A beautiful and bright gatsaniya plant: an annual or perennial? Such uncertainty is due to the fact that it is perennial at home, and in Russia it is preferred to grow as an annual.
In this article, read:
- 1 The flower of the midday gold
- 2 Properties and requirements for the environment
- 3 How to grow an African chamomile
- 4 Grass, growing from seeds. Video
- 5 Ghatsaniya on the plot and at home
Flower of midday gold
This is the name of this plant in Western Europe because its flowers are painted in warm sunny colors, and they open at noon, when the sun is the brightest and strongest.
Its official name is the plant received in the XVII century in honor of the Italian priest Theodor von Gaza, who became famous for translating the works of Theophrastus and Aristotle. And also called katsaniyu African chamomile. This is because she comes from South Africa.
The birthplace of this bright flower from the family of astroids is South Africa.
It looks like a daisy with bright shades of yellowish-red.
The flickering reaches a height of only 30 cm. The stem is either absent or very short, dense and pubescent leaves collected in a rosette. Flowers, like all astrovs, form inflorescences. Their diameter varies from 5 to 9 cm. The petals are painted in orange, red, yellow shades with spots and stripes. This plant is valued not only for bright flowers, but also for their abundance. On one plant at the same time can be about thirty to forty inflorescences.
Properties and requirements for the environment
Gazania comes from arid places, so it does not like excess moisture and heavy soils. In all other respects she is quite enduring: she is not afraid of frost, heat, winds, temperature changes. Flowers gatsaniya can release all summer, for which it is appreciated. In the natural conditions of a temperate climate, it is difficult for this plant to undergo a two-year cycle. But in autumn it can be transplanted into a flower pot and put on a window sill.
Most growers grow gazaniyu from seeds and cultivate, like an annual.
In this case, the seeding time for seedlings depends on the climatic characteristics of the terrain. If the spring is late, then it is necessary to plant the seedlings not earlier than the end of May. In this case, the seedlings will have to be fed and specially illuminated. In the early spring, there will be less trouble with the sprouts. If you are ready to wait with the flowering of the khatsanii, then in favorable conditions of a short winter you can do without seedlings: planting seeds immediately in the soil will save the flowers from the transplant stress.
There are 9 inflorescences on one cluster of feces, which bloom for 15-20 days.
Yellow gatsaniya from warm Africa.
How to grow African chamomile
If you decide to do seedlings, you should remember that growing and grooming need to be carried out according to certain rules. To fully develop seedlings, you need:
. good lighting;
. the duration of a day of light is not less than 15 hours;
. optimum temperature of air, and especially of a ground (not below +150 FROM);
. light sandy soil with good drainage;
. regular fertilizing with mineral fertilizers;
. moderate rare watering.
It is better to plant seeds of gazanija one by one in a staggered order, observing the distance between them in 3-4 cm.
In addition, you can grow seedlings in peat cups, cardboard pots and other vessels that can be safely torn and discarded before planting. This is the most gentle method of transplantation of tender shoots.
Seeds are small, so it is better to stop them in the already moist soil, and water the first time you need only from a spray. Containers with seeds should be closed with a film and placed in a warm place. After emergence of shoots, they are moved to a cooler and lit place. Usually from sowing to seedling passes 10-15 days.
Grasses can coexist on a bed with many plants. With their help you can create a variety of colors. However, planting near it is better only low-growth drought-resistant plants. Since the flowers of the khatsaniya are very bright, they will clog the beauty of less bright plants. Favorable to shine gatsaniyu will be able to plants with blue and blue flowers. Not bad will look plants with beautiful and unusual leaves.
For the winter, the scrub can be excavated and planted for wintering in a pot. The African beauty well tolerates the dry air of a winter apartment.
The leafy shrub bush with glossy dense leaves grows to a height of 30 cm.
In Russia, the two-year-old gatsaniya is grown from seeds, followed by planting in open ground.
Before planting seedlings in the ground, you need to prepare the soil. Heavy loams can be alleviated by the addition of sand or organic matter. Dig a trench or pit depth of 30-50 cm and lay on the bottom of dry leaves or grass. The layer is desirable to make thick - centimeters by 10. This will be both drainage and humus. The grass should be used without roots or seeds.
On top of the grass it is necessary to lay a small layer of humus, mixing it with granules of mineral fertilizers. Then you need to prepare the soil to fill the pit. It is also good to mix it with dry grass or straw. So you will ensure the optimal looseness of the earth.
Put the pit to the height of the shoots. The depth of their planting is standard for small herbaceous plants - up to the first real leaf. After that, the land needs to be crushed, covered with leaves or sawdust and poured with warm water.
In order for flowering to begin no later than June-July, it is necessary to plant young shoots in the soil no later than the end of May. Place each copy preferably at a distance of at least 20 cm from each other.
African chamomiles bloom quickly. First, there are one or two flowers, then the number of inflorescences increases, and here the entire bed is covered with a flowering carpet.
Summer care for plants is simple. Everything is as usual: weeding, loosening, sometimes watering. Since an African plant does not like a lot of water, it needs water only in drought conditions. During watering, you can fertilize with a solution of mineral and organic fertilizers. To do this, in the bucket, mix a few complex fertilizers with the predominance of phosphorus and potassium, then add slightly rotted manure. Before watering, this solution should be diluted two times. Take care that the water does not stagnate under the grimace.
Ghatsania is an amazingly hardy plant. However, under unfavorable conditions, for example, in the shade or with excessive moistening, it can weaken. This will be a signal to everyone who eats juice or leaves of plants. On leaves and flowers snails, aphids, spider mites can appear. The easiest way is to cope with snails - they are big. Coping with mites and aphids will have to be done with the help of chemistry. Against aphids it is possible to use phytoverm, and with a spider mite it is better to fight using an actinic or a ditox.
Planting and care in accordance with the recommendations will allow for a long time to create a sunny lawn on your site. In autumn, when fouling begins to fade, planting in a flower pot should be carried out in such a way as to preserve the integrity of the root system. Then you will not only succeed in prolonging flowering, but also plant the overwintered plant in spring in the soil, after which you can harvest the seeds.
To be engaged in seeds, certainly, troublesome, but so you can save at itself that grade which is necessary for you. In addition, this way, by selecting the seeds from the desired specimens, new varieties are created. African chamomile allows you to show maximum imagination in this area.
