How to raise potted marigold?

Marigold, also known as stinky hibiscus, marigold lamp, honeycomb chrysanthemum, etc., is an annual herb of Compositae, with large flowers, long flowering period and high ornamental value. Medium and dwarf varieties are suitable for flower beds, flower diameter and flower bushes, as well as potted plants. Higher varieties of plants can be used as background materials or cut flowers. Let's take a look at how to raise potted marigolds.

Growth habits of marigold

The suitable temperature for the growth of marigold is 15-25 ℃, and the suitable temperature for flowering is 18-20 ℃. The relative air temperature of the growing environment is required to be 60-70%, and the winter temperature is not lower than 5 ℃. When the high temperature in summer is more than 30 ℃, the plant is overgrown, the stem and leaf are loose, and the flowering is few. Below 10 ℃, the growth slows down. Marigold is a light-loving plant, sufficient sunlight is very beneficial to the growth of marigold, the plant is short and sturdy, and the flowers are colorful. The sun is insufficient, the stems and leaves are soft and slender, and the flowers are few and small. The requirement of soil is not strict, it is better to use sandy loam with fertile and good drainage.

Propagation methods of marigold

1. Sowing: marigold is sown in spring from late March to early April in the open field seedbed. Because the seeds offer light, they should be covered with soil and watered after sowing. The optimum temperature for seed germination is 20-25 ℃, and the seed emerges one week after sowing, and the germination rate is about 50%. In order to control the plant height, marigold can also be sown in summer and blossom 60 days after summer sowing.

2. Cutting: marigold can be cut in summer, which is easy to root and grow seedlings quickly. Cut 8-12 cm twigs from the mother plant as cuttings, remove the lower leaves, insert them into the basin soil, insert 3 plants in each pot, pour enough water after insertion, slightly shade, and root after 2 weeks. Then gradually moved to a sunny place for daily management, about a month later can blossom.

How to raise potted marigold?

1. Soil: marigold is not strict to soil, and has wide adaptability to soil acidity and alkalinity. It can grow in slightly acidic to slightly alkaline soil, and the suitable pH value is between 5.5 and 7.0. The suitable pot soil should be selected when potting, and the fertile sandy loam with good drainage is better for the basin soil.

2. Temperature: the suitable temperature for marigold growth is 15: 25 ℃, the suitable temperature for flowering is 18-20 ℃, and the suitable temperature for pot growth is about 21 degrees Celsius. It can also be cold-tolerant and can survive the winter safely under the condition of about 5 ℃. However, it is not resistant to heat and will grow slowly when the temperature is higher than 32 ℃.

3. Lighting: marigold is a typical short-day flower, which forms flower buds and blossoms only when the sunshine is short every day. In the case of long sunshine, only long stems and leaves, can not form flower buds. In general, 14.5 hours of sunshine per day is required during vegetative growth and 12 hours per day during flower bud differentiation.

4. Watering: marigold likes warm and moist soil environment, is resistant to drought, avoids excessive humidity and stagnant water, and is easy to rot when the basin soil is too wet. Watering should grasp the principle of "alternating between dry and wet". During the period of vegetative growth, the growth rate is fast, water demand is large, and it is easy to lack water. Water should be watered frequently, but be careful not to accumulate water.

5. Fertilization: marigold has a long flowering period and needs topdressing fertilizer to supply nutrients, but it can not be applied more. Nitrogen fertilizer must be controlled, otherwise branches and leaves will flourish and not blossom. Generally, the mature rarefied organic liquid fertilizer or nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium compound liquid fertilizer is applied once a month. When fertilizing, you must sprinkle the fertilizer first, and then pour the water thoroughly, so that the fertilizer can fully seep into the root system of the chrysanthemum, so that it can be absorbed by the marigold.

6. Pruning: marigold should pick the heart to promote branching and blossom more after planting or potting seedlings survive in the process of maintenance and management. In order to make the flowers large, the long branches, withered branches, weak branches and post-flowering branches should be thinned or strongly picked in time. Through thinning and pruning the over-dense branches, improve the light and retain the strong branches, but can not pick the heart to enrich the development of the buds at the top. In windy season, plant height should be controlled by pruning and coring to avoid lodging. Otherwise, props should be set up to prevent the wind from falling down.