Chrysanthemum - Growing In An Apartment

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

Growing chrysanthemum indicum at home

Chrysanthemum grows well not only in garden beds, but also in rooms and offices. According to the horoscope, the zodiac sign of Libra (September 23 - October 23) includes plants: large-crested pineapple, Japanese azalea (white), Chinese rose, fiery red kufeya, wavy-leaved crossandra, hybrid heliotrope, pods (Mexican, Christmas) pepper, codiaum, zygocactus truncated and chrysanthemum.

Thanks to the beauty of plants and the diversity of their varieties and forms, the cultivation of chrysanthemums over the past decades has again come into fashion and has become a serious hobby of flower growers. Chrysanthemum is a vivid example of those plants that have moved from the garden to the premises and turned into typical indoor pets. How the culture of chrysanthemum began to grow in ancient times: archaeologists find its images in abundance on fragments of marble and pottery, in the ornaments of ancient structures, in patterns of oriental porcelain and even on coins of those distant times. Experts call Japan and China its natural habitat.

Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum indicum) belongs to the extensive Asteraceae family. These beautifully flowering perennial plants are highly regarded by amateurs and professionals for their luxurious flowers, especially when they appear in late autumn or winter. Now a lot of decorative chrysanthemums have appeared in retail trade, which are quite acceptable for keeping and in indoor conditions. Chrysanthemums have bluish-green leaves of various shapes, 5-10 cm in size, the inflorescence is a basket.

Thanks to the labor of breeders, flowers can have a wide variety of colors. In order for a plant to bloom successfully, certain growing conditions must be observed. First of all, the chrysanthemum should be placed in a bright place in a fairly cool room, without air stagnation. The temperature should not exceed 18 ° C (they are also protected from direct sunlight), since at a higher temperature, flowering is too fleeting, and part of the buds then dries up, and the foliage falls off. Water sparingly during flowering.

After flowering, the shoots are cut, the pots with mother plants are transferred to a cold place (1 … 3 ° C) until spring. Chrysanthemum is undemanding to the soil, grows well in ordinary garden soil (should be non-acidic, pH 6-7, and disinfected from fungal and bacterial pathogens). Sometimes flower growers, when the threat of return frost has passed, take out the pots with chrysanthemums into the garden, while placing them in a somewhat shaded place. But before that, it is recommended to transplant the plants into a larger container, and then, during the summer period, transfer them to the next container every month, carefully preserving the root system.

As the chrysanthemums grow older, experts advise not to forget to fertilize the soil with each new transshipment. For transplantation, a soil substrate of equal parts of sod and greenhouse land, rotted manure and sand is quite acceptable. It would be nice to add a little bone meal to this mixture. In hot weather, plants are sprayed and, if necessary, watered daily (it is not recommended to get water on the buds, as this can lead to stains on them).

Indoor chrysanthemum agrotechnics

Growing chrysanthemums indoors is not difficult, it is much more difficult for a novice florist without certain skills to manage the flowering period: alternate the content of the plant in the dark and in the light for a measured period of time in order to get blooming chrysanthemums by the scheduled time. It is interesting that now for forcing flowering chrysanthemums, special preparations have been developed to inhibit plant growth (then they are compact in size).

Of the huge number of species of chrysanthemums used for cultivation in indoor floriculture, the most interesting is the large-flowered chrysanthemum (Ch. Torifolium). She is believed to be native to southern China, although her wild progenitor has not been identified. A wide variety of varieties (known commercially as Chinese and Japanese chrysanthemums) are the result of centuries of cultivation. It has erect stems with pinnately dissected leaves and a large inflorescence-basket (10-15 cm in diameter), consisting of many reed and tubular flowers, collected in brushes (umbrellas).

There are more than 1200 varieties in the world. Of the potted varieties for indoor floriculture, experts call Blanche Poitevine (white, spherical inflorescences, bloom 9 weeks after the onset of darkening, the variety is suitable for late autumn cultivation), Delaware and Red Star (red-brownish pom-poms, bloom 10 weeks after the onset of darkening). The most important feature of growing chrysanthemums is the need for a short day for their flowering, which should be less than 14 hours a day.

At the first stage, plants need 3-7 weeks for active vegetative growth. After that, the length of daylight hours is artificially reduced by shading the plants, but in the period from November to February, when the days are already quite short, the plants are additionally illuminated so that they do not bloom ahead of time. During growth, the optimal temperature for chrysanthemums is considered to be 18 … 21 ° С, and during flowering - 15 ° С.

Chrysanthemum cuttings

Large-flowered chrysanthemums, like most other species, are usually propagated by cuttings from February to July. Cuttings (only 3-5 cm long, enough with three to four leaves) are cut from mother plants and rooted in boxes with ordinary greenhouse soil or a mixture of equal parts of peat and coarse sand is taken. Top cuttings are covered with glass containers. Under these conditions, they successfully form a root system on the window of a cool room at 15 … 18 ° C, with moderate watering. Experts do not advise to carry out cuttings at too high a temperature (in this case, less strong plants are obtained).

After rooting, young chrysanthemums are kept at a moderate temperature for some time in order to form a high-quality root system. In June-July, they are neatly transferred, shading from direct sunlight and creating sufficient humidity.

Chrysanthemum formation and flower forcing

According to experienced flower growers, it is important for large-flowered chrysanthemums to form bushes correctly: only one bud is left on each shoot. All other flower buds (also shoots growing from the leaf axils) are removed. According to experts, the number of buds that a chrysanthemum can form depends on the timing of grafting. If it was carried out at the most optimal time (February-March), the plant forms 3-4 buds: the first bud of the so-called long day - spring bud - appears in May-June; the second bud of a long day - the first crown - from mid-June to late July; the third bud of a long day - the second crown - in August; the fourth - terminal - in September-October.

Professional growers believe that the next buds will form on the plants, regardless of whether the bud of the previous order was formed or it was pinched. A plant cut in April-May produces only 2-3 buds: two crown and terminal buds; cuttings in June - second crown and terminal buds.

It is interesting that inflorescences from different age buds can vary greatly in shape and color, as if they belong to different varieties. Experts believe that the grower needs to navigate the choice of the "right" bud. So, they propose to remove the spring bud before its formation during the initial pinching of a plant that has reached a height of 10-15 cm (in April), explaining the need for this technique by the fact that it is often underdeveloped and does not give a full-fledged large inflorescence. The first crown bud gives a well-formed inflorescence only in early and mid-early varieties, and in the varieties of subsequent groups, it may be slightly colored. For this reason, in late varieties of chrysanthemums, the next shoot is broken out even before the first crown bud is formed on it.

The second crown bud - "main" - is typical for most late varieties. If a later flowering is required, the plants break off the second crown bud in July, thereby achieving flowering of terminal buds. But the problem is that, firstly, these buds do not always form high-quality inflorescences, and, secondly, if they are accidentally broken, the plant may not be able to replace it with another, and then all efforts to forcing flowers will be in vain. I also note that if a grower plans to get a bush from cuttings of his chrysanthemum species, then pinch the top of those cuttings that are not going to branch out. If he intends to get a plant in the form of a small crown tree, the strongest is chosen from the cuttings, and the top is not touched.

Chrysanthemum diseases and pests

Unfortunately, chrysanthemum is one of the houseplants strongly affected by numerous infectious diseases and pests, of which I will note the main ones. Of the diseases, the most harmful is gray rot, which manifests itself in conditions of high humidity and low temperatures, insufficient lighting and with excess nitrogen nutrition (more often when plants are thickened in a pot, when several bushes are placed in one container for splendor of flowering). The flowers turn brown, rot, become covered with a thick, fluffy, mouse-colored bloom, leaves and peduncles can be affected.

As control measures, it is recommended to try to balance the mineral nutrition of plants, monitor moisture and promptly remove the affected parts. The plant is sprayed with infusion of garlic: 250-300 g of chopped garlic is infused for 5-7 days in a dark place; sprayed with a solution at the rate of 6-10 g of the resulting concentrate per 1 liter of water. If, at relatively low humidity, high room temperatures and an excess of nitrogen supply in the summer, the soil substrate is excessively moistened, then powdery mildew may appear on the upper side of the leaves (especially young ones) and stems, which leads to the drying of the buds. Against the disease, sulfur preparations are mainly used (soda ash, colloidal sulfur), spraying with which is more effective at a temperature of 18 … 25 ° C.

At high humidity and low light, septoria is possible on the leaves of young chrysanthemums: first, small rounded light yellow, later brownish spots bordered by a yellow stripe. Often increasing in size and merging spots occupy most of the leaf blade, as a result of which the leaves dry out and fall off. They practice the destruction of affected leaves, avoid excessive thickening of plants, unilateral application of nitrogen fertilizers and waterlogging of the soil substrate. The disease is also fought by spraying with a solution of copper oxychloride, a Bordeaux mixture and a copper-soap liquid (but before spraying the foliage, a preliminary check for its burnability with the preparation is desirable, since the varieties have different sensitivity).

When the soil substrate is highly moistened during rooting, as well as during the budding-flowering period, the base of cuttings or young plants turns black ("black leg") and rots, as a result of which the plants die, or the leaves wither, starting from the bottom, often without losing their green color. The reason for this phenomenon is a soil fungal infection (often fusarium). Prevent its appearance by preliminary disinfection of planting containers, pallets and soil disinfection.

Chrysanthemum nematodeis a parasite of aboveground parts of plants. Its harmfulness is especially significant at high moisture content of the soil substrate. On the lower leaves between the veins, light necrotic spots appear, as a result of which the leaves turn brown, die off and curl, remaining on the plant for a long time. The disease rises to the upper leaves and flowers: the buds are affected - they turn brown and die off, or ugly deformed flowers develop from them, which is a characteristic sign of nematodosis. With a strong defeat, young leaves are deformed, do not unfold, and in young cuttings, the growth of shoots stops. Infection of plants occurs due to the use of infected soil, it is also transmitted by diseased cuttings. To prevent the possibility of nematodosis, queen cells are disinfected:during the rest period, immerse in hot (46 … 52 ° C) water for 5 minutes.

On young, newly unfolded leaves, aphids (2-3 mm long) may appear, which sometimes covers the tops of the shoots, inflorescences and buds with a continuous layer, sucking out the plant sap. A sooty fungus develops on its sticky excrement.

Aphids have an oval-convex body of black or pale green color; it moves on thin legs. There are also winged individuals that easily move from plant to plant. The safest method of fighting aphids is spraying with soapy water (20 g of liquid potassium soap / 10 l of water). For greater efficiency, the systemic drug actellic (1.5-2 ml / l) is added to this solution. Fitoverm gives good results, which also shows high efficiency against spider mites, hordes of which attack chrysanthemum, especially if there is dry air and high temperature in the room in the summer. The spider mite damages the leaves from the underside, entwining them with cobwebs and causing discoloration (sometimes yellowing), but with a high number of pests, the foliage of the plant dries up and falls off. Adult ticks are greenish-yellow in color, 0.3-0.5 mm long, with four pairs of legs.