Verbena is an ornamental plant with unique beauty. You can grow it in the ground on the street or at home on a balcony or windowsill, but if you don’t follow certain conditions and growing technologies and don’t know the nuances, you can end up with frail seedlings.
Illiterate work with soil
A common mistake when preparing verbena seedlings is insufficient or excessive sowing depth. If you do not sufficiently sprinkle the seeds with soil, the shell will get stuck on the cotyledon leaves, which will prevent them from opening. Subsequently, such seedlings often die. The optimal planting depth is 3-5 mm.
Soil can be bought at the store. An alternative option is to independently prepare the soil from river sand, peat and soil from the dacha. The components are taken in a ratio of ½:2:1. Wood ash is added to the mixture - one glass per 4 liters of soil.
To rid the soil of unnecessary plants and harmful bacteria, it is steamed for 1 hour. Some limit themselves to treating the soil with special fungicides, but they do not take into account that in this way they will not save the soil from weeds.
To increase the permeability of air and water, add perlite to the mixture - a glass per 2 liters of soil.
Wrong timing of landing
Verbena seeds for seedlings are planted from January to April. During this period, young crops may not have enough lighting.Therefore, in order to get seedlings by the end of April, it is worth sowing seedlings in January - February. By May you can expect flowering.
It is important to take into account the sowing region:
- in central Russia, the optimal planting time is early March;
- in the southern regions they sow from the end of February to the end of March;
- in the north - from the end of March to the end of April.
On short winter days, in order for the seedlings to be strong, additional lighting is necessary.
Insufficient or improper care
Adult verbena plants can withstand heat, but young seedlings need regular feeding and watering. Lack of moisture leads to smaller inflorescences and a shorter flowering period. To avoid getting weak seedlings, it is enough to follow the following rules:
- water when the top layer of soil dries out;
- the water should be warm and settled;
- do not get on plant leaves;
- excess humidity is unacceptable;
- Do not allow unnecessary fertilizing with nitrogenous fertilizers.
Ignoring diseases
Even properly treated soil is not a guarantee that young seedlings will not get sick. It is necessary to periodically spray the plants with fungicides before and after planting seedlings.
Growing verbena requires knowledge of some subtleties and technologies. If you properly care for the seedlings, they will be strong and healthy.
