Elegant inflorescences of elegant vervain decorate flowerbeds and make up harmonious compositions with other plants in areas of many gardeners. No wonder - after all, in the care of verbena is unpretentious, it blooms for a long time, but to grow it is not difficult.
How verbena reproduces and how to properly grow it independently from seeds and cuttings will be described in detail in the article that is brought to your attention. We will show the photo and give a lot of useful tips.
How to breed?
Chechen breeding is considered optimal. But most often the plant is grown from seed through seedlings, since Bonar verbena (the most popular flower variety) has a long development period: it takes about two months from the moment the first sprouts appear to flowering. Each method is characterized by a number of features and conditions.
Cutting:
- important for those varieties of vervain that do not give seeds;
- planting material must be harvested in advance in the fall;
- flowering begins earlier and lasts longer compared with flowering of verbena grown with seedlings.
Seed method:
- suitable for most varieties of vervain;
- seed shoot is slow;
- planting seeds is better in the second half of March and early April, since sowing in an earlier period entails the need for additional illumination, without which active growth of seedlings is impossible.
Seed breeding
Reproduction of vervain seeds is the most popular method actively used by gardeners. Before proceeding to the study of step-by-step instructions, it is necessary to clarify general information about obtaining seeds of vervain.
When gives seeds and what conditions are needed?
Seeds are formed in the fruit at the end of flowering. Verbena requires minimal maintenance, but should not be allowed to dry out, otherwise the plant will not bloom. Fertilizers are also needed during the season, but you should not get involved in organic matter: an excess of nitrogen in the soil prevents the flowering of verbena, therefore, it is enough to apply organic fertilizer once per season.
Important! Enrich the soil better with phosphorus and potassium.
What they look like: description and photo
The seeds are elongated and brownish in color. Superficially resemble aster seeds. Located in the fruit, which is a team of four-leaved nuts of a light brown or greenish hue.
This is what verbena seeds look like:
How to collect?
Collect the seeds should be when the bulk of the fruit has dried. The signal to collect seeds is dark brown color of the boxes.
The procedure for collecting will be as follows:
- cut off the inflorescence with dried nuts and place on a spreading cut of fabric or a sheet of paper;
- wait for complete drying, and to prevent possible mold, you must periodically turn the nuts;
- Get the seeds from the fruit, pour them into a box or paper bag, sign.
You can store seeds in this way until the next planting season. (maximum - within two years).
How and when to plant at home?
With the cultivation of vervaina seed method cope any novice grower, armed with supporting instructions.
- Preparing the soil for sowing seeds. You can use ready-made seedlings for seedlings, sold in stores of goods for gardening, or make a mixture of their own. To obtain a soil mixture, it is necessary to take garden soil, sand and peat in proportions of 1: 0.5: 2 (it is also better to add washed sand to the packaged soil from the store).
In the prepared mixture, it is necessary to sift the wood ash (half a glass for 2 liters of the mixture). As for a successful shoot of the vervain, loose, breathable and water-tolerant soil is important, you can add ½ cup of perlite to the liter of the soil mixture. To disinfect the soil, spill it with an aqueous solution of fungicide.
- Sowing. Prepare a pot for sowing, filling it with soil mixture. Seeds can also be planted in separate cups of soil, in this case there will be no need for further picking.
Ram the soil, spread the seeds evenly over the surface, without digging them down. Moisten the seeds with water from a fine sprayer and cover the container with sowing glass or film. Creating greenhouse conditions will allow the seeds to retain moisture. - Waiting for germination. In order to accelerate the germination of seeds, it is necessary to hold the plate near the battery for 2 or 3 days, then in a room with a temperature of +25 degrees. During this period, there are no special requirements for lighting, but after the emergence of shoots, the bowl must be brought to light, and the temperature should be 15 to 17 degrees above zero. Shoots germinate in 10-15 days.
- Picking As soon as the first pair of leaves comes through, the vervain needs to be transplanted, preferably in separate pots or cups. Now you need a more fertile soil than when sown.
For the preparation of the mixture will need ½ part of the sand and two parts of garden soil and peat. To three liters of the resulting soil mixture you need to add a tablespoon of mineral fertilizer and half a glass of wood ash.
The mixture is laid out in pots, leveled, small holes are made in the soil, into which vervain is planted. Strongly deepen seedlings do not need. Seedlings need to be carefully watered and put on the light.
- Further care Adaptation and rooting of young vervain takes about two weeks. After you should feed the soil with organic fertilizer for seedlings. Tall varieties at the initial stage of growth require nipping of the upper part of the plant.
- Landing in open ground. Verbena is not a frost-resistant plant, so it can be planted only in the absence of the threat of frost (in the second half of May and early June for central Russia). Pre-seedlings quenched. A permanent place to land verbena should be open and have access to sunlight.Important! The soil requires neutral; Before planting, it is worth making a complex mineral fertilizer, and in the planting holes lay a thin layer of drainage.
When planting, keep a distance of 25-40 cm between seedlings. After intensive watering.
Ram the soil, spread the seeds evenly over the surface, without digging them down. Moisten the seeds with water from a fine sprayer and cover the container with sowing glass or film. Creating greenhouse conditions will allow the seeds to retain moisture.Watch a video on how to plant vervaina seeds at home:
Reproduction by cuttings
To successfully grow verbena reproduction, you will need to follow a certain sequence of actions.
- The cutting of the cuttings from the maternal bush of the vervain, which was dug out in autumn, must be made in the spring. It is better to cut the top shoots of the plant. On the handle should be 4-6 pairs of leaves.
- To prevent the mother plant from dying, the cut-off areas are sprinkled with pounded charcoal.
- The cuttings get rid of the lower leaves and are planted in pots with a soil mixture consisting of peat and sand to a depth of 1 cm, then covered with foil.
- When the verbena takes root and sprouts, you need to transplant it into open ground. Usually for rooting it takes no more than a month.
Then you can watch a useful video on how to self-propagate verbena by grafting:
Tips
- In order to accelerate the germination of sown seeds, it is recommended to put them in the refrigerator for a period of 2 to 3 days. For the same purpose, you can use the growth stimulant by soaking the seeds in the solution before sowing.
- With proper care, verbena is not prone to disease, but abundant watering can lead to decay of certain parts of the plant and the emergence of diseases such as powdery mildew or black leg. Regular watering is required only in the period of growth and flowering, then it is reduced. Remember that watering should always be moderate. But you can not overdry the soil.
- To extend the flowering period of verbena, do not forget to remove faded buds. You need to cut about a quarter of the length of the shoot. It is also necessary to regularly loosen the soil around the plant (especially during the dry summer after watering), remove weeds from single bushes.
Using the recommendations for growing vervain, given in this article, you can independently and easily decorate your site with this beautiful, unpretentious and long-flowering plant.
