Our today's article will be devoted to the popular and unpretentious decorative plant - Turkish carnation. Long flowering, pleasant aroma and rich colors make these flowers one of the most beloved. We will tell you about the conditions necessary for the cultivation of this variety of cloves, from the choice of a place for planting to ways to combat diseases and pests.
Description
Turkish carnation is a perennial plant, which is most often used as a two-year plant, since not all copies remain blooming in the third and subsequent years. Another name this plant bears is bearded clove (due to bracts of each flower).
Plant height varies from 15-20 centimeters (undersized species) to 60-80 centimeters. The diameter of the inflorescences is about 10 centimeters, in which flowers are collected in white, red, pink or burgundy. As can be seen from the photo of the Turkish carnation, the flowers are not always of the same color - two-color or three-color combinations are very common. The delicate aroma of simple or terry inflorescences does not leave indifferent even experienced gardeners.
Seat selection
Turkish carnation is considered a fairly unpretentious plant. Such flowers can be grown both in the garden and as part of a composition to create a flower bed. The only requirement for choosing a place for planting Turkish carnations is a slight shade: she does not like prolonged exposure to sunlight. The best place would be a small hill in the garden, which in the afternoon will be in partial shade. It is undesirable to plant a plant in the lowlands, since excess moisture will be collected there, which has a detrimental effect on the flowers. In general, Turkish cloves take root in almost all regions of our country, including in quite hot ones.
Soil preparation
Seeds of Turkish cloves can be planted both in open ground and previously in seedlings. If in the first case this is done in late May - early June, then in the second - no later than April.
So, what is the preparation of the soil for growing Turkish cloves from seeds? Two to three weeks before planting seeds, be sure to loosen the soil to a depth of about 25-30 centimeters. Then carefully spill it with water and cover with paper and film. Immediately before the sowing process, the film must be removed.
If you plan to plant cloves in October, then the seeds and soil must be dry. Otherwise, the seeds may freeze and not withstand even the first frosts, despite the cold resistance of the plant. Soil with planted seeds should be covered with a large layer of peat or humus, which with the advent of spring needs to be removed by slightly covering the plant with special covering material. This is done to provide the plant with heat in the winter and to avoid sunburn with the arrival of spring heat.
Sowing seeds
Turkish cloves are planted in rows, the distance between which should be at least fifteen centimeters. Seeds are sown to a depth of about a centimeter, at a distance of about two centimeters between themselves. After planting, the seeds are tightly pressed by a layer of soil, sprayed with water and covered with a film. Literally in a week and a half you will see the first shoots.
Three weeks after the appearance of the first sprouts, seedlings of Turkish cloves need to be dived. In the process of picking, the distance between the sprouts increases to six centimeters, between the rows remains about fifteen. Dive is preferably in the evening or cloudy weather. After it, seedlings are also desirable to cover with a film.
Plant transplantation to the site
Young plants are transplanted into the open ground at the beginning of summer. In order for cloves to better take root, it is important to harden before transferring to open ground. It consists in taking the plant to a colder room, and subsequently completely out into the street. Hardening begins with half an hour, and gradually this time increases to 12-15 hours. So the plant will get used to the future growing conditions and calmly transfer the transplant process.
Landings prepared for landing should be at a distance of about thirty centimeters. In the first year, the plant forms a bush, which the next year reaches a half-meter height and by mid-summer pleases with bright colors. Leaves that are formed during the formation of the bush should not be removed. And for the winter they need to be covered with fir branches to protect them from frost.
Sowing carnations in open ground
For those who do not want to spend time and effort on growing seedlings, there is the opportunity to plant cloves immediately in open ground. This is done at the end of May, when the soil has finally warmed up, and the likelihood of night frosts is excluded. When planting in the fall, it is also important to observe the rule of dry land and dry seeds. Soil before the arrival of winter is mulched, in the spring it is cleared of mulch.
To plant clove seeds in open ground, select a well-lit area of sandy or loamy soil. A couple of weeks before sowing, dig a soil well to a depth of about thirty centimeters and make mineral and organic fertilizers. The best combination is compost and wood ash, as well as a small amount of nitrophosphate. After these procedures, the soil is covered with a film and left for two weeks.
Before planting, the film is removed, grooves are made in the ground at a distance of about twenty centimeters, spilled with earth and begin to sow seeds. The step between the seeds should not be less than 3-4 centimeters. The planted material is sprinkled with a layer of soil, pressed and covered with a film until all sprouts appear.
Flower care
The basic rules for obtaining a healthy and beautiful plant are: competent watering, weeding, cultivation and top dressing. So, first things first.
Watering is carried out twice a week. At the same time, the water consumption is about 12 liters per square meter of land. In particularly hot weather, the frequency of watering is permissible to increase, but it is worth remembering that excessive moisture leads to the development of fungal diseases and various kinds of rot. When watering a clove, direct the stream closer to the roots and stems, preventing water from entering the flowers.
Loosening the topsoil and removing weeds are mandatory measures to preserve the health of cloves. Weed plants take nutrients from cloves, resulting in poor flowering. Loosening the soil saturates it with oxygen and facilitates the process of moisture and fertilizing.
Top dressing begins when the plant reaches 10-12 centimeters in height. The first fertilizer consists in introducing a solution of nitrophoska and "Agricola". For ten liters of water, take a tablespoon of each drug. The second top dressing is performed during the formation of buds. In this case, 10 liters of water are added per tablespoon of superphosphate and potassium preparation. And finally, the third top dressing is carried out during the flowering period. The preferred drug "Agricola for flowering plants." The calculation of fertilizer is approximately as follows: from 3 to 5 liters per square meter of land.
Pests
Despite the general unpretentiousness in the care, Turkish clove, like many other plants, is vulnerable to various pests. In this section, we will talk about what you need to be prepared for when growing these flowers:
- Rodents. With the advent of spring, the first leaves of plants begin to break out from under the snow, which serve as a food source for many rodents. In order to protect your plants, sprinkle poisoned grain around the bushes and set in the area of the mousetrap.
- The gall nematode in summer is one of the main dangers for the roots of the plant. Recognizing it is quite simple - by deformed and tarnished leaves, swollen cuttings and stunted flower growth in general. The only ways to combat the nematode are to destroy the affected plant and treat the soil with chemicals.
- Insects. The two main pests of Turkish carnation are the pea elephant and the spider mite. The elephant gnaws at the leaves of the plant, and the tick sucks the juice from the stems. A strong infusion of onion husks (150 grams of husks for 5 boiling water, insist for at least five days) will help to cope with them, with which the plant is processed 3-4 times every 5-7 days.
Disease
With proper care, Turkish carnation is practically not sick. But there are several main diseases that this plant is subject to when breeding conditions are violated:
- Fusariosis is a fungal disease that affects the plant completely. Destroying the vascular system of the flower, this disease leads to yellowing of the leaves and reddening of the stems, rotting of the roots and the basal part of the stem, and also inhibits the process of blooming flowers. Affected specimens are subject to immediate destruction, and healthy specimens are treated with fungicides for two to three times in a month.
- Rust is another fungal disease that affects the leaves and cuttings of a plant. The affected parts of the flower are covered with brown spots, dry out and break. This disease progresses with an acute lack of potassium in the soil and nitrogen, as well as with excessive moisture. At the slightest sign of disease, the plant is immediately treated with Bordeaux liquid or HOM solution.
- Mottling is most often manifested in springtime and is reflected on the plant in the form of colorless spots on the leaves and deformation of the flowers. Unfortunately, there is no cure for this disease, so a diseased plant needs to be destroyed.
Finally
Following these simple instructions, you can definitely grow this fragrant and colorful plant on your site. During its cultivation, you will be convinced of the unpretentiousness of the flower and the ease of this process.