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Despite the wide variety of annuals that can be grown in personal plots, the appearance of such an exotic flower as eustoma on the market several decades ago could not go unnoticed. These flowers are very beautiful both in cut and when grown as a houseplant. Despite its beauty and exotic appearance, many were not afraid to plant it even in open ground and were not mistaken - eustoma feels good even in flower beds in regions with difficult weather conditions. For example, in the Urals, it may well decorate flower beds from July to the end of August.
As it turned out, this charming plant is almost impossible to propagate in any other way, except for seed, and therefore it is the method of growing eustoma from seeds that is the main one if you want to have this beauty at home or in the garden. But at the same time, quite a few questions arise, ranging from when to plant and ending with what and how to feed it. This article will tell you about all the nuances of growing eustoma from seeds.
Description and features
The homeland of Eustoma is Central America, in nature it can also be found in the southern states of the United States, Mexico and the northern part of South America. The plant belongs to the gentian family and is a perennial. In Russian climatic conditions, it is usually grown as an annual, since it is rather difficult to keep it in rooms with central heating in winter. But it is quite possible for owners of private houses with cool and bright verandas. But still, over the years, eustoma loses its attractiveness, so it is best to renew it every year from seed.
The unopened eustoma flowers most of all resemble a rose, hence, many peoples have such names as “Irish rose”, “French rose”, “Japanese rose”, etc. One of the varieties, Roussel's eustoma, has an additional name - lisianthus. Therefore, often all the most luxuriously flowering forms of eustoma are also called lisianthus.
This flower has many varieties of a wide variety of colors. But for flower growers, the most important thing is to know that there are two main groups of eustoma - dwarf, no more than 25-30 cm in height, for indoor cultivation and cutting, up to 1 meter high, which are ideal for growing in the garden. The leaves of these plants are of a very attractive bluish-blue hue, and the flowers themselves can be either regular in shape or double.
Despite the fact that growing eustoma from seeds is generally no more difficult than growing petunias familiar to everyone from childhood, this flower still has several features. First of all, eustoma has a very long growing season. This means that from emergence to flowering, it takes an average of 5 to 6 months. Low-growing eustoma varieties have a slightly shorter growing season. And in recent years, early flowering hybrids have appeared, which are able to bloom almost 4 months after sowing. However, at this point you need to pay attention when buying eustoma seeds. And sowing its seeds for seedlings must be done at the earliest possible date, no later than February, and preferably in January or even in December.
It is worth paying attention to the size of the eustoma seeds. She has them even less than that of the same petunia. They can be called simply dusty. For example, while about 6-8 thousand petunia seeds are placed in one gram, there are about 15-20 thousand eustoma seeds for the same unit of weight. You can see what eustoma seeds look like in this photo.
Due to the microscopic size of the seeds, producers often subject them to additional processing by wrapping them in special granules. In addition to the convenience of handling them, the granules also help the seeds germinate and survive in the first stage of life, since they contain special fertilizers and growth stimulants.
Different sowing methods
There are several ways to plant eustoma for seedlings. The article below will describe all possible methods and techniques to facilitate seed germination. You can choose any method you like, or, if you plan to plant a lot of seeds, then try partially all of them to see which one is best for your conditions. On average, they all work, so it is difficult to call any of them the best, much depends on the habits of the gardener himself, as well as on the conditions that he can create for the seedlings and on the amount of time he can devote to it.
Peat tablets
For beginner gardeners who do not yet have sufficient experience in growing seedlings, but, nevertheless, really want to grow this flower at home, we can recommend sowing eustoma seeds in peat tablets for seedlings. In general, with an average germination rate of granular eustoma seeds of about 80%, in peat tablets the germination rate can reach 100%. Yes, and the further process of caring for seedlings and picking is somewhat easier. The only drawback can be considered the high price for good quality peat tablets, but with small planting volumes, this price will more than justify itself.
For sowing in this way, in addition to the actual peat tablets and eustoma seeds, you will also need either a general, relatively deep container, such as a pallet, or the number of disposable cups according to the number of peat tablets used. After soaking peat tablets increase in size by 6-8 times.
So, the scheme for sowing eustoma seeds in peat tablets is as follows:
- Place the required amount of dry peat pellets into a deep pan without holes, equal to the amount of seeds you are going to sow.
- To maintain optimal humidity conditions, an approximately one centimeter layer of vermiculite can be poured onto the bottom of the tray before placing the tablets there. Please note that in most cases there are five (rarely ten) eustoma seeds in one bag of granular seeds.
- Gently and gradually pour a small amount of settled warm water into the tray with tablets. If desired, instead of water, you can take a solution of epin, zircon, HB-101 or energene-extra.
- Wait until the pills begin to saturate with moisture and increase in size. If necessary, top up with water until the growth of the tablets stops in height.
- Leave the tray of tablets to fully absorb for 15-20 minutes.
- If there is very little liquid left in the pan, then you do not need to drain it. Otherwise, it is best to carefully remove it from the pallet.
- If you poured vermiculite on the bottom, add water gradually, constantly monitoring the increase in the volume of the tablets as you add water.
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Pour the eustoma seeds from the bag onto a saucer and carefully using tweezers or a damp match, move each seed into the depression in the center of the swollen tablet.
- Slightly press the granule into the swollen peat.
- There is no need to cover or sprinkle the seeds.
- Place a piece of glass or polycarbonate on top of the pallet or cover it with any other transparent material.
- Place the tray with tablets in a warm (+ 21 ° + 24 ° C) and always bright place.
As mentioned, you can place each tablet in a disposable cup, soak it in the same way, and after placing the seed in the top recess of the tablet, cover the cup with a plastic bag.
Therefore, do not place the seed tray on a cold windowsill, but for good illumination, it is advisable to immediately place it under a lamp with an additional light source.
Often, after germination of seeds, if the required moisture has not been observed, "caps" of granules remain at the tips of the sprouts. Never try to remove them mechanically. Tiny sprouts only need to be thoroughly sprayed using the finest spray possible. From getting wet, the "caps" will fall apart by themselves.
But if you do not want this effect to be repeated, you can additionally spray the seeds a little after they have been placed on top of the peat tablet. And after waiting a minute, gently, using a match, spread the contents of the granules on the surface of the tablet.
The video below shows in detail the process of sowing eustoma seeds in peat tablets.
Traditional sowing method
If you are dealing with a fairly large volume of seeds, more than 5-10 packs, and you have many other seedlings that require space under the lamps, then you can use the most traditional growing method in small plastic containers with transparent lids.
In this case, you will also need a nutritious soil.
If you prefer to deal with ready-made soil mixtures, then Saintpaulia or room violet soil can be used to plant eustoma seeds. In the future, the process proceeds as follows:
- Before sowing seeds, sift a small part of the soil through a fine sieve.
- Fill the prepared container about half with the soil mixture and tamp it quite tightly.
- At the first stage, it is not necessary to make drainage holes in the germination container, since the eustoma needs a lot of moisture for germination.
- Moisten the mixture very well with a spray bottle so that it becomes practically wet, but you still need not allow swamps.
- On top, pour a layer of 0.5 cm of sifted earth and also lightly compact it.
- Lightly dampen the top coat with a spray bottle.
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Gently spread the eustoma seeds on its surface, slightly pressing them into the ground.
- From above, the seeds must also be slightly moistened with a spray bottle and the container must be closed with a transparent lid.
Seeds can be placed on the surface of the substrate in a variety of ways. You can simply unfold them by pressing lightly. If there are a lot of seeds, then it is better to use two other methods:
- Prepare a small board and, sprinkling the seeds in rows every 1-2 cm, then slightly press them down with the end of the board.
- With the help of the end of the plank, you make depressions in the ground in the form of rows, 2-3 mm deep. You spread seeds in them and sprinkle them with a microscopic layer of calcined river sand.
Sprinkling the seeds with river sand calcined in an oven or microwave is very useful, since it allows you to remove some problems in the future when sprouts appear. On the one hand, the sand dries quickly after watering, on the other hand, it keeps the soil moisture underneath. Thus, the very bases of the shoots are kept relatively dry, while the roots are constantly moist.This reduces the risk of blackleg and other fungal diseases that eustoma seedlings are prone to.
Other variations on the theme of landing
The previous option for sowing eustoma seeds is good for everyone, except that the seedlings will have to dive sooner or later. For those who treat this procedure with prejudice, it is advisable to sow the seeds immediately in separate cups. These can be any fairly high capacity. Recently, a method of sowing small seeds in homemade cups, twisted from dense polyethylene or even from a thin (2 mm) plastic substrate under the laminate and fixed with a stapler or tape, has become widespread.
The advantage of the latter is that the seedlings in them develop before planting in the ground, and before planting, the attachment of the cups is removed, and the eustoma bushes, while preserving the entire root system, can be relatively painlessly moved to the flower bed.
Tanks with ready-made, well-compacted soil are installed in a deep pallet, spill well, and in the future, the sowing method resembles planting in peat tablets.
This method of sowing eustoma is well illustrated in the following video:
Experienced growers often spill soil with boiling water before planting seeds. It is argued that this technique can promote faster seed germination.
In recent years, another interesting way of planting eustoma seeds has appeared - in glass jars. Usually, for planting seeds of one variety from one bag, an ordinary half-liter jar is taken, as for twisting. A 2-3 cm layer of vermiculite is poured onto its bottom, then 7-9 cm of light, but nutritious crumbly soil. From above, everything is well moistened, and it is easy to trace the level of soil moisture through the transparent walls of the jar. Eustoma seeds are placed on the surface of the moistened soil, sprayed on top and the jar is tightly closed with a light nylon lid.
Eustoma care after germination
Eustoma seeds can germinate for quite a long time, up to 20 days. Although in some favorable conditions, the first shoots may appear as early as 8-10 days. After the emergence of seedlings, the temperature, if possible, can be reduced to + 18 ° + 20 ° С, at night it can even be up to + 15 ° С.
It is important to regularly, once a day, remove it for ventilation and remove condensation from the inner surface of the lid. This must be done before seed germination, while simultaneously controlling the moisture content of the substrate.
The first sprouts of eustoma are as tiny as the seeds themselves. They are even difficult to distinguish on the soil surface. And the development of plants in the first weeks is very slow. But, given that eustomas are insanely demanding on the nutrient medium, the first feeding can be started quite early, literally 1-2 weeks after germination.
When watering, it is best to use not just water to moisten the soil, but a solution with Energen or other nutritious stimulants (EM preparations, Chlorella, Agate, vermicompost, etc.)
When 4 small leaves appear on the seedlings, this is the most suitable moment for picking, since it is during this period that the eustoma is relatively good at this procedure, which cannot be said about the later stages of its development. If you grow eustoma in peat tablets, then picking should be started when the first roots appear from below. In the case of peat tablets, you simply transfer them along with the plants into larger containers.
In other cases, picking is carried out using toothpicks or a suitable tool from a manicure set.
The next day after the seedlings are sorted into separate containers or when they are about 2-3 weeks old, it is advisable to feed the eustoma with a solution of calcium nitrate.
To do this, the mother liquor is first prepared (1 tbsp. Spoon per 1 liter of water), which is infused in a dark bottle for a day.To feed eustoma seedlings, 10 ml of this solution is added to 0.5 liters of water.
If, after the pick, the eustoma does not feel well or grows poorly, you can spray it with any stimulant and place it again under the bag or in the greenhouse.
In the future, every week, eustoma seedlings need regular feeding. To do this, you can use twice as much diluted as according to the instructions solutions of any complex water-soluble fertilizers (Uniflor growth, Fertika, Kristallon, Plantofol, Solution and others).
Thus, it is quite possible to grow eustoma from seeds, you just need to stock up on perseverance and patience.
