Content
Calibrachoa is a semi-shrub herb, which until 1993 was considered a species of petunia, then the culture was identified as a separate genus. In ornamental gardening, ampelous varieties are often used for vertical gardening, and the culture is also grown as a ground cover plant. Propagated vegetatively, since calibrachoa can only be rooted by cuttings.
Is it possible to graft calibrachoa
A beautifully flowering plant is represented by numerous hybrids with all kinds of flower colors, they are used for landscape design and vertical decoration. It is unlikely that it will be possible to get seeds from an artificially bred variety.
The vegetation of the crop is focused on the formation of flowers, and not on the laying of seeds. If the material was collected, then the young plant will be radically different from the mother variety. The generative method is used in breeding work to create new varieties. Seed germination is poor, seedlings are weak, requires special care, seedlings rarely live to adulthood. Unlike petunia, which reproduces fully generatively and vegetatively, the only method of rooting calibrachoa is by cuttings. Cutting is the best propagation method, taking into account the high survival rate of the plant.
Features of growing calibrachoa from cuttings at home
To obtain a well-developed, abundantly flowering dwarf shrub, a number of rules must be observed in the process of cuttings. The material is planted in pre-prepared soil:
- The basis will be the acquired soil for seedlings, it is rubbed through a metal sieve with large cells, as a result, a homogeneous substrate without hard fragments is obtained.
- To improve the aeration of the soil, sifted river sand (30% of the total mass) is added to it.
- The next component will be agroperlite, it absorbs excess moisture, and when there is insufficient soil moisture, it gives back water. Natural material is added at the rate of 600 g per 2 kg of soil.
Before grafting, the composition of the nutrient mixture should not be dry or waterlogged.
It is necessary to choose the right moment for grafting. Shoots should not be grassy, brittle. Such material takes root poorly or does not take root at all. Strongly woody ones are also not suitable. Shoots are taken strong, flexible, resilient.
When propagating calibrachoa by cuttings at home, certain requirements must be met. To create a greenhouse effect, the cuttings are placed in a mini-greenhouse. Before planting, a drug that stimulates root growth is used.
When is it better to cut calibrachoa
Flowering hybrids are grown as an annual plant, so the harvesting of planting material is carried out twice a season. At the end of summer, cuttings are necessary for laying queen cells. In the spring, they will serve as material for the next cuttings. The activities are repeated every year.
Cuttings of calibrachoa in autumn
Cutting calibrachoa for the winter is necessary to obtain queen cells. Work is carried out in July, when the plant is at its peak flowering. At this time, the dwarf shrub is considered the most powerful for grafting.By autumn, the planting material will take root, give several shoots, it is planted in separate containers. Plastic cups (250 g) or disposable flower pots will work.
For the winter, the containers are placed in a well-lit room with a temperature of + 15 ÷ 17 ° C. In this temperature regime, the growing season does not stop, but slows down, the plant forms shoots of sufficient strength for further propagation, at the same time it does not have time to give buds.
Cuttings of calibrachoa in spring
Calibrachoa begin to propagate in spring in the first half of March. All stems of the mother plant are used for this purpose. The material should take root 20 days after cutting and planting. The beginning of the formation of green mass becomes a signal for the seedlings to dive into individual pots. The mother plant is not preserved after cuttings.
After transplantation, the calibrachoa not only takes root well, but also rapidly builds up the root system. After placing the culture in the place of growth, micronutrients are completely spent on crown formation and flowering.
How to propagate calibrachoa by cuttings
The key to 100% rooting of the culture will be the correct cuttings. Autumn and spring work on cuttings is carried out according to the same scheme, the requirements for planting material also do not differ. In addition to the classical variant of planting stems in the ground, propagation by calibrachoa by cuttings can be carried out by rooting the material in water.
Cut tops with a length of 8-10 cm are placed in a container, the water is changed once every 4 days. After 14 days, the first thin roots should appear. This method of grafting is unproductive, the material planted in the ground does not always take root.
Rules for harvesting cuttings
At the end of summer, stems suitable for rooting are selected from the crown of an adult plant. In early spring, all shoots are suitable for obtaining planting material from the mother plant. Calibrachoa cuttings step by step:
- 3-5 leaf nodes are left on the top.
- Cut off the stem.
- All the lower leaves are removed along with the rudiments of new shoots, if there are buds, they are also disposed of.
- Leave the top and two subsequent leaves.
- The stalk should be 4-5 cm long.
- To reduce the evaporation area, the leaves left on the stem are shortened by ½ the length.
Preparing cuttings
The stalk should not be long, 2.5 cm will go to ground, another 1 cm should remain before the leaf node after planting. The excess part is cut off. If the stem is too short, you will have to fill up the leaves, and they will rot in the soil, and such a cutting will not take root.
If the planting material is too long, the upper part will fall to the surface of the soil, which will lead to a violation of the integrity of the soil at the rooting site, this will lead to the death of the seedling. For better development of the root system, before placing in the ground, the lower part is immersed in water and in Kornevin powder.
Landing
The sequence of planting calibrachoa by cuttings:
- The prepared mixture is poured into the container, compacted well.
- Make round indentations, you can use a ballpoint pen for this. Planting scheme 5 * 5 cm.
- A plant is placed vertically in each mini-hole, carefully sprinkled with soil so that there is no void near the stem.
- To prevent root rot, each seedling is watered with Fitosporin solution.
- After watering, the soil should settle, and the leaf heel should remain on the surface.
If the plant is planted in a special planting mini-greenhouse, it is covered with a film on top, if in a simple container, then it is placed in a plastic box and covered with a film with pre-made ventilation holes. When planting in spring, the structure is placed in a bright room with a temperature of at least + 20 0C. In autumn cuttings, the material is left in a shaded place.
After 30 days, the rooted plant will sprout and become cramped in the planting container. Saplings dive into separate containers.
Care
Water the plant under the root with warm water 1 time in 4 days, the substrate should not be moistened excessively, but it should not be allowed to dry out either. The correctness of the mode is determined by the film, the humidity under it should be high, but without the accumulation of condensation. Every day, in the morning or in the evening, the plant is sprayed with a spray bottle. Zircon is added to the water 1 week before planting.
Every three days, the covering material is lifted for air circulation, after 20 days the film is removed completely. In order for the crown to turn out to be rounded in the future, before diving with the calibrachoa, break the top of the head on each stem.
Open ground transplant
After correct cuttings, the plant will fully take root and in the spring will be ready for planting in pots or on a plot. In the absence of a threat of return frosts in May, calibrachoa are planted in the ground.
The plant is thermophilic, but does not respond well to a completely open space. The landing site should be periodically shaded. The soil should be fertile, slightly acidic, neutral, moderately moist soils with satisfactory aeration are suitable.
If the purpose of planting is vertical gardening, the pots are chosen taking into account the fact that the crown of the shrub reaches a diameter of 0.5 m or more, and the stems can grow up to 1.5 meters. The bottom of the flower pot is covered with expanded clay, the soil mixture is the same that was used for cuttings. If the calibrachoa is planted on the site, the recess is made 10 cm wider than the dive pot and 15 cm deeper.
Landing:
- If the container is disposable, cut it.
- Carefully take out a seedling.
- A part of the substrate is poured onto the drainage from above, the calibrachoa is placed along with an earthen lump.
- The pot or hole is filled with the substrate gradually so that there is no void.
- After planting, the plant is watered with organic fertilizer.
Conclusion
Calibrachoa can be rooted in autumn and spring by grafting. The plant has a high survival rate, it responds well to transplantation. Grows rapidly, forms numerous shoots. Blooms from late June to September, abundant flowering. The plant is used as a ground cover version of landscape design and for vertical gardening of loggias, verandas, gazebos. A video on grafting calibrachoa will help to properly propagate a decorative herbaceous shrub and achieve a high rate of rooting of planting material.
