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A magnificent tropical shrub with huge flowers in the form of a gramophone in natural conditions grows up to 5 m in height. The plant itself scatters seeds, easily multiplying in nature. Brugmansia from seeds at home is much lower: from 1 to 2 m. It is thermophilic and demanding to comply with growing conditions. Flowers have a strong aroma, have many shades: yellow, white, pink, cherry, orange and even gradient color.
The beauty of an unusual flower more than compensates for the effort spent on its cultivation and breeding. He is the pride of every gardener, and the main decoration of the winter garden, greenhouse and personal plot.
Features of growing brugmansia from seeds at home
Growing brugmansia from seeds in a mid-latitude climate is troublesome, you need to maintain temperature conditions, protect from drafts, provide the necessary lighting for the plant, periodically take the flower out into the street and, as it grows, change the capacity where it grows. For the summer season, it is recommended to transplant it into open ground, and with the onset of cold weather, put it back in a pot and take it to a room in which to maintain a suitable humidity and air temperature.
During the first year of life, brugmansia will require 3 to 5 transplants into a larger container. Then the tub is changed once a year. Do not use containers of a dark color - this leads to impaired air circulation and overheating of the roots.
At the end of February, the plant must be pruned, brugmansia tolerates this procedure perfectly. Having got rid of damaged, diseased and dry branches, it is necessary to shorten healthy shoots by 1/3 of the length, without touching the side branches and branches with peduncles. The first pruning of a home-grown shrub is carried out the next year after flowering. Young plants do not need this.
For wintering, brugmansiya is transferred to a basement with a temperature of + 5 ÷ 10 ° C. With the onset of April, it is slowly adapted to outdoor conditions, taking it out into the garden for a few minutes.
When to sow brugmansia seeds for seedlings
The best time to sow brugmansia seeds is January-March. The plant will have enough time to germinate.
How to plant the seeds of brugmansia
The soil and containers are prepared in advance. In order for the seedlings of brugmansia to be friendly, you need to plant them correctly and provide the crops with the necessary care. Even a minor violation of planting or growing conditions can destroy the plant.
Preparation of planting tanks and soil
The soil for sowing brugmansia at home should be loose, with a neutral pH. A nutritious substrate of peat, humus and loamy soil is suitable. After mixing the soil well, it should be disinfected with a manganese solution. A drainage layer is placed at the bottom of the planting container and covered with prepared soil. It is preferable to choose containers for planting seeds without holes in the bottom in order to retain moisture in the soil longer. For subsequent transplants, it is better to choose ceramic or clay tubs. In plastic containers, the roots of brugmansia are very hot and overheated.
Seed preparation
The plant independently scatters the seeds, which are formed in the form of an oblong pod.
They ripen in September. For propagation of brugmansia by seeds, you need to hang gauze bags or food bags on the branches in advance. When the seed pod is cracked, all the material will remain inside. If the testis does not burst, you can cut it off from the bush with scissors, carefully divide it in half and remove the seeds.
Brugmansia seeds are quite unusual in appearance. They are large, irregular triangular in shape, similar to the bark. To increase the level of germination, it is recommended to soak the collected seeds for 48 hours in a solution of heteroauxin, after removing the top cover, or to hold it for a day in a mixture of aloe, honey and rainwater.
Rules for planting brugmansia from seeds
In order not to dive the seedlings, it is better to sow the seeds of brugmansia immediately into individual cups or cassettes. The glass is filled 2/3 with prepared soil, moistened and loosened. After placing the seed, lightly press it into the ground and sprinkle it on top. You need to deepen the seeds by no more than 1 cm.
If sowing is done in solid containers, without partitions, then it is recommended to spread the seeds at a distance of 3 cm from each other. Crops are moistened with clean water from a spray bottle, covered with foil and installed on a window on the south side. A lot of light and warmth are needed to improve seed germination.
To avoid moisture stagnation, the crops are aired daily and the soil moisture level is checked.
When the seeds of brugmansia sprout
With proper planting and care, at home, brugmansia seeds will germinate in 10-20 days. But this rarely happens. Usually, seedlings appear in the middle lane after 1.5 months. Many factors affect the duration of seed germination:
- freshness of planting material;
- environmental conditions (air humidity, temperature, lighting);
- the quality of crop care;
- varietal features.
As soon as the shift germinates, the shelter must be removed.
This kind of hardening will help the plant adapt to summer in the garden.
How to grow brugmansia from seeds
Growing brugmansia from seeds at home is not always effective. In addition, the cultivated plant may not fully meet the varietal characteristics. In cold climates, it makes no sense to breed tropical shrubs. The best conditions for the growth of brugmansia are in the southern countries; in the middle latitudes, it is permissible to grow a flower in home greenhouses or conservatories. A plant planted in a permanent place in open ground will die after the first wintering.
Optimal conditions for growing brugmansia from seeds
Good lighting, nutrition, watering and a suitable temperature for the shrub is the key to future success.
It is necessary to place containers with brugmansia in a well-lit place, protected from gusts of cold wind, drafts and direct rays of the sun. Insufficient lighting at home affects the color of the leaves and strongly stretches the shoots. It is not allowed to place the plant near heating devices.
It is necessary to maintain high air humidity and temperature in the room within the range of + 22 ÷ 28 ºC.Constantly monitor soil moisture. On hot days, watering is advisable in the evening.
The organization of plant wintering can be done in different ways:
- Warm wintering - means staying all winter in a room with t + 22 ÷ 25 ºC. Brugmansia needs to organize the required daylight hours with the help of lamps. Water and fertilize in the same way as in summer. In response, bugmansia will delight with long flowering.
- Cold wintering allows the plant to rest. In this case, it is necessary to maintain t + 8 ÷ 12 ºC in the room and water as needed. Brugmansia will wither and shed its leaves. With the beginning of spring budding, watering will need to be resumed.
Among the many varieties, the seeds of brugmansia aromagic white are the most adapted for home cultivation in an average climate. The tree-like shrub has become so "cultivated" that it no longer grows in nature.
Watering and feeding
Watering is the most important care step. Brugmansia needs abundant watering with warm water, since the large leaves of the plant evaporate a lot of moisture. On hot days it is recommended to water once a day every day, on cool days - 2 waterings per week are enough.
Excessive moisture causes the appearance of snails and caterpillars on the leaves, and insufficient ventilation of the room can provoke an attack of ticks. Too dry land leads to the death of the plant.
Starting from the age of two months, the seedlings are fed with ammonium nitrate. Lack of nitrogen slows down their growth, the leaves turn yellow and fall off. With the onset of flowering, potassium-phosphorus fertilizers must be applied every 7-10 days.
Picking
If the seeds are sown in a common container, picking is carried out after the appearance of the fifth true leaf. Seedlings with a small clod of soil on the roots are transplanted into individual cups and buried to the cotyledonous leaf.
The next transplant into a pot with a diameter of 10 cm will be required when the seedling outgrows the third container. Brugmansia loves transplants, so it takes root and grows better.
When to plant brugmansia in open ground
Transplanting into open ground is possible as early as April next year, when the air temperature will be at least + 5 ÷ 10ºC. In warm climates, planting brugmansia can be done in the fall of the sowing year. The transplant is carried out by transferring the plant from the tub into the ground. The selected area should be protected from drafts and direct sunlight. A hole is dug in advance, in proportion to the rhizome of the brugmansia.
After the summer season, the shrub is dug up again and transplanted into a tub, moving it to a warm room.
When brugmansia from seeds blooms
Huge flowers adorn the shrub from July to mid-December. It blooms 2-3 years after sowing. In some cases, brugmansia (pictured), grown from seeds, can bloom magnificently all summer, being a decoration of the site. The number of blooms depends on the variety and growing conditions.
Conclusion
Brugmansia sprouts from seeds at home for a long time and requires patience, but the result is worth the effort. A gorgeous bush, densely covered with huge flowers, arouses admiration and envy of neighbors and bystanders. It should be remembered that the culture is poisonous, so you need to handle it with extreme caution: do not inhale deeply the aroma, do not grow in rooms where children live.
