The plant belongs to the family Gentian. Each individual nation has its own name. Eustoma, Texas bell, beautiful bowl, prairie gentian, prairie bell, lisianthus - all these are the names of this flower. The homeland of the plant is considered the southern part of the USA, the northern part of
South America, Mexico, the Isthmus of Panama, the islands of the Caribbean Sea, where it, in fact, grows in the wild.
Eustoma flowers: description
At various stages of development, the plant resembles a rose, then a poppy, then a tulip. In the wild, eustoma flowers have a blue color in various shades, but plants of brighter shades of yellow, white and red are artificially bred.
The size of the flowers themselves, which is formed by 17-20 pcs. on one plant, it can reach 8-10 cm. In the cut, they do not fade for a long time - up to two weeks.
The stem has a size of 30 to 60 cm, depending on the variety of eustoma. It is stable enough, but for the proper growth of flowers, the stem needs support.
Eustoma flowers: growing
Typically, the seeds are sown between January to March or from August to December. In the first year of life, plants give flowers (in summer or spring, depending on the time of sowing). Good soil for eustoma is sand mixed with soil. The soil must be sieved and steamed. Seeds are placed in small pots evenly over the entire surface. They are small: in 1 gram there can be up to 20 thousand pieces.
Eustoma flowers grow very slowly. Growing up to the third, real leaflet, plants dive into 3x3 or 4x4 cm cells. After the formation of 5-6 leaves, the eustoma is transplanted into larger pots (12-16 cm in diameter) of 2-4 pcs. in one pot. To form more compact bushes, gardeners are advised to pinch the plant over the second leaf. However, in this case, flowering will come late for 3-4 weeks. The first eustoma flowers will show for a period of 3 to 3.5 months. They will slowly open, after each of them blooms, the peduncle must be cut off over the bottom pair of leaves. After 2-2.5 months, new flower shoots will appear from their sinuses.
Eustoma flowers: care
The soil for this plant must be rich in nutrients. It should also have good water throughput and be lightweight in mechanical composition. Eustoma flowers (photo on the right) are very demanding on the soil, so it is important to monitor its composition. The plant is sensitive to salts, especially if their concentration is high. This is taken into account when feeding, which is carried out twice a month. It is worth noting that eustoma flowers prefer top dressing obtained by dissolving fertilizer in water (2-4 g per liter of water) rather than dry.
Watering should be plentiful, however, before it is necessary to wait for the soil to dry. With strong moisture, the plant can undergo diseases such as gray rot and fusarium.
Gardeners advise to grow flowers as a houseplant, that is, to keep them indoors. However, in summer you can take them out into the open air, where flowering will be even more plentiful. But when in the autumn the temperature drops outside, it is better to bring the plant back to the room.