autumn landscape of the garden.

Chrysanthemum flowers remain attractive for a long time when cut; they are indispensable when composing autumn bouquets.

Some amateur gardeners lament this. that the plant can only be propagated by dividing the bush or rooting a shoot, but this is not true, we suggest considering methods of growing chrysanthemums from seeds.

Content:

• Varieties and types
• What chrysanthemum seeds look like, where you can buy them, how to collect them yourself
• Growing chrysanthemums from seeds without seedlings
• How to get quality seedlings
• What soil do chrysanthemums prefer, how to prepare it yourself
• How to care for chrysanthemums grown from seeds
• Diseases and methods of combating them

Varieties and types

Chrysanthemums amaze the imagination with their variety of sizes, shapes, colors, flowering period and duration. Botanists count more than 700 varieties of this plant.

Alone garden chrysanthemums are divided into 13 groups, taking into account the doubleness of the flowers, the shape of the petals, the size of the inflorescences, and the openness of the middle.

Today, a new type, the fantasy chrysanthemum, is of great interest to gardeners; it resembles a feathery chrysanthemum, but its flowers are characterized by longer petals.

Gardeners often prefer Korean chrysanthemums; these are frost-resistant garden chrysanthemum hybrids. Korean chrysanthemums can be border or medium-sized; if formed correctly, it is easy to give them a lush, spherical shape. Plants are propagated by dividing bushes during transplantation or by growing from seeds.

What chrysanthemum seeds look like, where you can buy them, how to collect them yourself

You can buy chrysanthemum seeds of different varieties in specialized gardening stores, or on the Internet, depending on what is more convenient for you and who you trust most.

However, many amateur gardeners use the services of online stores and, ultimately, receiving high-quality seeds at lower prices, remain very satisfied.

But if possible, why not collect the seeds yourself? Moreover, it is not at all difficult to do this. Simple and semi-double flowers produce seeds with excellent germination. With large-flowered plants the situation is more complicated - they produce very few seeds.

In addition, it is useful to know that you can only collect seeds from early or mid-flowering varieties. On late-flowering varieties, the seeds do not have time to ripen.

To obtain seeds you will need:

• plant chrysanthemums in open ground as early as possible;
• water and feed in a timely manner;
• pinch;
• form the bush in such a way that on a chrysanthemum with large flowers there are from 1 to 3 stems, one bud on each;
• for small-flowered plants - up to 8 stems are allowed.

Proper formation of the plant allows you to obtain seeds of higher quality, and full-fledged flowers will produce more of them.

Seeds from summer-blooming varieties are harvested directly at the site of flowering plants, focusing on the degree of maturation.

If the varieties you are interested in bloom until late autumn, then the bush is either moved to a greenhouse or covered with polyethylene; the flowers should not be allowed to get wet. -

If the weather forecast promises frost, then the chrysanthemum should be transplanted into a container of a suitable size and brought indoors and placed either on a windowsill or near a window in a well-lit place.

When growing bushes in a greenhouse, you will need to provide them with additional protection from humid air; for this you can use agrofibre cover.

It is recommended to collect the seeds immediately after purchasing the brown baskets, otherwise the seeds may spill out of them on their own. The approximate collection time is the end of November.

If the flower is crowned with too long petals that cover the entire middle, then it is better to trim the petals, this will improve ventilation of the seed location and eliminate the possibility of putrefactive processes developing.

Growing chrysanthemums from seeds without seedlings

The first option, in which everything goes as if in a natural way, i.e. seeds are sown directly into the ground. Of course, this option is very simple and does not require much time. But see chrysanthemum blossomgrown without seedlings is possible only at the end of August.

If this option suits you, you can get to work:

• dig up the soil in the garden bed;
• make indentations at a distance of 25-30 cm;
• water them with warm water;
• place 3 seeds in each cavity;
• fill the top with soil.

Then we cover the crops with agrofibre; you can also use plastic film. After emergence of seedlings, the shelter should be removed.

Caring for crops involves loosening the soil and removing weeds. As a top dressing, liquid fertilizers should be used in a highly diluted form.

When the third leaf appears on the seedlings, they must be reconsidered, only one plant should be left in the hole, the stronger and stronger ones should be left. Small seedlings should be transplanted to another site for growing.

How to get quality seedlings

The second option involves growing chrysanthemum seedlings from seeds in a pot and then planting them in open ground. We start sowing in early March, in which case we will be able to get flowering in mid-summer.

We select containers with a depth of at least 8-10 cm, pour the substrate for seedlings into them, and level them. Having spread the seeds on the surface, cover them with a centimeter layer of clean river sand. Lightly moisten the crops and cover with plastic wrap. Before emergence, the temperature should be maintained within + 18 C, germination time - about 2 weeks.

As soon as the shoots appear, the container must be moved to a well-lit window sill, or artificial lighting must be organized, and the film must be removed.

Further care will include:

• watering and fertilizing;
• providing high-quality lighting;
• picking;
• transplanting into separate containers after the appearance of three true leaves.

Planting in open ground is carried out in May, the recommended distance between bushes is about 25 cm, and between rows - about 30 cm.

We will learn more about growing chrysanthemums from seeds by watching the video:

What soil do chrysanthemums prefer, how to prepare it yourself

The issue of preparing soil for sowing is quite important.

The optimal substrate composition should include:

• sifted greenhouse soil;
• white peat;
• humus.

The mixture is disinfected before planting.

How to care for chrysanthemums grown from seeds

Plants require special care in the first year of life.

The main conditions for obtaining a beautiful bush with lush flowers will be:

• planting in well-lit but protected from the wind areas;
• preparation of fertile soil, with good drainage, with an acidity of 6 to 6.5 pH.

Even with proper care, plants of the first year of life differ from their older counterparts: they produce few cuttings, they begin to grow 7-10 days later, and the flower sizes are larger.

To get a strong plant, it is formed into one stem.

It is also recommended to adhere to the following care rules:
For each young bush, a space of at least 25x25 cm should be allocated.
During the summer, at least 3 feedings are required, alternately with organic and mineral fertilizers.

If you count on 1 sq. m. area, then the fertilizer consumption will be as follows:

• nitrogen 10-15 g
• phosphorus 15-20 g
• potassium 10-15 g

Diseases and methods of combating them

Chrysanthemums, just like other plants, can suffer from diseases and pests. Therefore, for prevention purposes, it is recommended to add Fitosporin to the fertilizing solution.

To prevent fungal and viral infections after rain, it is recommended to treat the bushes with Quadris or another fungicide with a similar effect.

To destroy caterpillars and leaf rollers, you can use the drugs Aktara, Ratibor or Fitoverm.

You can get rid of aphids and spider mites using traditional methods: spraying the plant with a solution of laundry soap.

Growing chrysanthemums from seeds is not such a difficult task. But those who decide to propagate a flower using this method should be reminded that the new plant may not be entirely identical to the one from which the seeds were collected.

However, the likelihood that the distinctive characteristics of the variety will be preserved is quite high. A clear advantage is that the plants are quite strong and fully adapted to local conditions.

Let's watch another useful video about growing Korean chrysanthemums from seeds: