Growing perennial daisies in the open field

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Perennial daisies are very popular among gardeners, because these unpretentious and easy-to-care flowers can delight with abundant lush flowering from early spring to late autumn. Since the plants are not afraid of slush and low temperatures, planting can be carried out in April.

Sowing with seeds

Daisy reproduces well by seeds, which are sown directly into open ground. It is not worth embedding the material deeply, you just need to sow it into moistened soil and cover it with a thin layer of sand or humus on top. Under favorable conditions (air temperature +20 degrees and sunlight), friendly shoots will appear in a week.

You can also use another method: spread the seeds into grooves and cover with transparent film. After 2 days, the shelter should be removed, and the seedlings should be sprinkled with a thin layer of earth. Daisies planted in this way are characterized by rapid development, so it is important not to miss the moment of their diving into the open ground.

Plants are planted according to the 20 × 20 cm pattern. Flowers grown from seeds form leaf rosettes in the first year, so they should be expected to bloom only in the next season.

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Growing seedlings

Experienced growers prefer to grow daisies in seedlings, which allows them to achieve flowering in the current season. Sowing activities are carried out in February-March.

It is recommended to use separate containers for growing seedlings, which will help to avoid damage to the seedlings during transplanting. Fill the pots or cups with a nutrient medium (you can buy it at your specialty store).

After sprouting (after 14 days), the containers are transferred to a cooler room, where the air temperature does not exceed + 12 … + 15 degrees. In addition, the seedlings need to be provided with additional lighting: the duration of daylight hours should be at least 12-14 hours. The dive of the bushes is carried out when three true leaves appear.

Seed processing

Before sowing, the seeds are processed by dipping them into a manganese solution for 15 minutes, after which they are thoroughly dried and laid out on a paper napkin. Alternatively, you can use the drug "Maxim". Granular seeds are planted dry because they have a coating that protects against diseases and pests.

Soil preparation and site selection

It is recommended to choose a lighted area for the future flower garden, but some hybrids grow well in the shade. The main condition for winter sowing is the cooling of the soil to 0 degrees, which will stop the development of seeds and prevent them from germinating ahead of time.

The soil must also be prepared in advance: a few weeks before frost in the area allocated for the flower bed, it is loosened, weeds are removed, granular mineral fertilizers and compost are added to the holes.

A few weeks before planting in open ground, the plants begin to harden. To do this, the containers must be taken out to the balcony or veranda and left there for several hours.

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Transplanting seedlings into open ground

Plants, regardless of the variety, do not have special requirements for the composition of the soil, so the seedlings can be planted on any garden soil. But most of all, daisies love structured light loam.

At the same time, it should be remembered that areas located in lowlands, where rain or melt water accumulates, are not suitable for planting crops, since the flowers cannot tolerate excess soil moisture. The grown seedlings are transferred to a permanent place in late May and early June.

Plants need to be transplanted together with an earthen lump at a distance of 0.2 m from each other. Transplanting perennial daisies is carried out by transshipment, while it is necessary to try to maintain the integrity of the root system. After planting, the soil surface around the bush is compacted and well watered.

Growing and care

With the right choice of planting site and proper care, it will not be difficult to grow flowering plants. Only in damp and shady places can daisies get sick with gray mold.

Flowers need fertile soil with a neutral reaction. Watering should be regular, but not too abundant. Irrigate more frequently during the dry season, especially when grown in containers where the soil loses moisture quickly.

The flower has a negative attitude towards hot dry weather, so the irrigation regime must be adapted to the current weather conditions.

Daisies are considered biennial plants that bloom profusely in the second year of growing. Care consists in regularly removing dry buds, which will help prolong the flowering period.

If you plan to get planting material, then you can leave a few wilted inflorescences: they form seeds, which can then be used for breeding. At the same time, it should be remembered that daisies are easy to interbreed, so plants grown from home seeds may not have maternal traits.

Several times a season (2-3 times) it is necessary to feed the bushes with complex fertilizers. The first feeding is carried out in early spring to stimulate kidney formation and strengthen the general condition after wintering. Subsequent refills are made at regular intervals throughout the summer.

Wintering

These adorable flowers do not require special protection for the winter, with the exception of those seedlings that were planted in the summer - such plants need to be covered with spruce branches. Daisies grown in containers on balconies and loggias can be left there for the winter, but the container must be wrapped with a layer of insulation.

Reproduction of culture

Daisy is a versatile flower that reproduces equally well both by generative (seeds) and vegetative (dividing the bush, cuttings) methods. The second is recommended when growing varietal plants, as they lose their attractiveness with age due to a decrease in the size of inflorescences.

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It is better to divide the bush in late summer or early autumn, but manipulations can also be carried out in the spring:

1. The bush is removed from the ground and divided into 4-6 parts.
2. In all delenoks, the roots are shortened to 5-8 cm, the leaves are removed, the buds and inflorescences formed are pinched.

Thanks to the measures taken, the cuttings take root better, get sick less and continue to grow actively.

In the same period, cuttings can be carried out. To do this, cut off the side shoots with a sharp knife and plant them on a ridge with loose, well-drained soil. After 2 weeks, the cuttings will take root, and the next year the daisies will delight the owner with a lush, abundant flowering.

These plants can decorate any garden, creating an incredible atmosphere of grace and beauty. Culture has many varieties, which allows you to create unique compositions from a whole palette of colors.

Summer residents use plants to cover the soil, but daisies are not suitable for lawns, and lawn mowers cannot cope with low, but rather strong leaf outlets.

Daisies are able to reproduce on their own, scattering seeds around themselves, which are formed in wilted inflorescences. In this case, the grower will only have to carry out the spring thinning of young plants, providing them with enough light and space for further growth and development.

But there is one significant drawback: plants eventually lose their maternal qualities, and their inflorescences become small and unattractive.

Diseases and pests

Although small in size, daisies are almost immune to disease and pest attacks. Meanwhile, this culture is susceptible to viral diseases, which can be identified by the appearance of the flower: the inflorescences and leaves become small, while the leaf blades acquire a pale color, and the pedicels are lengthened.

Having noticed such a picture even in the first summer weeks, the gardener must immediately dig up all infected plants and destroy them. The area where diseased bushes were grown must be disinfected with a strong manganese solution.

Perennial daisies can also be affected by powdery mildew. In this case, a whitish or light gray bloom with a loose structure appears on the surface of the leaves and flowers.

Such flowers or their parts should also be destroyed, the remaining plants should be sprayed with Bordeaux liquid, colloidal sulfur solution or "Topaz".

Plants are sometimes attacked by ticks. To combat insects, insecticides are used (Karbofos, Actellik, etc.). If the bushes are chosen by mice, then the poisoned bait should be spread near the flower bed.

Experts say that if you follow the rules of planting and care, you can achieve excellent results: the seedlings will grow so strong that no disease can affect them, and the bushes themselves will delight the owner with cute and charming flowers.

The best varieties

Most often, the following varieties of daisies are chosen for flower beds:

1. Bella Daisy. This early-flowering variety has a double basket, reaching 20-25 mm in diameter, has a bright rich pink color, as in the photo.
2. Robella. Large (5 cm in diameter) inflorescences have a dense structure, consist of tubular salmon-pink flowers. The specified type of daisies were awarded a gold award at the Fleroselect competition.
3. Pomponette. The bush is decorated with small, button-like inflorescences in the form of pompons.
4. Rob Roy. On small bushes, miniature inflorescences (1-2 cm in diameter) of red color are formed.

Summarize

1. Daisies are versatile, unpretentious flowers that can grow both in the garden and on the balcony (loggia).
2. Plants can be grown from seed or propagated by dividing the bush and cuttings.
3. For planting, it is better to choose well-lit areas with neutral soil. You should not plant them in lowlands, where natural moisture accumulates, because daisies have a negative attitude to large amounts of water and can get sick.
4. Subject to all the rules of agricultural technology, the bushes grow strong and healthy, acquire natural immunity and practically do not suffer from any diseases.