Perennial flowers of cornflowers are an excellent solution for decorating a garden plot. This unpretentious plant will complement your flower bed without taking care of yourself. Further in the article we will talk about the care and planting of cornflowers, share tips on pest control and introduce methods of propagation of this plant. Indeed, despite the general unpretentiousness, there are certain nuances that are important to consider when growing these flowers.
Description
Cornflowers are very bright flowers with a variety of rich shades that adorn not only the fields, but also the garden plots. To date, about 600 different varieties of this plant are known. You can find a wildflower cornflower in almost any country in Europe, Asia and America. In addition to the classic blue and blue shades, there are pink, burgundy and yellow cornflowers. The height of an adult plant varies from 30 to 100 centimeters, depending on its variety. Large inflorescences cover rather strong stems, studded with small green leaves, which can be either whole or dissected.
Rather powerful spherical inflorescences consist of tubular and funnel-shaped flowers. The root system of the flower has the shape of a rod with a very weak branching. An oblong seed box contains about 300 seeds.
Choosing a place and soil for planting
Cornflower flowers are very photophilous plants. Therefore, choosing a place for their landing, you should give preference to a flat area that will be constantly lit by the sun. In addition, it is important not to plant cornflowers too thick to avoid excessive shading of the plant.
When creating flower arrangements, cornflowers are planted in the foreground so that higher plants cannot close them. The only variety of this flower that tolerates slight shading is Soft Cornflower.
The soil for growing cornflowers should be light, loose and loamy. If the soil on your site has high acidity, you need to add a small amount of wood ash to it. To provide better drainage, a little sand and sawdust can be added to the soil.
Sowing
Gardeners most often use the method of growing cornflower from seeds. Despite the energy consumption and length of time of this method, it is still the most preferred and tested:
- Seeds are sown immediately in open ground, and the planting process can begin as early as the end of April. A few weeks after sowing, the first seedlings will begin to appear.
- An important condition for planting is maintaining the distance between future flowers - it should not be less than 30 centimeters. More frequent planting is fraught with a lack of nutrients for each bush, which leads to thinning of the stems and fading of the buds, which will not reach the required size. Spring planting is permissible for annual plants, for perennial seeds sown in late autumn.
- The soil before planting flowers of cornflowers is quite simple to loosen. Fertilizing at this stage is not required.
- Seeds are sown immediately at the place where further cultivation is planned, since this flower is not needed for transplantation at any stage of development.
- It is not necessary to deepen the seeds, if this is not a variety of cornflower Fisher.
- After the appearance of the first sprouts, only their thinning is permissible in order to remove the weakest and form neat bushes.
Care Features
Cornflower flowers do not tolerate excess moisture in the soil, and therefore they need watering only in especially hot and arid weather. At normal temperatures and periodic precipitation, it will have enough rainwater. Weeding bushes is important only at the very beginning, while the plant is a little weak. And as soon as it grows and gains strength, it is already able to drown out the growth of almost any weed.
Loosen the earth around the flowers of cornflowers at least once a month.
Such simple measures to care for the plant will extend its life and provide a long flowering period. In addition, cornflowers are frost-resistant plants, which makes it possible to grow them even in harsh climates. In winter, the bushes do not die under a layer of snow and do not need additional shelter. Perennial plants with proper care are able to grow for 8-10 years.
Feeding and trimming
Fertilizing helps to extend the flowering period of cornflowers. And they need to be fed at least twice a month. Mostly for these purposes, crystalline and nitroammofosk are used. You can fertilize the soil with any other universal compounds. It is important not to exceed the dosage (no more than 30 grams per square meter), as this can lead to yellowing of the leaves or even complete death of the flower.
Cutting flowering plants is necessary not only to give them an aesthetic appearance, but also in order to extend the flowering period. In addition, fruit boxes that are not cut in time will lead to self-sowing, which will significantly spoil the general appearance of a flowering bush. Of the two cropping methods (low and high), it is better to give preference to the first. With high pruning, the stem is cut off under the inflorescence; at low pruning, the height of the plant reaches no more than 10 centimeters. But with low pruning, the bush may look rare.
Disease control
Cornflower flowers are the favorite plants of gardeners, not only because of the lack of strict requirements for their cultivation and ease of reproduction, but also because of their resistance to many diseases. But due to improper care or excessive watering, they may still develop fusarium.
It can be recognized by the presence of brown spots on the leaves. Spraying with the drug "Fundazole" or a solution of mullein will help to cope with it. You can also sprinkle cornflower leaves with ash. Also, the drug "Topsin" helps with this fungal disease. Moreover, not only the plant itself is cultivated, but also the soil around it.
In the case of a repeat infection, it is more logical to destroy the affected parts of the plant, since it makes no sense to treat them again.
Reproduction by dividing the bush
Cornflowers are flowers that can be grown not only from seeds, but also by dividing an adult bush. This procedure is carried out at the end of summer, namely after flowering:
- The healthiest and largest bush is dug up, shook the ground and well washed roots.
- Cut off excess shoots.
- The lateral part is separated from the bush with a sharp knife or shovel, provided that there will be at least 3 generative kidneys on it.
- After that, the separated part is transplanted into the prepared hole, lower pruning is performed and often watered for a month.
- In order to stimulate the growth of the future bush, the root system is stopped. The length of the roots after this process should not be more than 10 centimeters.
With proper care, such a plant begins to bloom the very next year.
Cornflowers in landscape design
Due to the striking appearance and variety of forms of cornflowers, many landscape designers often use them to decorate garden plots. These flowers look great both in compositions and in an independent bush. Cornflower flowers look like a bright spot on the lawn. They combine well with calendula and poppy, while creating a very harmonious installation.
By the way, cornflowers have been Estonian national colors for about 50 years. They are loved by the Germans as well - some people even call the cornflowers "German flowers".