Don’t know how to properly grow strong summer seedlings? Our article will help you avoid making mistakes and get a beautiful flower garden.
Using attractive annuals, you can create a bed of continuous flowering. To do this, the first step is to determine the optimal time for sowing seeds for seedlings. Plants that bloom within a couple of months after sowing (verbena, gatsania, lipweed, coleus, bluebell, pelargonium, sparkling salvia, fragrant tobacco, snapdragon, cineraria maritima) are sown in January-February. But mass sowing of annuals occurs in March and April.
Ode to annuals
Summer residents who have recently joined the ranks of flower growers, as a rule, start with the same thing - by visiting various garden centers, Internet sites, exhibitions, and collectors' sites.
After all, there are so many interesting plants on offer (mostly perennials) that “you just can’t pass by”! An article on the topic “Who lives in the little house?” What is fashionable to plant in flowerpots
Alas, the “buying rage” is often far ahead of planning plantings and understanding which plants will actually feel good and look beautiful in your garden.
Therefore, the first advice to gardeners (and especially beginners): do not rush to immediately purchase a lot of perennial flowers! Limit yourself to those whose planting sites have already been prepared. And the craving for variety can easily be satisfied with annuals. Most of these crops are not difficult to cultivate, their range can be updated annually, thereby changing the appearance of the garden - a great help in planning! In addition, annuals are so bright and beautiful that it is difficult to imagine any garden or flower garden without them: from the simplest to the most sophisticated.
These gorgeous dahlias can be grown from seed! F1 'Hello Gorgous Shades'. Photo: AiF/ Elena Kolesnikova
How to Plant Flower Seeds: Where to Buy Seeds
Now that you know when and how to grow indoor and outdoor plants from seeds, it's time to collect some seeds. To choose the flowers you'd like to grow, check out our Flower Planting Guide.
When growing flowers from seeds, bulbs, cuttings or transplants, always purchase your planting material from a safe place to ensure the following:
- Do you know what kind of flower or plant you planted?
- Flowers or seeds come from a healthy source (i.e. they are properly matured)
There are several places to buy your seeds both online and offline...
- Your neighbors. Are you impressed by your neighbor's flower garden? Ask them where they get their seeds or seedlings. They may even give you free flowers the next time they divide their perennials.
- Local nurseries or garden centers
- Seed catalogs (offline and online).
Raising virgin soil
Summer gardens are especially useful when you are going to start a flower garden in a new area with uncultivated soil. Many novice flower growers have the opinion that it is better to start with perennial plants: they say, once you plant them, no worries. But what is really happening? After all, even if you don’t get involved with capricious crops, of which there are quite a few among perennials, but plant the most undemanding species and varieties, but in a poorly prepared place, then:
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– in flower beds of perennial plants, you do not have the opportunity to dig the soil deeply with the addition of organic fertilizers and thereby improve it;
– weeds, the seeds and pieces of rhizomes of which are difficult to get rid of in one digging of the soil, are intertwined with roots with cultivated plants, and removing them can be very difficult;
– in new areas it is difficult to immediately plan flower beds, and moving perennial bushes from place to place is often not very easy.
The second piece of advice naturally follows from this: start “developing virgin soil” by planting annual flowers. Indeed, as a result of autumn or spring digging of flower beds with the addition of organic matter, you can significantly increase the fertility and structure of the soil and clear the area of most weeds.
Convinced? Are you already going to the store to buy seeds? And for which ones?
Calendula medicinal series 'Pacific'. Photo: AiF/ Elena Kolesnikova
Growing and care
In order for the planted seedlings to grow well and quickly, they need at least minimal care. Flower plants, like all plants, are very heat-loving; they love fertilized soils, abundant watering and timely fertilizing. Top up flower seedlings with humate or a solution of chicken manure to improve growth. You can add ammonium nitrate and superphosphate. Watering and loosening should be done as needed, trying not to over-moisten the soil and not injure the plant when loosening. It is recommended to carefully cut off the faded buds with the stem without damaging the main root and remove them. This rejuvenates the plant, new buds appear and bloom again. Varieties of annual flowers have been developed that are propagated by layering and seedlings. If such varieties are planted in a flowerbed or there is a goal to plant a plant, then you should prepare a place in advance for laying layering and planting a seedling.
Smart choice
When selecting summer plants for spring planting, you should not buy all the seed packets with the photos you like in a row. First, evaluate your capabilities: can you grow them without unnecessary hassle?
It is better for an inexperienced or busy gardener to pay attention to those species that are sown directly into the ground. These are: pink helipterum (acroclinum), calendula, cosmos, clarkia, lavatera, annual poppies, matthiola, blue cornflower, godetia, dimorphotheca, eschscholzia, venidium, nemesia, iberis, mignonette, etc. In central Russia you can go straight to the flower garden sow some “seedling” crops - callistephus (annual aster), marigolds, especially b. rejected, helychrysums, zinnias, Drummond phlox, sweet peas and some other species, but in this case their flowering will come late, only in the second half, or even at the end of summer.
Question answer
How are annuals sown?
Crops grown through seedlings are somewhat more complex than the previous ones. However, they, in turn, can also be divided into several groups. Seedlings of such species as marigolds, zinnias, amaranths, annual dahlias, coleus, celosia, and annual chrysanthemums are the easiest to grow. Their seeds are sown in boxes (on window sills, loggias) or in the soil of greenhouses in mid-April, and planted in the ground at the end of May, when the threat of return frosts has passed.
The next group of summer growers has a longer period of obtaining high-quality seedlings and requires a little more patience and experience. Their seeds are sown about a month earlier - in mid-March, boxes with crops are placed on light windowsills or in greenhouses. Such crops include ageratum, alyssum, arctotis, annual aster, verbena, gatsania, Chinese carnation, helichrysum, sweet pea, kochia, gillyflower, lobelia, snapdragon, perilla, petunia, salvia, sweet tobacco, Drummond phlox.
And finally, the last group includes species that have the longest period of development in seedlings. They are sown in January - February in heated greenhouses or indoors on special racks with light installations. For the first month or two, boxes with crops and seedlings must be illuminated with special lamps, since otherwise the seedlings stretch out and die. Such crops include: Chabot carnation, tuberous begonia, viola (Vitrocca violet), statice, heliotrope, fuchsia and some other species. I would not recommend growing them from seeds to inexperienced gardeners.
Question answer
What annual plants can add variety to the garden?
Answers to frequently asked questions
What flowers should I plant in my dacha if I rarely go there?
Marigolds and marigolds are best suited in this case. These are very unpretentious and drought-resistant flowers. They will have enough precipitation.
What flowers are the most beautiful?
This is purely a matter of taste. Some people like marigolds, while others prefer snapdragons.
What flowers should I sow?
If you are a beginner gardener, then do not immediately start planting exotic plants. Start with nasturtium, calendula, marigold, cornflower, etc., which are familiar to our climate. They bloom quickly and withstand bad weather.
Calendula
Calendula officinalis (Calendula officinalis) is one of the most common and well-known plants, blooming in abundance in country flower beds and rural front gardens. Over many centuries of cultivation, dozens, if not hundreds, of calendula varieties have been created, differing in plant size - from low, border plants, about 25–30 cm in height, to large bushes up to 80 cm in height; the form of inflorescences, which can be non-double, chamomile-shaped, and double, imbricated and even anemone-shaped. But the greatest variety is in its color: from the common yellow, orange, apricot to cream, dark brown, burgundy, pinkish or greenish, plain or variegated.
Calendula officinalis 'Apricot Twist'. Photo: AiF/ Elena Kolesnikova
Where to plant?
In the garden, calendula looks good in front gardens, mixed borders, flower beds, ornamental gardens, and annual flower lawns. Low-growing varieties can be grown on balconies and in containers, and made into borders and borders. In addition, its inflorescences are excellent for cutting.
By the way
If you do not have the desire or opportunity to grow seedlings of annual flowers yourself, they can be purchased at numerous markets and garden centers.
How to grow?
Calendula is an extremely undemanding crop and easy to cultivate. Its seeds are sown in open ground from April to June inclusive, and also before winter - in November. It is better to choose a bright place for it; it is undemanding to soil, although it prefers neutral loams. If the seedlings turn out to be too dense, it is advisable to thin them out to a distance of 5–10 cm. Plants should be watered moderately, only in dry times. On nutrient-poor soils, it is advisable to feed them once every 2–3 weeks with complex mineral fertilizers. Flowering of plants begins 45–50 days after sowing and continues until late autumn.
What's in a name?
In its homeland, in the Mediterranean countries, calendula blooms all year round, which is why it got its name: calendae translated from Latin means “the first day of every month.” The Russian name - 'marigold' - was given to the plant for the shape of its seeds, which actually resemble the claws of animals and birds.
Calendula officinalis 'Orange Button'. Photo: AiF/ Elena Kolesnikova
This is interesting
Calendula is a valuable medicinal plant. Gargling with an infusion of its inflorescences perfectly heals a sore throat, compresses with a decoction of calendula will help to quickly heal wounds, bruises and dislocations, and calendula extract is widely used in cosmetic products for skin and hair care.
How to sow annual flowers for seedlings?
Key points to pay attention to:
- Soil preparation.
- Preparation of material for planting.
- Preparing conditions for creating a favorable microclimate (light, temperature, humidity, etc.).
- Fertilizer application.
When to plant annual seedlings at home - the instructions are as follows:
- Before sowing the material, it should be treated with a disinfectant. You need to soak the seeds in regular potassium permanganate and do everything that is done with vegetable seeds before sowing. However, the seeds of such flower crops as petunia and lobelia are very small, you cannot soak them; in this case, it is correct to treat them with a fungicide (powder). You should pour a handful of powder into a bag with seeds sent there in advance, shake everything well and the powdered material is disinfected.
- In the container where sowing is planned, the soil should already be prepared, moderately moistened, and spilled with a pink solution of potassium permanganate, with indentations for the seeds. For petunia/lobelia, there is no need to make holes on the surface of the soil; you just need to scatter the seeds without covering them with anything. You can mix small seeds with sand. Small or fairly large seeds should be planted to a depth of 10-50 mm and covered with a peat layer. The depth of planting seeds is usually several times greater than the height of the seed.
- Until the plant hatches, the container should be covered with film or glass. The temperature in the room before the plants hatch should be - plus 22 °C. The container should be ventilated daily, and the soil should be moistened with a spray bottle. Flowers do not yet require lighting. But, as soon as the sprouts become noticeable, the container must be moved to the light, and the temperature in the room must be increased to plus 22-25 ° C.
- Watering is done very carefully and systematic spraying too. If there is little light in the room, you need to install special lamps. The first feeding of the plant is carried out after 14 days. When the sprouts are 30 days old, the seedlings must be fertilized again. Then you should feed every week, alternating humin products and minerals.
Seedlings usually appear 5-7 days after sowing in high-quality soil.
How is picking seedlings of annual flowers carried out?
Plants peak in the phase of 2-3 true leaves that have grown after the cotyledon leaves.
24 hours before transplanting, seedlings should be watered well.
Fill the prepared container with high-quality soil. You need to fill it up 1/3 so that you can fill it with soil as it grows.
The soil in boxes and pots for replanting must be moistened.
The seedlings must be taken out with a ball of soil and replanted.
Features of planting some annual flowers for seedlings
- Petunia for seedlings - interesting points
If at the beginning of summer you want to see flowers resembling bright gramophones on your loggia or dacha, you can sow petunia seeds already in mid-February.
The seeds of the flower are scanty, but the germination is long:
- It is necessary to sow exclusively superficially.
- Crops must be covered with protective glass or thick film, it should be like in a greenhouse.
- Before sending it to the garden beds, petunia must be replanted at least 2 times.
You should not worry if petunia produces flowers right on the window. The seedlings of this flower are not afraid of replanting when they bloom. It is important that the seedlings do not stretch or become thin. To do this, it is necessary to use additional light when growing.
For more information on how to grow petunia seedlings, see this article
- Lobelia - how to sow correctly
Another plant quite popular among amateur gardeners is lobelia.
It is radically different from petunia in terms of aesthetics - light, with small:
- pale blue;
- pinkish;
- snow-white buds.
Its seeds are small, smaller than crumbs; they must be sown superficially, not deepened.
In general, sowing is done in the same way as petunias.
However, this type of beautiful flowering plant does not like close proximity, so experienced gardeners recommend not planting more than 4 tiny seeds in one container, so germination will be of better quality.
Lobelia bushes will turn out to be the strongest and most lush, the flowers will subsequently be brighter and more delicate.
- How to sow marigolds for seedlings
Marigolds can also be grown by sowing directly into the ground.
However, preparing high-quality seedlings will make it possible to enjoy flowering a month earlier, so many gardeners like to propagate these yellowish-red-orange flowers with seedlings:
- Sow correctly in boxes. It is necessary to make indentations in them and send the seeds there in increments of 30 mm. The depth of the furrow is 10-15 mm. You need to sprinkle the crops with a peat-sand mixture.
- Marigolds are actively hatching - sprouts will appear in just a week. As soon as the sprouts emerge, they require additional light for at least 12 hours.
- Picking is also carried out in arranged boxes, but larger ones and with an interval of 70 mm. According to the rules, it is necessary to dive when 2 true leaves appear on the plant.
- After 30 days, you can replant the plant again. Marigolds sprout beautifully, even when flowering. In the flowerbed, these beautiful and not capricious plants also take root very quickly.
- This is why gardeners adore marigolds so much.
Breeding seedlings of annual plants is an inexpensive way to get a large abundance of flowers in your garden plot, from which it is quite possible to create compositions of incredible beauty, real masterpieces of nature.
Absolutely anyone can try to germinate the seeds of their favorite flowers on their own.
By listening to the above recommendations from professionals, everything will definitely work out successfully.
The result will please not only you, but also the neighbors passing by your country house.
Cosmea
Cute multi-colored “daisies” of cosmos, or Cosmos, can often be found in home flower beds and rural front gardens. They have long won the hearts of flower lovers with their cheerful disposition, diversity and unpretentiousness.
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Currently, two types of cosmos can be found in our gardens. The most well-known and familiar species of cosmos bipinnatus (C. bipinnatus) forms powerful (or not so) branched bushes 50–120 cm high, with highly indented leaves and rather large inflorescences (from 5 to 12 cm in diameter) of a chamomile shape. The color of reed flowers can be white, pink, red, burgundy, the disc of tubular flowers is yellow.
Another species that appeared here relatively recently, but quickly gained popularity among gardeners, is the sulfur-yellow cosmos (C. sulphureus). It has smaller inflorescences (4–7 cm in diameter), the petals of which are slightly curved inwards in the shape of a rose and are colored yellow-orange-red. The height of the plant can be from 30 to 150 cm.
Cosmos doubly pinnate terry. Photo: AiF/ Elena Kolesnikova
Where to plant?
In terms of use in the garden, cosmos are very similar to calendula. They are grown in flowerbeds and mixborders, in the front gardens of rural houses. It is convenient to make scenes from high varieties of cosmos and decorate fences and walls of buildings with them. Low varieties, especially sulfur-yellow varieties, can be used to create borders and decorate containers and balcony boxes with them. Low, small-flowered forms of C. bipinnate are often included in annual flower (Moorish) lawns.
Cosmos is doubly pinnate, a mixture of colors. Photo: AiF/ Elena Kolesnikova
How to grow?
Cosmos bipinnate is a cold-resistant and light-loving plant, while sulfur-yellow is more thermophilic and feels good only in relatively hot summers. Both species are drought-resistant and undemanding to soils, but grow better in loose, not very nutritious soils - “overfed” plants grow powerful, but bloom poorly.
Just like calendula, cosmos is sown in open ground starting in April.
What's in a name?
Cosmos is translated from Greek as “decoration”. Indeed, the name matches the plant!
Cosmosser yellow. Photo: AiF/ Elena Kolesnikova
Lavatera
The colorful Lavatera trimestris (Lavatera trimestris) always attracts attention in the garden. But not only for this is why gardeners love her so much, but also for her long, abundant flowering and flexible character. Lavatera is a fairly powerful, branched, fast-growing plant with a height of 60 to 150 cm. During flowering, from late June to autumn, it is covered with large (6–10 cm in diameter), funnel-shaped flowers, painted white, pink or red.
Lavatera three month old 'Novella'. Photo: AiF/ Elena Kolesnikova
Where to plant?
Long-lasting, generous, bright flowering and unpretentiousness make Lavatera desirable for any flower garden - flower bed, border, border, mixborder. The flowers stand well as cut flowers. Compact varieties can be used to decorate containers or garden vases.
Lavatera three months old 'Mont Blanc'. Photo: AiF/ Elena Kolesnikova
How to grow?
Lavatera is cold-resistant, light-loving, drought-resistant, and does not like waterlogging. It grows well in a variety of soils, but feels better and blooms more profusely in light, fertile soils.
Question answer
Is it possible to sow annual flowers directly into the ground?
Seeds are sown directly into the ground in early May, in nests of 2–3 seeds at a distance of 25–30 cm. It is also possible to sow seeds in a line at a distance of 10–15 cm from each other. In dry weather, plants must be watered, otherwise their growth will slow down and flowering will not be abundant. In May - June, it is advisable to carry out 3-4 fertilizing with complex fertilizers at intervals of 10-15 days.
What's in a name?
Lavatera received its name in honor of the Lavater brothers, famous German doctors and naturalists.
The most popular and beautiful annuals for the garden
Delphinium
The most common annual flowers for the garden are unpretentious and long-flowering - petunias, phlox, salvia, delphiniums, snapdragons, mimulus, datura, celosia, dahlias, asters, marigolds. With their help, various types of flower beds are created in a fairly quick time. Especially, annuals are in great demand among gardeners for continuous flowering beds, creating regular flower beds and when creating carpet flower arrangements.
Important : annual vines deserve special attention. They are characterized by fast growth and abundant flowering.
Unpretentious annual flowers for flower beds
Mallow
Beginner gardeners try to plant annuals in their flower beds, which are completely easy to care for. That is, it is enough for them to provide lighting, watering and periodically apply fertilizers. As a result, they will delight you with abundant and colorful flowering from the beginning of spring until the first frost.
These colors include:
- petunias;
- Drumond (annual phlox);
- zinnia;
- godetia;
- mallow;
- delphinium;
- verbena;
- evening primrose;
- brachy.
Shade-loving annuals
Begonia
In any garden there is a place where the sun's rays practically do not reach. To prevent this place from being gloomy, it is worth planting shade-loving plants, for example:
- balsam;
- begonia;
- lobelia;
- mimulus;
- winged tobacco;
- molucella;
- nemophila.
Attention: if we are talking about an area where the sun’s rays do not penetrate at all, then you should not expect abundant flowering from the plants. If the area is well lit in the morning and evening, and during the day is hidden under partial shade, then absolutely all shade-loving flowers will feel good here.
Climbing annual flowers
Nasturtium
With the help of canopy flyers, you can change the appearance of your yard every year. These flowers grow quickly, and in just a couple of months they can completely cover terraces, balconies, gazebos, and fences.
Eschszolzia
The colorful silky flowers of Californian Eschscholzia (Eschscholzia californica) are very similar to small poppies, which is why they received the popular name California poppy. The plant forms a low branched bush 15–30 cm high with numerous, rather long (up to 60 cm), lodging shoots. At the top of the shoots there are bright, shiny, large (up to 5–8 cm in diameter) single flowers: double or non-double, with smooth or corrugated petals of various colors - creamy white, yellow, orange, salmon, red. The leaves of Eschscholzia are also exceptionally elegant: strongly dissected, openwork, covered with a bluish waxy coating.
Eschscholzia Californian terry. Photo: AiF/ Elena Kolesnikova
Where to plant?
California poppy can be grown in flower beds, in flowerbeds, mixborders, made into borders, planted in spots on lawns, rock gardens, and ornamental gardens. They look beautiful in vases, containers and balcony boxes. Eschscholzia is often included in mixtures for annual flower (“Moorish”) lawns. The flowers stand well as cut flowers.
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How to grow?
Eschscholzia is cold-resistant, light-loving, drought-resistant and very unpretentious. Prefers dry, sunny places and does not tolerate excess moisture. Blooms better and stays compact in nutrient-poor soils. In rainy weather the flowers close.
Propagated by seeds, which are sown in early May in open ground. In areas with light soil, winter sowing can be done. It is advisable to thin out shoots that are too dense to a distance of 5–10 cm. Flowering begins in the first half of July and continues until frost. Some varieties of Eschscholzia can produce abundant self-sowing.
What's in a name?
Eschscholzia is named after Dr. I. F. Eschscholz, a natural scientist from the Baltic states who lived in 1793–1831.
Eschscholzia Californian 'Apple Blossom'. Photo: AiF/ Elena Kolesnikova
Marigold
Marigolds, marigolds, and Tagetes are one of the most famous and beloved annuals by many.
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There are two types of marigolds most often used in gardening: b. rejected, or French (T. patula), - with a highly branched, spreading form of a bush 15–50 cm high, with single or double inflorescences of a single or variegated color, and b. erect, or African (T. erecta), - with more powerful and less branched plants 30–120 cm high and densely double inflorescences of a single color with a diameter of 10–15 cm. Recently, another species can be increasingly found in gardens - b. thin-leaved, or Mexican (T. tenuifolia, sin. T. signata), with thin stems 20–60 cm high, graceful strongly dissected leaves and a huge number of small non-double inflorescences with a diameter of 2–3 cm. Plain or with a contrasting spot in the center, they painted in bright yellow, lemon, orange tones.
Marigolds rejected 'Carmen'. Photo: AiF/ Elena Kolesnikova
Where to plant?
Marigolds look harmonious in any flower beds, flower beds, borders, mixborders, and ornamental vegetable gardens. They can be used in containers and hanging baskets, or planted in balcony boxes. Despite their love of light, they can tolerate slight shading, so they can be used to decorate areas on the north side of buildings. In addition, they have a sanitary effect on the soil, destroying or repelling nematodes with secretions from their roots. For the same purpose, crushed marigold leaves can be added to the soil.
Thin-leaved marigolds, mixture of colors. Photo: AiF/ Elena Kolesnikova
How to grow?
All marigolds are heat-loving (cannot withstand even slight frosts), light-loving (but can tolerate slight shading), drought-resistant and very undemanding to soil. They easily tolerate transplantation at any stage of development, even during the period of full flowering.
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They reproduce by seeds, in central Russia - through seedlings, in the southern regions - by sowing in the ground. Seeds for seedlings are sown in the second half of April in greenhouses, but for earlier flowering, sowing in March and even February is possible. Seedlings dive into boxes, pots or ridges of greenhouses at a distance of 5–7 cm from each other. During the period of growing seedlings, it is advisable to make 2-3 fertilizing with nitrogen or complex mineral fertilizers with an interval of 7-10 days.
Seedlings are planted in open ground in early June, when the threat of spring frosts has passed. The distance between plants when planting is from 15 to 40 cm, depending on the variety. Care consists of weeding and loosening the soil around the plants, and on poorly fertile soils, 1-2 more complex fertilizing treatments are carried out.
Flowering at b. rejected ones begins 2–2.5 months after sowing, b. erect – after 2.5–3 months and b. thin-leaved – after 2 months.
What's in a name?
The common name - marigolds, or marigolds, was given to these plants for the velvety petals of the flowers, especially in dark-colored varieties, and they received the scientific name Tagetes in honor of the Etruscan god Tages, famous for his beauty and ability to predict the future.
Marigolds are erect. Photo: AiF/ Elena Kolesnikova
Dahlias
Who doesn’t know the slender beauties of dahlias (Dahlia) with huge bright inflorescences that color our gardens in late summer and autumn? True, most large-flowered varieties are perennials, and their tubers must be dug up and stored in cool rooms before the onset of cold weather. But this is not always possible, so annual dahlias can be an excellent replacement.
For a long time there was an opinion that annual dahlias are medium-sized plants with medium-sized, non-double flowers, painted in various shades of white, yellow, orange and red. People called them that – “Jolly Guys”, after the name of the most famous, ancient variety. To date, many annual dahlias have been created, which are not inferior in beauty and diversity to their perennial relatives.
Dahlia is an annual, collar-shaped inflorescence. Photo: AiF/ Elena Kolesnikova
Where to plant?
Annual dahlias are planted in flower beds, ridges, and arrays. Low varieties can be grown in containers and balcony boxes.
How to grow?
Dahlias are a rather demanding crop in terms of cultivation conditions. They are very thermophilic, love fertile, moderately moist soils and sunny, windless areas.
Dahlia annual 'Art Deco'. Photo: AiF/ Elena Kolesnikova
Seeds are sown in boxes in the first half of April, later seedlings are planted at a distance of 7–8 cm in pots or boxes. Young plants tolerate replanting well. They are planted in open ground in early June. The distance between plants depends on the variety and can be from 20 to 40 cm. It is very important to loosen the soil around the bushes in a timely manner, in hot weather - water abundantly and periodically, once every 2 weeks, feed with complex mineral or organic fertilizer. In August, feeding is stopped. Annual dahlias bloom in the first half of July and bloom profusely until the first frost.
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What's in a name?
Dahlias, natives of Mexico, appeared in Europe in the 18th century, where they received two names at once - dahlias and dahlias. The first of them was given in honor of the famous Swedish botanist A. Dahl. And in 1803, the German botanist K. L. Wildenov gave the plant another name - dahlia (Georgina), in honor of his friend, botanist I. G. Georgi. Both names existed together for a long time, but recently the official botanical name of the genus has become the name dalia. The name “dahlia” took root only in our country.
Containers for flower seedlings
It is best to grow flower seedlings in separate pots, so as not to have to pick seedlings later. Such seedlings grow stronger and, as a rule, are not affected by rot.
Both small disposable cups and large boxes are suitable as containers for flower seedlings. The main thing is that there are holes made in the bottom of the container to drain excess water, and there is also a tray.
Seedlings of compact plants can also be grown in peat tablets or peat humus cups
