Elegant and incredibly fragrant, the Shabo carnation is considered by many to be a little outdated, old-fashioned, and even "grandmother's" flower. Despite this, it is still one of gardeners' favorite summer plants. All this is due to the unique beauty and tenderness of the flowers, as well as the endurance of the plant, which is relevant in our climate. However, to grow Shabo cloves at home, it is worth making a lot of effort. Today we will talk about the process of planting these flowers. Don't let the long vegetative period and the exactingness of care bother you - they are not able to overshadow the joy of admiring the plant during flowering. Our article will allow you to learn everything about the care and planting of Shabo carnations. Photos of this plant are unlikely to leave you indifferent.
Description
Shabo's garden carnation is not an independent plant variety - it is a hybrid that remains the most recognizable among all varieties of this flower. Despite the fact that the hybrid is bred as a biennial plant, it is most often grown as an annual crop. However, sometimes you can also find the perennial carnation Shabo.
This species has a very compact rhizome with weakbranching, which lies at a depth of not more than twenty centimeters. Shoots about half a meter high have a knotty structure and are covered with narrow gray sessile leaves. As can be seen from the photo, the Shabo carnation during the flowering period is covered with medium-sized double flowers, with a diameter of at least six centimeters, which are collected in small inflorescences. This size of flowers looks perfect in bouquets, besides, they have a more subtle and pleasant aroma than ordinary greenhouse carnations. A variety of colors - white, pink, cherry, yellow and purple - is also an advantage of this hybrid. The long wait for flowers (about six months from the moment of planting) and the care of the Shabo carnation are rewarded with long and abundant flowering. It lasts more than four months, until the very frosts.
Collecting and selecting seeds for planting
Shabo carnation is a fairly popular plant, and therefore you can easily find its seeds. On average, one gram of purchased seeds contains at least four hundred potential plants. And given the high percentage of germination (more than 80%), we can say that you will definitely get a good result. Shabo clove seeds retain their ability to germinate for 2-3 years, which allows you to purchase them in advance. But to prevent unpleasant situations, it is better to double-check the dates of collection and packaging and purchase the latest ones.
For those who are constantly growing Shabo carnations, the issue of buying seeds is not of interest. Self collectionis the solution to this problem, despite the difficulty of this process. For full ripening, it is important to have dry, warm and sunny weather throughout its growth and flowering. In regions where autumn is too cold and wet, the plants are moved to sheltered areas. Within one and a half to two months, ripening occurs, after which the seeds are sprinkled on their own. To simplify their collection, it is necessary to tie the seedlings with gauze or mesh in advance.
Preparation of soil and containers
Planting Shabo carnation seeds requires prepared soil. Ordinary black soil, even of high quality, will not be enough. It is necessary to purchase a universal substrate with a light and loose structure. If you decide to fertilize the soil yourself, then prepare:
- turf land;
- peat;
- humus;
- sand.
All of the above ingredients must be mixed in equal amounts. In this case, it is recommended to use river sand, and humus should be carefully ground to a powder state. Such a substrate will be an excellent source of nutrients for cloves and will have good drainage properties.
For planting Shabo carnations from seeds, special containers for seedlings are required, which will provide the roots of a young plant with freedom without retaining excess moisture. Most often, seedling molds are used, which are easy to find in any flower or hardware store. There are several basic requirements that must be observed when choosing them:
- Container height - no moresix centimeters.
- Material - it is undesirable to use plastic containers, because with prolonged interaction with moisture, it begins to release harmful substances.
- The presence of separating partitions. Containers divided into several sections are much more convenient to use.
Before laying the substrate, be sure to treat the seedling container with boiling water or a weak manganese solution for disinfection.
Sowing
Sowing this plant is pretty easy. Especially if you have prepared good soil, convenient containers and quality seeds. Carnation Shabo is sown almost the very first, before the preparation of seedlings of vegetables and other plants. As a rule, the seedling preparation period lasts from late December to early February.
In order to be sure of the germination of seeds, you can use various stimulants in which they are soaked for 5-6 hours before planting. But it is advisable to ignite and cool the sand for sprinkling the planted plant immediately before use. The soil for planting Shabo cloves does not require sifting, as the seeds are not particularly small.
A layer of soil is poured onto the bottom of the container, after which it is spilled with water. Seeds are sown on moist soil with a distance of at least a centimeter. From above, they are sprinkled with pre-prepared calcined sand and covered with a film or glass. Accumulated condensate should be removed periodically.
Germination conditions
The advantage of thisspecies of carnation are gentle conditions for growing seedlings. There is no urgent need for constant sunlight and warmth. For seed germination, a temperature of about 15-16 degrees is quite enough. A slightly higher temperature is acceptable, but not more than 20 degrees.
One of the most important conditions for successful cultivation is to maintain optimal humidity. The soil should not dry out, but excessive moisture is unacceptable, since the carnation is very sensitive to various kinds of rot and mold. Therefore, watering is more convenient to carry out by daily spraying of plantings from a sprayer. You should also ventilate the seedlings every morning.
On average, after 4-5 days of proper care, the first shoots gradually begin to appear. In 10 days, the main part of the seedlings appears. It is worth remembering that at high temperatures, the germination of cloves will slow down significantly.
Sprouts
With the appearance of the first shoots, the film or glass is removed from the containers and the growing conditions change slightly. Namely:
- significantly increases the brightness of lighting by moving containers to the window or installing lamps for lighting;
- air temperature drops to 12-14 degrees (higher temperatures will lead to abundant growth of seedlings, preventing them from becoming thicker, which will subsequently affect the abundance of flowering).
The main danger for cloves at this stage of cultivation is the defeat of seedlings by the black leg. Therefore, soil moisture should be carefully monitored, notallowing it to dry out. If the sprouts become too thin and elongated, add some soil to the seedling container.
Picking
Unlike other types of this flower, the Shabo carnation requires a double pick. This is due to early sowing and a long period of growth until the moment of full transplantation into open ground. The first shoots of the plant develop rapidly, so they quickly become very crowded in containers. Therefore, from individual boxes, they must be transplanted into larger pots. The soil used is the same as when sowing seeds. If desired, you can add a little more humus or a small amount of organic fertilizer to it.
The first pick is carried out when two leaves appear. Seedlings are planted in individual containers or special cassettes with a diameter of at least 3-4 centimeters. It is acceptable to transplant plants into a larger common container, but its depth should still not exceed 6 centimeters.
The second transplantation is done when there are eight leaves. This happens around the last days of March. The transfer of each plant is carried out directly with the earthen clod in which it grew. The size of the pots is almost doubled in this case. The diameter of the container for the second transplant should not be less than 10 centimeters.
Seedling care
The main requirements still remain: maintaining the temperature no higher than 14 degrees, ensuringsufficient lighting and ventilation in warm weather. To stimulate the thickening of vegetation and enhance branching, pinching should be done after the appearance of the fifth pair of leaves. The grown seedlings also do not tolerate excessive soil moisture, so watering should be accurate. With slow growth and blanching of sprouts, fertilizing with nitrogenous fertilizer should be done. When a carnation is damaged by a black leg, the diseased plant is removed as quickly as possible, the soil is allowed to dry out a little, sprinkling the vacated place with sand and crushed coal.
Before transplanting carnation seedlings to a permanent place, hardening should be carried out. You need to start such an adaptation immediately after the second pick. The simplest way to harden is to lower the night temperature to 9-10 degrees. The plant is taken out at night to a colder room, and on May days it is permissible to place seedlings on the street or on an open balcony. With an increase in air temperature outside and the absence of night frosts, seedlings are completely moved to a greenhouse or greenhouse, which is periodically opened for ventilation. Hardening produces a strong and he althy plant that adapts more quickly to outdoor growth conditions.
Transplant seedlings
The transfer of seedlings to permanent pots, which are planned to decorate the garden plot, can be carried out with the onset of constant warm weather - at the end of April or in the first days of May. At the same time, the plant is first taken out into the open air for the whole day, returning it back to the room at night. This procedure is carried out until the night temperatureair outside will not stop at around 8-10 degrees Celsius. The hardened plant can be transferred to open soil as early as the end of May. It is not afraid even of short-term night frosts.
Carnation Shabo prefers areas of fertile soil that are well-lit by the sun. Either neutral or slightly alkaline earth is acceptable, strictly without the admixture of manure. The only acceptable organic fertilizer is mature compost. Also, there should be no clay impurities in the soil. To organize a summer flower bed of carnations, you should carefully prepare the soil in which they will be planted. Starting in autumn, it is necessary to introduce compost and phosphorus fertilizers into the soil in large quantities. In the spring, soil preparation does not end - a month before transplanting seedlings, potash and nitrogen fertilizers are applied to it.
Plant care
To obtain beautiful and large flowers (as in the photo) of Shabo carnations, certain procedures should be carried out:
- Constant watering providing moderate soil moisture.
- Loosening the soil after rainfall and heavy watering.
- Periodic top dressing - a week after transplanting into open ground and during the formation of buds.
- Removing side buds to increase the size of the main flowers.
- Removal of damaged and diseased plants.
- Constant inspection of the plant.
With the onset of autumn cold weather, it is advisable to move the plant back into the room. By continuing caring for cloves, you can achieveincreasing the flowering period even in a balcony, terrace or room in the house. It is important to observe a low temperature and abundant lighting.
Diseases
The main cause of various diseases is improper care. It is also worth noting that planting carnations next to tulips is completely unfavorable, since it is from them that fungal diseases can be transmitted. Consider the main problems that you may encounter when growing Shabo cloves:
- Alternariosis. A fungal disease that causes dark spots on the stems. It causes irreparable damage to the plant, leading to its death. The disease progresses in especially hot weather, and its source is most often the remains of old vegetation. To get rid of alternariosis, it is necessary to spray the plant with a solution of Bordeaux liquid.
- Fusariosis. One of the most common garden diseases that affects the plant literally from the inside and causes it to dry out. At the beginning of the disease, the stems of the plant turn brown, and the leaves turn yellow. Unfortunately, getting rid of Fusarium is possible only by completely destroying the infected plant with preventive treatment of surrounding plants with fungicides.
- Rust is another disease that affects carnations as they grow. Recognize rust by yellow and brown swollen spots on leaves and stems. This problem is the result of overwatering, lack of potassium, or excess nitrogen.
Parasite
When growing carnation Shabo from seeds, remember aboutparasites that can ruin plantings. Pests settle on weakened plants, so it is important to follow agricultural practices and keep the site clean. The main threats to carnations are bears, spider mites and earwigs.
To get rid of the bear, it is enough to shed the minks with soapy water, fill the dug holes with manure and pickle the insect with special chemicals. Medvedka is an insect that causes damage to absolutely all plants on the site, and therefore it is rather difficult and troublesome to remove it.
Earwig does not cause much harm to the plant itself in the process of growth. This parasite simply feeds on greens and flowers, so once you go out to the site, you may not find the long-awaited flowers. The destruction of the pest is carried out with the help of drugs such as "Fufanon" and "Karate".
Spider mites are small yellow or red insects that look like a spider and a tick at the same time. A favorable environment for their development is dry soil. These pests feed on the sap of the plant, and their appearance can be recognized by the translucency of the leaves. Spraying cloves with the drug "Aktelik" allows you to completely get rid of the spider mite. Sometimes folk methods help (using onion and garlic husks, as well as tobacco).
