Cultivating Flowers - Part 1

Flower gardening at home demands a considerable amount of time, enthusiasm, endurance and constancy in gardening from people. But if the love for breeding Flowers is there for genuine, then gardening becomes as natural as breathing to a person. But certain requisites and gardening criteria must be kept in mind for initiating an endeavor to cover a plot of land with nature's best adornment - blossoms.

Annual Flowers and Perennial Flowers are the two varieties of Flowers that are bred in gardens. The Annual Flowering plants sprout from a seed, mature, reproduce Flowers and then die - all during one growing season. Perennial Flowering plants shoot out in the first growing season but don't blossom in that year. Their root-life resides underground in a dormant but living way for many years. These plants can wither away in one winter, but due to their living root-system, the very next spring they can bloom Flowers. Once planted, Perennial Flowering plants are able to re-live and blossom for many growing seasons to come. For growing of both these Flowers, having a well-prepared garden land that has a clear surface free of any stones, weeds and twigs matters most and also stands important the double-digging of the garden bed. Double-digging is the process of digging down the garden's soil to the depth of 12 feet to create the climatic ambience in which the roots of the plants breathe and mature properly. To accomplish this process, from the starting of the Flower bed till its end 3 gorges are dug and each is soil-filled with the soil collected from the previous one and in between a Garden Fork is used to untie the soil from the surface of the land. For a healthy root-life of a plant, double-digging is a prime important factor. In addition to these two requirements growing of Flowers also require the proper supply of light and shade, the right amount of water nourishment, the correct fertilizer and the ideal weather condition.

For annual Flowering plants, when the garden becomes ready for plantation, hardy annual seeds (Ex: Calendula and Snapdragons) need to be implanted directly into the garden soil during the time period of early to middle of the season spring, half-hardy annual seeds (Ex: Statice and Chrysanthemum) require a temperature of not below 25 �F (3.89 �C) to thrive in the garden land and therefore can be sown on the land only after the gloomy winter days end. Breeding of tender annual seeds (Ex: Zinnias and SunFlowers) in the land demands the climate of the departing spring or arriving summer when the temperature during night does not cross the mark of 40 �F (4.44 �C). The speed at which an annual seed germinates is also a cardinal factor to decide whether to start breeding the seed outdoors or indoors. For the seeds that consume a time frame of 80-90 days to sprout, it is advisable to start their breeding indoors so that they can be brought outdoors after starting to shoot out and made to bloom before the frost. For the seeds that bud very quickly within 50-60 days, outdoor plantation suits perfectly. The soil condition with a pH balance between 6.3 and 6.7 is the fitting one for the maturing of the annual Flowering plants. Nutrient-rich mixes, 3-6 inches of manure or peat moss and other healthy organic fertilizers help the soil to attain this ph balance. Most of the annual Flowering plants require 6-8 hours of full day sunlight to bloom, but some others, for example the begonia Flowers flourish well under the shade. Seeds of annual Flowering plants require the land surrounding them to be kept wet by water, but pots of water around them or water over them are injurious for their life.

Seeds of perennial Flowering plants need to be implanted before 45-30 days of the first freezing weather, for allowing the seeds to sprout and adapt themselves for living the whole of the upcoming winter. Potted perennial seedlings reside best in hollow containers like egg cartons that are filled with Vermiculite (Hydrated Laminar Minerals like Aluminum-Iron Magnesium Silicates) or Milled Spahgnum Moss and an ideal seed starting mix before the perennial seed is sowed there. The natural rays of Sun are highly effective for the full-fledged bloom of the perennial plants. On days when the temperature rises above 40 �C, perennial seedlings can be kept outside under a moist shade for a length of time and on days when the temperature is above 50 �C, perennial seedlings can enjoy the light for the whole day and can be taken indoors during the night. Perennial seedlings survive well on one-time (Spring time) feeding of a fertilizer having a 5-10-5 ratio of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium and the grown-up plants require just a handful of a good organic fertilizer. Yearly or Two-yearly application of aged manure or other alloyed mix enrich the quality of the soil of the perennial Flowering garden and also aids the plants at water storage. How well the land of the perennial Flower garden has been mulched determine the water requisite of the plants. If the land is mulched well, then watering the plants become a minimal criteria. However, in extremely dry and hot regions, intense watering is needed for the perennial plants to live. In such weather conditions, water hoses and underground irrigation system are the two best options for watering a perennial Flower garden.

Mulching - This is the process of covering the surface of a barren land or the land around plants with a layer of organic compounds or synthetic materials for preserving the humidity, enhancing the productivity of the soil, to control harmful and toxic pests and to make the area a visual pleasure. Organic compounds such as Hays, Straws, Shredded Bark, Shells and Sawdust are used and synthetic materials like Plastic Sheets, Cardboards and Recycled Tire Rubbers are availed to mulch the soil, which when done with real labor, assuredly magnifies the soil quality and texture.

Just like human body needs healthful food to live life and work with all the energy and strength, so also plants, be it annual or perennial, need a sufficient supply of good fertilizers to Flower properly. A fertilizer which has the N-P-K (Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) Ratio at 5-5-5 (equal share of all nutrients) is the perfect one that infuses into the plants all the nutrition they demand for flourishing.

A garden attired with an array of entrancing blossoms is a real ''bliss of solitude'' as the beauty and incense of the blossoms turn the garden into a real soulful place for total rejuvenation of the fortunate owner or the lucky visitor. But these bewitching blooms do require to be attended to time-to-time so that their inherent amazement does not wither away with the changes of weather and they continue to daze and soothe human minds.

Following 4-5 floriculture techniques result, in reality, in safe-guarding the grace of a Flower garden. A note on these techniques is given below:
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Posted by: DelhiOnlineFlorists.com

Posted on: 4/8/2019 4:39:12 AM

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