Many summer residents themselves without knowing it have long been familiar with aquilegia - a medium-sized representative of buttercups. For many years it can grow inconspicuously on the site, successfully multiplying self-sowing, but one should only think about cultural cultivation, there is 1000 and 1 question: is it possible for a plant aquilegia to grow from seeds, when to plant and how to care?
Aquilegia - growing from seeds
The main difficulty in the cultivation of the eagle or the catchment area (known under these names is aquilegia among the people) is the very poor seed germination. After two months of storage, only half of them germinate, and the last year's sowing material must be stratified before planting. When breeding aquilegia from seeds at home, half the success lies in the right timing for sowing. There are two options:
- Autumn planting . In the event that you have a freshly harvested in-plant material at hand, it makes sense to try the podzimni sowing orlika. This is the easiest and most productive way to breed a plant aquilegia growing from seeds, when it can be planted already after 1,5-2 months after harvesting, sowing directly into the open ground. The rest of the care for the nursing will be postponed until the spring, then successfully landed over the snow and sprouted seeds successfully from the ground.
- Spring planting . If you plant under the winter it is impossible for any reasons to prefer a seedling method. In this case, the prescription of seed material collection is not of decisive importance, since before sowing it will pass stratification, and if necessary, scarification.
When to plant aquilegia for seedlings?
The terms of planting aquilegia for seedlings are chosen proceeding from the fact that the seedlings, by the time of disembarkation into the open ground (mid-May), must grow stronger, acquire a pair of true leaves, but do not stretch out too much, otherwise the acclimatization process risks passing with complications. When to plant an aquilegia when growing from seed? The ideal time to sow the catchment in seedlings is in March, but the preparatory work (stratification, scarification) starts a month before - in early February-late January.
Stratification of seeds of aquilegia at home
Experienced growers recommend using one of two ways how to stratify the seeds of aquilegia:
- Cold stratification . Washed seeds are mixed with disinfected (calcined in the oven) clean sand, moistened and placed in a cold place for 30 days. As a source of cold, you can use both a vegetable box in the refrigerator and a conventional snowdrift. Alternatively, you can simply store the inoculum at a temperature of + 10 ° C all the time from the time of collection.
- Warm stratification . Prepared seeds (washed and mixed with wet sand) are sent for a month to a place with a temperature of + 35 ° C. Note that this method is more suitable for seeds with an underdeveloped embryo and does not give such a good result as cold stratification.
Germination of aquilegia seeds at home
During the germination for aquilegia, both excessive heat and sharp frosts can be equally pernicious. Optimum conditions for seed germination are: scattered lighting, temperature at +16 ... +18 ° C and moderate humidity. During this period, the substrate in the seedlings should provide the amount of moisture necessary for development, but not be too wet to not provoke the development of putrefactive processes.
Aquilegia - planting and care
Having dealt with questions such as aquilegia, growing from seeds, when planting and how to prepare pre-sowing material, you can safely proceed to planting works. To grow aquilegia from seed, it is necessary to prepare seedlings:
- Deep landing tanks . The catchment area has a long and fragile root system, so there must be a place for its free development in the seedling box. To less damage to the roots when transplanting into the open ground, it is recommended to sow the aquila sprouts immediately on separate pots, then removing the weaker seedlings.
- Loose nutrient soil . This plant will be comfortable both in the universal seedling soil and in soil mixtures of domestic production: equal shares of sod, leaf soil, humus and sand.
How to sow aquilega on seedlings at home?
The process of sowing seeds of aquilegia for seedlings will not cause difficulties even for a budding floriculturist:
- Prepared seeds are mixed with sand and / or snow and neatly distributed over the surface of the pre-moistened earth.
- The crops are sprinkled with a thin layer of soil mixture or slightly pressed into it during distribution. Do not deepen them, it can complicate the already difficult process of germination.
- Organize a mini-greenhouse: the container with crops is covered with glass or polyethylene and placed in a cool and well-lit place. It should be remembered that the direct sunlight of aquilegia is contraindicated - the lighting should be scattered. As soon as the first sprouts of the cover are pushed out of the ground, it will be possible to remove it.
- Watering is carried out with a spray gun as the soil dries out, trying not to wash out its top layer. Such a drinking regime should be maintained until the seedlings are planted in the open ground. Stagnation of water in a seedling box can lead to the development of a black leg that can kill all crops in a very short time.
How long do the seeds of aquilegia come up?
Given the difficulties with germination, the question is how much the aquilegia is one of the most vital. Under optimal conditions (temperature in the range of +16 ... +18 ° С, moderate humidity, diffuse illumination) this process takes about 15-20 days. The lack of the necessary amount of moisture and low temperature can tighten it for another 7-10 days.
Picks of aquilegia
Over time, there is a need to dilute the dense crops of the catchment area, settling seedlings on separate pots. When to dive aquilegia? It is best to do this in the phase of two leaves, when not fully formed root system is still not so terrible damage. In the process of picking, it makes sense to plant aquilegia on peat or paper pots, so that together with them and then plant the seedlings on the garden. So the roots of the seedlings will suffer less, or higher will be their survival in the open ground.