How To Prepare The Soil For Flower Beds

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

To make flower beds happy …

rose flower

The lands of our summer cottages, as a rule, are not favorable enough for growing flower crops. To grow flowers on them, it is necessary to improve the natural soil or create an artificial bulk root layer.

Soil improvement is carried out by introducing humus, compost and sand. In addition, it is necessary to apply mineral fertilizers at the rate of 30-50 g / m² of full mineral fertilizers or 10-15 g of ammonium nitrate, 30-40 g of superphosphate and 20-30 g of potassium salt.

For example, in our country, in Karelia, all soils are acidic, and acidity, as a rule, has a negative effect on the development of the roots of flowering plants and the supply of nutrients to them.

Most flowering plants prefer neutral soils with a pH of 6-6.5. The exceptions are rhododendron, which requires acidic soils for cultivation (pH 4.5), and cloves, for which a slightly alkaline reaction of the medium is preferable (pH 7-7.5).

Lupine, lily, goldenrod, primrose, aquilegia feel good on unsweetened sod-podzolic soils (pH 5-6). Plots for all other flower crops must be limed 2-3 weeks before planting at the rate of 250-500 g per 1 m².

Acidity	pH 4.5	pH 5-6	pH 6-6.5	pH 7-7.5
Culture	Rhododendron	Lupine, lily, goldenrod, primrose, aquilegia, snapdragon	Begonia, petunia, salvia, carnation	Carnation, aster, zinnia, violet, calendula, pelargonium, delphinium
Required amount of lime			250-500 g / m2	400 - 700 g / m2

Many flower plants prefer light texture soils. For example, for bulbs (tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, crocuses) and corms, sandy loam soils are most suitable, good water permeability and air supply of which contributes to the rapid growth of bulbs and tubers and prevents their decay. For the cultivation of annuals (carnations, levkoi, asters, etc.), light loams will be required, for rhizome flower crops (phlox, delphiniums, peonies, irises), as well as for gladioli - medium loamy soils. These same soils are optimal for growing roses.

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Primrose

If the mechanical composition of the soil does not correspond to the requirements of the grown plants, it can be changed by introducing various structure-forming materials (sand, peat and sawdust to lighten clay soils). Natural sandy soil, poorly retaining moisture and nutrients, is also unfavorable for flower crops. Therefore, peat and clay are introduced into such soil to increase the cohesion of sand (1-2 and 2-3 buckets, respectively).

When preparing the soil for flower beds, attention should be paid to increasing its fertility. For this, organic and mineral fertilizers are applied. The following types of organic fertilizers can be used in the open field: manure, peat, various composts. They are applied 4-6 weeks before planting, they not only increase the fertility of the soil, but also contribute to the improvement of its structure and physical properties.

Flower crops can be divided into four groups depending on the need for organic fertilizers.

Groups	The first	The second	Third	Fourth
Culture	Clarkia, tobacco, hydrangea, nigella, petunia, purslane, nasturtium	Daisy, calendula, cornflower, Gaillardia, scabiosa, delphinium, yarrow, perennial asters, pyrethrum, daisy, dahlia, gladiolus, iris, gelenium, tulip, viola, doronicum	Marshmallow, summer asters, kosmeya, Turkish carnation, levkoy, zinnia, aconite, peach-leaved bell, dicentra, hellebore, peony, lilies, hybrid tea roses	Small bell, foxglove, anemone, astilbe
Application rate	1-1.5 kg / m²	2-2.5 kg / m²	3-3.5 kg / m²	5-6 kg / m²

All recommended rates of organic fertilizers application for one- and two-year crops are calculated for one growing period, for perennials and corms - for three years.

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When preparing the soil for flower beds, along with organic fertilizers, mineral fertilizers are also used before planting. They allow you to meet the plant's need for nutrients at the earliest stages of growth - during the period of root formation, the development of the first leaves, stimulating the further development of plants.

Aster annual

Dahlias are the most demanding for the additional application of mineral fertilizers. They have an underdeveloped root system and a powerful aboveground mass. The optimal fertilization rate before planting for tall varieties is 90 g / m², and for low-growing varieties with a small aboveground weight - 45-60 g / m².

In second place in terms of requirements for the main application of mineral fertilizers are one- and biennials (asters, levkoi, carnations), as well as perennials planted in spring - gladioli, phlox, delphiniums. The rate of pre-planting full mineral fertilization is not more than 60 g / m².

For bulbous crops - tulips, daffodils, hyacinths - complete mineral fertilizer is used before planting at a rate of no more than 45 g / m². Even lower rates are used for irises.

When determining the rate of mineral fertilizers for the main application, the degree of soil cultivation should be taken into account.

	Poorly cultivated	Medium cultivated	Well cultivated
Nitrogen	Up to 60 g / m²	40-50 g / m²	30-40 g / m2
Phosphoric	Up to 25-30 g / m²	20-30 g / m2	15-20 g / m2
Potash	Up to 45 g / m²	30-40 g / m2	20-30 g / m2

During the growing season, flower crops require additional fertilizing with mineral fertilizers.