Godetia - the flower is quite bright, beautiful and at the same time completely unpretentious. It is great for both home and suburban areas or yard flower beds. The only drawback is that godetium needs to be planted every year, as it is an annual flower. But this does not prevent her from being one of the most popular flowers among Russian gardeners.
Growing godetia from seeds especially popular, the article will tell you when to plant it, and how to do it correctly.
Content
Plant description
The flowers of godetia belong to linear lanceolate, and the plant itself belongs to the family of cypress. This is an annual plant resistant to frost and cold with a straight, branchy stem. Bushes can be in the form of a pyramidal or sprawling shape. The flowers are plentiful, resembling azalea, pink-red in color with a terry or smooth surface. They look like buds, reminiscent in appearance of bells with an inflorescence of 5-10 cm in size.
Godetia is planted in flowerbeds, in street vases, in summer cottages, in discounts, on balconies and windows in drawers and pots. Godetia is grown from seeds, the planting period for each region is different, so when planting it on seedlings, you must be guided by the planting calendar.
One of the great ways to use Godetia is landscape design. It looks great as a border that frames larger flower beds, garden paths or even any buildings on the site. In the city, a flower can be used to decorate balcony railings along the entire perimeter or on window sills.
Care and growing
This is an extremely unpretentious flower that perfectly survives in almost any environment. Normal loamy soil is suitable, the main thing is to choose a place in which the plant will be protected from strong winds and get enough sunlight. Godetia is quite tolerant of small penumbra, so it can be planted near a house or other buildings.
Features of Godetia:
- may bloom before the onset of the first cold weather;
- there is some vulnerability to rain - in a damp and cloudy summer, the plant weakens and blooms not as brightly as in sunny and dry.
- varieties with a high stem need to be tied up, which must be considered when choosing a place and planting conditions;
- does not need active top dressing.
Feeding godetia should be treated with special attention - an excess of fertilizers will give active growth, but only the green part, that is, the stems and leaves, the flowers themselves in this case will be less plentiful and expressive.
If you need seeds, you can leave a few bushes with buds. They ripen within a month after the flowering period begins. A sign of seed maturity is the dark color of the boxes.
Outdoor cultivation
Godetia is always grown from seeds in one of two ways - immediately in the ground or by preparing seedlings at home. When planting godetia seedlings for growing in open ground, you need to pay attention to weather conditions.
Seeds are also unpretentious, like the plant itself, so they are not afraid of frost in the spring. It is possible to plant godetia into the soil immediately, as soon as the opportunity arises and the soil becomes ready for planting seeds. In some regions, this can be done from the beginning of April, in general, planting continues until the end of spring. If you wish, you can plant Godetsia in advance, in the winter. October or September is suitable for this, depending on the region.
Landing technology:
- beds and flower beds should be prepared ahead of time: since the seeds are small, it is advisable to let the ground settle a little;
- furrows are located every 10 cm with a depth of about 5 cm, you can slightly more;
- you need to sow the seeds at intervals, less often, otherwise you will then have to break through;
- after germination and maturation of seedlings, it is transferred to a constant place of growth.
In place, the godetia bushes are planted with an interval of 25-30 cm, so that they do not interfere with each other with further growth.
When it is not possible to transplant seedlings, you can plant seeds immediately. In warm regions with short winters, this is done in the first ten days of April. Seeds are sown immediately on a bed or a flower bed. You can also do in the winter - in October. Such godetia can turn out to be brighter and begin to bloom much earlier, since after wintering in the soil the plant will be hardened and stronger. After the first seedlings and reaching a height of 5-7 cm, they need to be thinned, removing the extra sprouts.
Growing godetia at home
Godetia can react negatively to a transplant from one condition to another, so growing home seedlings is a more complex process and requires additional attention. Growing godetia from seeds, it is necessary to more strictly approach their choice, when to plant and how, see photo.
Landing technology:
- You can plant Godetia seeds at home in the second half of March - then the bushes will grow and bloom in May;
- seeds are planted in individual containers - the first seedlings will appear in a week and a half;
- since godetia painfully reacts to transfer to other conditions, it is advisable to plant it in peat pots or even tablets, planting in every two or three seeds;
- water medium, as excess moisture contributes to the development of fungi;
- seedlings need a lot of light - at least 12 hours a day, godetia should be lit;
- when the sprouts become large enough, around the beginning of May, they need to be accustomed to the external environment, arranging them with “sun baths” in the open air a couple of hours a day;
- when the weather is finally warm, you can leave the seedlings at night.
Ready seedlings are transferred to the open ground at the end of May, after the night frosts are over completely. Godetia, although unpretentious, house plants are more vulnerable to cold, so they can weaken or even die when frost sets in at night. For example, when you plant the “Moth” godetia for growing from seeds, you can sow immediately in the ground.
The sprout along with the root is carefully removed from the pot, without breaking the integrity, together with a lump of soil. Then it is placed in a finished hole with a small amount of humus at the bottom. It is not necessary to fertilize the hole too much, since Godetia does not need much nutrition and this can even harm the flowers.After the transfer of the sprout, the hole is filled up and watered with a small amount of water so that the ground becomes moist, but not wet. The space near the trunk can be mulched with grass or other plants.
Goodetia landing time in different climatic zones
The determining factor is climate. For warmer regions (Southern Federal District and neighboring regions), sowing of godsion is suitable immediately in the ground. You can plant plants starting from the first decade of April, and if the spring was early, at the end of March. Possible slight cooling is not critical, and only temper the flower, resulting in brighter and more succulent flowers. Growing “Terry” godetia from seeds, it is necessary to navigate according to the climatic conditions of the region.
Autumn sowing in this area is carried out in late October or early November. In this case, godetia sprouts in May, after the soil has completely warmed up. For this sowing option, more seeds are required, as part will die without going through stratification. Grains are mixed with clean sand, and mixed in grooves in increments of 3 cm. A more accurate time for autumn is the onset of the first frosts.
It is necessary to plant only after them so that the seeds "hibernate" and do not germinate too early, before winter. To shelter from frost, peat of 4-5 cm is used. After the emergence of spring shoots, they need to be transplanted to a permanent bed or flower bed. In order to more accurately determine when to plant the “Beauty” year, for seed cultivation, pay attention to the lunar calendar.
Since the climate in different years may vary and even in rather cold regions warm winters may be issued, it is best to determine the landing time not by date, but by weather. The following factors are decisive for the southern regions:
- the soil should warm up to about 15 ° C;
- it should dry after spring melting;
- it is impossible to plant goodezia in wet soil.
In colder areas (Urals, Siberia, the Far East, Moscow and Moscow Region), it is better to avoid planting in the ground, since the right time comes quite late and you can wait until flowering only in the fall. Therefore, the best option for these regions is growing seedlings. It can be sown already in the second decade of March and then by May the seedlings will be ready for transplanting to the flowerbed.
Some varieties of godetsia, for example, Monarch, to know exactly when to plant, you need to pay attention to the lunar calendar of growing from seeds.
Lunar Landing Calendar
The lunar calendar will help you choose the best day to land. Planting godetia, and any plants in general, is recommended during the rising moon. At this time, the satellite of our planet has a positive effect on the movement of juices in the root system, helping them to rise upwards, then during the descending moon this process slows down. At this time, it is better not to engage in planting or transferring seedlings.
Suitable days for godetia plantings spring 2019:
- March: from 1 to 3, from 9 to 15, from 17 to 19 and 26 of the day;
- April; 1 and 2 numbers, then from 7 to 13, from 16 to 18 and 25;
- May: 1 and 2, from 8 to 18 and 25.
It is necessary to correlate suitable dates with weather conditions, and then godetia will certainly grow up healthy, magnificent and beautiful.