Cineraria flowers belong to the Aster family. Their close relatives are also the godchildren, who are part of the Astrov family. In the world there are about 50 species of cineraria. In the article we will examine in detail the most popular of them, and also learn all about how to grow a cineraria flower at home, care for it and other plant characteristics.
Description
The cineraria on your flowerbed may look like a herb or shrub. If you want to look at this plant in nature, you will have to go to Madagascar or the African tropics.
Have you decided to get a home flower of cineraria? Remember that only hybrid cineraria is suitable for this, another name is a hybrid godson. This is a luxurious perennial plant. In open ground, cineraria is grown as annuals.
The minimum height of this plant is 30 cm, and the maximum does not reach 1 m. Large petiolate leaves in the form of an oval or lyre are located on a branched stem. The stems have a slight edge. Flowers are collected in inflorescences, which consist of double or ordinary flowers. Reed flowers are very different colors, inside - small tubular yellow flowers. The flowering period at cineraria begins in early June, and ends only with the onset of the first autumn frosts.
Species and varieties
If we talk about cineraria, which are usually grown in gardens and apartments, then they can be divided into two groups:
- decorative leafy - grown mainly in open ground;
- decorative blooming - more often chosen for breeding at home.
Cineraria is seaside. This is a decorative and deciduous perennial plant that does not bloom, but has very beautiful lace leaves. Such varieties are most often used in landscape design, they are decorated with flower beds and whole areas. Cineraria is also called silver due to the fact that its leaves are painted in silver, which looks rather harmonious in combination with plants with beautiful, bright leaves and flowers.
- Hybrid cineraria. This is a decorative flowering plant, which has already been mentioned. It is most often grown at home. Bushes from 30 cm in height are strewn with leaves of saturated green color and bright flowers that look like multi-colored daisies.
- Elegant cineraria also belongs to flowering plants. Its bushes are two times higher than that of the hybrid. Terry or simple flowers are collected in baskets, which are then stacked in inflorescences of the corymbose shape. Each variety of this species can bloom until the onset of frost.
Seedlings for seedlings
If you want to grow a cineraria flower, then stock up on seeds. This plant is not too common in our gardens, so it is quite difficult to find seeds on the hands of gardeners, but you can search in stores. After all, you can order it online.
By the way, there is good news. Germination of seeds of this plant is quite high. Planted seeds for seedlings in early April, which means that you will have time to prepare the tanks and soil. In order to get a good substrate, it is necessary to mix equal parts of peat and sand, lay a drainage layer. Sowing is carried out directly on the surface of the soil without deepening, however, it is necessary to press the seeds a little, but only so that they do not scatter. After disembarkation, it is necessary to pour them from the spray gun, and cover the containers with glass or a thick film to create a greenhouse effect.
Seedlings
The seedlings of this plant appear quite early. And if not in a week, then in ten days for sure. With their appearance, the glass or film is removed from the container and the seedlings are rearranged in a place where there is a lot of diffused light. When two true leaves appear on the seedlings, you can start a pick. Each seedling is placed in a separate pot. It is recommended to transplant seedlings in peat pots, so that it is easier to plant them in open ground. When replanting, take out the seedlings together with a lump of earth, so that they can easily transfer the change of place. If you follow all the recommendations and carry out each operation in due time, then you will be able to plant already fully formed bushes in the open ground.
Home Care
Particular attention should be paid to growing a flower of indoor cineraria, since the plant requires care.
First of all, watch the watering. Humidification of the soil should be regular, and carried out with extreme caution. This is especially true for those flowers that grow in conditions with cool air. For irrigation use settled water, even better if it will be rain or melt. Make sure that the earth in the pot is always moist, does not dry out, but is not too wet, as this will cause rot. During watering, be careful not to get water on the flowers or leaves, try to pour right under the root. As an option - watering in the pan.
Air humidity
Cineraria flower care at home requires special. This is mainly due to its origin.
The ideal temperature for the normal growth and development of a domestic flower of cineraria is +18 ° C, but this figure can be overestimated by several degrees. Temperature is not the main thing. More attention should be paid to air humidity, which should be high, since cineraria is a resident of the tropics. How to be? You can put flower pots on a special tray with wet sand or pebbles.
Humidity can be increased by spraying water in the room. But here you need to be careful, since moisture is prohibited on the leaves of the plant. The room where you plan to locate or have already located cineraria should be well ventilated, but any, even the most insignificant drafts should be excluded.
The soil
Caring for the cineraria flower at home also involves selecting the right soil. Usually, planting and transplanting is planned in the spring, by this time, pots for plants and the soil in which they will be planted should be prepared. You can simply buy the necessary substrate in the store, but it is better to cook it yourself. To do this, it is enough to mix sheet soil, compost and peat in equal parts. Do not forget about the drainage layer, which will not allow moisture to stagnate. You can add a few pieces of wood bark to the soil, which will improve breathability.
Top dressing
For the normal growth and development of this plant, he needs nutritious soil, as well as timely fertilizer application. Complex fertilizer, which is necessary during the flowering period, is well suited as top dressing. Fertilizer is applied every two weeks. If your plant does not suffer from anything and no pests disturb it, soon you will admire the bright, beautiful flowers.
Breeding
Decorative flowering species can only reproduce in a generative way, which was described earlier in the article. As for decorative foliage species, they can also be propagated vegetatively.
Seaside cineraria propagated by cuttings in the summer. First of all, you need to acquire a special container in which you will place 10-centimeter cuttings after cutting them. Why is this needed? With volumetric capacity it is much easier to move around, since cuttings will take root on the street, and from time to time they will have to change their location so that they are not exposed to direct sunlight.
The bottom of the box must have drainage holes. A layer of garden soil and sand is poured on top 10 cm high, 7 cm of coarse-grained river sand is laid out and the surface of the obtained substrate is leveled. After that, it is watered with a pre-prepared light pink solution of potassium permanganate.
The bottom of the handle should be treated with a special preparation "Kornevin", which will accelerate the formation of roots, and stick into the ground, slightly pressing down the ground around to fix in place. After planting, all cuttings should be covered with cropped plastic bottles that will help create the effect of a greenhouse. The cuttings are in this position until you are sure that they are rooted.
Watering is carried out directly on top of the bottles every two days, but only if it is really necessary. Rooted cuttings must be accustomed to the environment in which they will live. For this purpose, bottles are removed from them for several hours daily. On a cloudy or rainy day, remove the bottles forever. In winter, boxes with cuttings are placed in a cool place, and in spring they can be safely planted in the ground.
Pests and diseases
Caring for the cineraria flower, the photo of which you see in the article, also provides for the control of diseases and pest attacks.
The most common disease that occurs in a plant is gray rot. This disease is quite common not only among garden plants, but also among indoor plants. It is not difficult to recognize it: fresh leaves and flowers begin to crumble from the plant. You can fight with gray rot with the help of special preparations. After treatment, the plant completely recovers.
Another disease is alternaria. You will also notice it immediately: the leaves of the flower are covered with brown spots with a dark border. In this case, it is best to enter the fight, armed with fungicides.
The plant is not insured against the appearance of various insects. Most often, butterflies, aphids and whiteflies are found. They can be defeated by treatment with insecticides.
So, in the article we examined the photo of cineraria flowers, their care and propagation features. Gardeners liked this plant because of the relative simplicity of the content and duration of flowering. If you make a minimum of effort, you can get a beautiful decoration for the garden, apartment or loggia.