In February, the shelves of gardening shops are filled with bright boxes with all kinds of seedlings. Here and fruit shrubs, and trees, and many ornamental plants. How not to buy something for your site, when there is such a great choice?
However, becoming the owners of the cherished seedlings at the end of winter, we are faced with a problem. All these plants can not be immediately planted in their permanent places, until then they need to be preserved. I bought a few seedlings are very beautiful flowering ornamental shrubs. Plants are Packed just in such colorful boxes, by which it is difficult to pass enthusiastic gardener.
How to choose
Buying such a seedling, it is very difficult to understand whether it is alive, in what condition. Nevertheless, it makes sense to buy it now: the plants in the store were brought recently, their kidneys did not hatch, they are still asleep and not exhausted by unsuitable conditions.
In the store do not hesitate to take out the plants from the boxes and carefully inspect, I do so. Ideally, seedlings of ornamental shrubs should have dormant buds and be branched, that is, you should see a few twigs. Here’s what I bought:
- The seedling of viburnum branches well, clearly visible dormant buds.
Hydrangea paniculata has a lot of shoots. Kidneys, unfortunately, already turn green.
Seedling spirea gray wonderful branches, buds are still asleep. That’s good!
How to store seedlings before planting
Thus, selecting a few plants, they buy the same pots. Their size should be suitable for a particular seedling. To make sure of this, I took the plant out of the box and tried on the pot. It is also good if the capacity will be high.
It should be noted that such pots, as a rule, have quite large drainage holes, so you need to cover them from the inside with some cloth (a piece of covering material, for example), before filling the soil. So it will not be washed when watering.
In these pots, I will transplant the purchased plants, but first soak their roots overnight in a solution of potassium HUMATE. This drug contains a large number of useful elements. How to plant it, indicated in the table placed on the label, you need to select the option “for soaking cuttings.”
Pots with planted plants should be moved to a dark basement, where the temperature is +5…+7°C. Water neither when transplanting nor during storage in the basement is not necessary, it is enough of the moisture that they are saturated during soaking.
The seedlings need to be monitored. As soon as the kidneys begin to awaken, it will be a signal that it is time to move the plants to the light window. However, it should be a cool light window sill.
What to do if there is no cellar or cellar? The place of storage of transplanted plants can be a balcony, but the temperature there should not fall below 0°C.
If there is no and appropriately balcony, and buy new green Pets want, or they already acquired and are worth, await its fate, then do the next way. Soak their roots overnight in a solution of potassium HUMATE and transplanted into pots, as I said above. Then close their part of the ground, breathable, opaque material to make the cap. It can be a newspaper in several layers, a dense paper bag, even a black covering material. We put the plants on the coldest windowsill closer to the glass — so they will be provided with the maximum possible coolness. In such conditions (without sunlight) we can slightly extend the rest time of the seedling.
The only plant that I bought well foliated, — Kalmia latifolia. It is a beautiful evergreen shrub, the leaves of which are very similar to Laurel.
The plant is quite thermophilic and requires acidic soils, but I still want to try to grow it at home. In the future, I will share my experience with you. Such a seedling, of course, does not need to be cleaned in the basement. It is required to transplant, and then keep on a cool windowsill until planting time.
The best scenario is a sound sleep of purchased plants before they can be planted, but this is unlikely. Already in March, if we see that the buds of seedlings swell, it will be possible to move the pots to the greenhouse, set them over the arc and further insulate the covering material, that is, to make protection from freezing. So our plants can be stored up to the time of planting in a permanent place.
Dear readers, if you know any secrets that help to save the seedlings from the boxes the necessary time, tell us about it in the comments.
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