Growing mimulus from seeds: planting, soil selection, diving
Growing mimulus from seeds is a simple procedure that anyone can handle. With proper care, the plant will delight with long flowering and incredibly beautiful buds. How to grow mimulus from seeds at home on your own, you can learn from this article.
Description of the appearance of the flower
The most famous varieties:
- Mimulus Winter sunset. This species is distinguished by pink flowers with white accents. You can observe flowering 6-7 weeks after sowing in open ground.
- Mimulus Luteus Tigrinus mix. The most common type. The plant is highly branchy. Shoots grow up to 25 cm tall. Deciduous plates with small teeth. The buds are bright with various blotches. All of them form inflorescences that have long peduncles. When opened, the buds give off a pleasant aroma similar to the smell of musk. You can observe flowering from June to July.
- Mimulus Vaudeville. The flower is small. The maximum height of the bush is within 30 cm. The flowers are large, yellow in color. Each petal has abundant brown or red blotches. Deciduous plates are ovoid. Their diameter reaches 3 cm.
- Mimulus Luteus. The homeland of this type of plant is the lands of Chile. In nature, the bush is considered a perennial, and in our regions, it is grown as an annual. And all due to the fact that mimulus luteus does not tolerate low air temperatures. The height of an adult plant reaches 60 cm.
Mimulus large-flowered is most often used to create unusual landscape designs.
All of the above types are used for decoration rock gardens and flower beds. Flowers are also grown in containers and hanging flowerpots.
Growing mimulus from seeds
It is quite simple to grow this plant using seeds. The main thing is to decide on the landing method. Gardeners practice two sowing options: immediately on an open bed or having previously received seedlings at home.
The seeds of the lipstick should not be deepened too deep, otherwise this will negatively affect their germination.
When is the best time to sow seeds for seedlings
Sowing seeds for seedlings is carried out in special cassettes. After the procedure, they are placed in a well-lit place: a windowsill, a greenhouse, if it is heated, balcony... The sowing period is determined by the climatic zone: in the southern territories, lipstick seeds are sown at the very end of winter, but if the climate is colder, then it is necessary to wait until mid-spring (early April). It is impossible to plant grains too early, otherwise the seedlings will stretch out until the moment of planting in open ground.
Soil selection
For growing mimulus, the most acceptable is a soil mixture prepared from the following ingredients:
- 1 turf volume;
- 2 volumes of leafy land;
- 1 volume of peat;
- 1 volume of river sand;
- 3 volumes compost or humus.
If you take the ingredients in such quantities and mix, you get a soft, loose mixture that allows air to pass through well.You also need to make sure that there is a good drainage layer in the seedling containers.
How to sow miniature lipstick seeds correctly
The tiny size of the lipstick seeds determines the planting characteristics. When the grains are in the soil, the cassettes must be covered with a transparent material so that the soil mixture does not dry out. For these purposes, glass, plastic film or disposable food glasses made of plastic are quite suitable.
Mimulus leopard: growing from seeds, care of shoots
If the planting of the seeds was done according to all the rules, then the lipstick gives the first shoots in about 7-8 days. In cool conditions, at a temperature of about +180 C, sprouts will appear later.
The first watering can be carried out only after germination. Even the minimum pressure from the jet of water can damage the smallest and delicate flower seeds. It is best to use a spray bottle to moisten the soil.
After the first shoots appear from the ground, you should carefully monitor the condition of the earth, its moisture. Young flowers require soft and moist soil for good growth, but if it is too wet, it will lead to rotting of the seedlings.
When the first cotyledon leaves are formed on young plants, the seedlings are removed to a cooler room. The air temperature in the room should be within 12-150 C. This will help slow the growth of the seedlings slightly. At the same time, the seedlings are watered less, because excess moisture can destroy the flowers.
Diving seedlings into separate containers
Due to the fact that the seeds are dark and too small, they cannot be sown evenly. As a result, seedlings are close to each other and develop poorly. Therefore, when 2-3 full-fledged leaves appear, this is about 2 weeks after sowing, the seedlings must be dived. To do this, use special small pots with holes in the bottom.
When young roots begin to appear from the bottom of the containers, transplant the flowers into larger containers. Then the plant will have enough room for the full development of the root system. An excellent option for mimulus would be disposable cups of 150 or 200 ml made of plastic, paper, peat. It is recommended to plant spastic seedlings in open ground no earlier than 1.5 months after the dive. During this time, the plants will be able to gain strength and take root on the site much faster.
Each container with a volume of 150-200 mm can be planted 4 copies at a time.
Before you start diving the seedlings of mimulus, it must be watered well and wait several hours so that the entire earthen lump is evenly saturated with moisture. It is best to remove each sprout from the ground with a miniature spatula, you can try to do this with a pencil, a wooden stick. The main thing is not to take a young plant by the leg, it is better to hold it by the cotyledon leaves.
After the sprout is removed from the ground, the main root is pinched off. This simple procedure stimulates the flower to form new roots. Instances are planted in new containers with prepared soil. You need to deepen the plants just below the point of its growth. It also promotes good rooting of the seedlings and makes it easier to transplant later.
Planting mature Mimulus seedlings on a flower bed
The sponge seedlings, although tender, are easy to damage, but they have one big plus over other crops: with proper planting and care of young plants, they grow incredibly quickly. Due to this specificity, Mimulus blooms already in the 2-3 decade of May. Therefore, in order to enjoy long flowering, it is necessary to have time to transplant young specimens into open ground in time.
When to transplant Mimulus seedlings
If the weather is favorable outside, and the grains were sown early enough to get seedlings, the seedlings are transplanted into flower beds without preliminary diving. With a long winter and low air temperatures, planting plants in open ground is carried out in the second half of May. Up to this point, young flowers should grow, get stronger, and form good roots. The optimum age for transplanting seedlings outdoors is 6-8 weeks.
Seedling planting scheme
For planting lipstick seedlings, not too lit beds are chosen, since direct sunlight leads to burns of the plant and its death. Instances are placed not very close to each other, leaving gaps of about 20-25 cm.
When mimulus propagates by seedlings, the first buds can be observed already in the second half of May. The duration of flowering of such plants ranges from 3 to 4 weeks.
Mimulus is able to transform any garden, add a lot of bright colors to it. If you properly prepare the seedlings and do not violate the conditions of care, then the plant will delight you with lush flowering.