Planting and caring for brachycoma in open ground, growing from seeds

Every gardener wants to plant unpretentious and beautifully flowering plants on his plot. An ideal addition to any landscape design is a garden flower such as brachycoma, planting and proper care of which is practically easy, it is only important to follow the simple rules of agricultural technology. The plant recently began to gain popularity due to its characteristic features.

Brachycoma - what kind of flower is it: characteristic features

The homeland of the beautiful brachycoma is Australia, where it grows as a perennial plant. In our regions, the flower is grown as an annual because it does not tolerate winter frosts. In warm climates, brachycoma can be cultivated as a perennial, but to do this you need to properly prepare the bushes for winter.

Brachycoma is a low-growing plant of the Asteraceae family, the height of which reaches 25-30 cm. The stem is thin, branched, eventually forming into a lush bush. It is decorated with pinnately divided, carved leaves. The flowers are similar in appearance to chamomile and have a variety of colors, which depend on the variety.

They are collected in inflorescences-baskets, there are simple, semi-double and double. On one bush you can observe about 100 baskets. The aroma of flowers is characterized by tenderness and sophistication. Flowering occurs in July and lasts until September. The seeds ripen in the fall, their germination period is about 2-3 years.

Conditions for growth

To admire the beautiful brachycoma flowers in your garden, when growing, you need to create for them the basic conditions necessary for their normal growth and development, which include light, air, heat, water and nutrients in the soil.

Lighting

Brachycoma is a light-loving plant, so it is better to plant the flower so that it is exposed to the sun most of the time and is also protected from the wind as much as possible. The ideal solution would be to allocate the southern part of the garden plot to the plant.

Priming

The culture grows well on light sandy and fertile soils.Does not tolerate excess moisture, as stagnant water causes rotting of the roots. Therefore, when planting, you need to make sure that the soil is well drained.

Temperature

The temperature regime for this garden flower is of great importance. Brachycoma does not like cold, but does not tolerate heat well. Therefore, the most optimal range will be +18…+20 degrees.

Growing brachycoma from seeds

According to gardeners, growing brachycoma from seeds is a simple and very exciting process. It is important to study the characteristics of the plant and the technology of its cultivation, and then even a novice gardener will be able to cope with the task.

Timing and technology of sowing

Work on growing seedlings should begin at the end of February or beginning of March. To do this, you must follow the following procedure:

1. Prepare a soil mixture of sand, leaf soil, turf soil and humus (1:1:3:2) with the addition of minerals.
2. Take small containers and fill them with prepared soil, moistening it a little.
3. Form grooves on the surface of the soil and place the seeds in them, do not cover them with soil or deepen them.
4. Cover the seedlings using film or glass.

Place containers in a room with a temperature of 18-20 degrees above zero. To ensure that seeds germinate as quickly as possible, you need to regularly ventilate the room and spray the seedlings using a spray bottle. When the first shoots appear, the cover must be removed.

Picking

As soon as the seedlings have 2-3 full leaves, you need to pick. This garden flower tolerates the procedure well and with virtually no loss. To do this, plant the plants in separate containers, maintaining a distance of 5 cm between them. Care after picking includes timely watering and occasional fertilizing.

As soon as warm weather sets in, the grown plants need to be hardened by taking the container with seedlings outside every day, gradually increasing the time. In the last days of May, when there is no risk of return frosts, plant the seedlings in a flowerbed, keeping a distance of 20 cm between planting units. First dig up the planting site to a depth of 20-25 cm and carefully level it.

Brachycoma will begin to delight you with its flowering 3 months after seed germination, and almost immediately after planting in open soil it will decorate the area with elegant flowers.

Caring for a plant in open ground

Brachycoma is an unpretentious plant, so its care is kept to a minimum. Standard techniques such as high-quality watering, timely fertilizing, bush shaping, as well as the fight against dangerous pests and major diseases will allow you to decorate your home area with amazing flowers.

Watering

Carry out regular, moderate watering. It is important not to overdo it, as excessive humidity leads to the death of the plant. Also, do not forget that severe drying out of the soil can greatly harm a garden flower.

Water the bushes more often during the dry season and when they are actively growing. After each irrigation, it is imperative to loosen the soil so that the root system receives oxygen. In rainy weather, it is recommended to sprinkle pine needles or ash around the bushes, then the snails will avoid the brachycomas.

How to feed

During the growing season during the summer, the plant needs to be fertilized only 3 times, using a low-concentration universal fertilizer, after which the bushes should be sprinkled with ash.It is not recommended to feed brachycoma with organic fertilizers, since nitrogen makes flowering poor.

Bush formation

To form a lush brachycoma bush and stimulate abundant flowering, you need to pinch the top of the plant. And timely removal of faded inflorescences will prolong the flowering process.

Preparing for winter

When growing brachycoma in areas with warm winters, there is a chance to save the plants for the next season. To do this, you should insulate the bushes using straw or spruce branches.

Diseases and pests

Brachycoma demonstrates unpretentiousness, endurance and is rarely affected by diseases and pests. When growing a crop, a gardener may encounter such problems.

Root system or stem rotting

Excessive watering and rainy weather can cause rotting of the stems and roots. To save the plant, you need to transplant it to another place and ensure high-quality drainage, having first rid it of rotten parts.

Snails

Brachycoma can be attacked by snails that gnaw holes of different sizes in the leaves. Effective control of them involves manual collection of pests and their subsequent destruction.

Also, treat the bushes with specially designed products that repel gastropods; it is important to take into account that chemicals can harm the crop.

Whiteflies

This garden flower is bothered by a pest such as whitefly. The danger comes from the larvae of this flying insect, which feed on the sap of the plant, leading to its death. To repel their attack, you need to use suitable chemicals sold in retail chains.

The best varieties

There are more than 50 varieties of the crop, but gardeners are particularly interested in Brachycoma iberisolifolia when creating landscape design, on the basis of which various plant varieties have been bred.

Iberisolia (Brachycome iberidifolia)

This species is presented as a small branching bush, reaching up to 40 cm in height. The plant is decorated with thin, openwork foliage. Flowers of different varieties attract attention, the colors of which can be white, blue, violet, purple, pink. The tubular flowers have a distinct blue color. Flowering occurs in July and lasts until mid-autumn.

Multifid (Brachycome multifida)

Compact perennial up to 45 cm high. The foliage is green, deeply cut, pinnate, 3-6 cm long. Flowers painted lilac, pink or white, with numerous thin and narrow petals, fascinate the eye. A distinctive feature of the species is the active rooting of plants when the stems come into contact with the soil. Forms a small number of seeds that have low germination.

Mega blue

An elegant perennial flower with unique purple and bright blue inflorescences in the shape of a basket with a dark center and white edging, which are located at the ends of the shoots one or several pieces. Thin stems are covered with foliage having a solid surface. Pleases with luxurious flowering in mid-summer.

Blue

A compact bush strewn with pale blue inflorescences with a yellowish center, 1.5-2 cm in diameter, which stand out against the green background of openwork foliage. The leaves are entire or pinnately divided, and are in alternate order. Begins to bloom in mid-July.

Swan Lake

A beautiful, graceful plant up to 25 cm high.The bush is highly branched, covered with delicate, pinnately dissected foliage and dotted with numerous flowers, collected in inflorescences-baskets 3 cm in diameter. The flowers are reed-shaped and have a varied palette of shades. Abundant flowering begins in June and continues until the onset of autumn frosts.

For every gardener, brachycoma will be a real find. This unpretentious plant will delight you with luxurious flowering all season long. And the varied palette of shades of inflorescences is a great opportunity to let your imagination run wild when creating unique living compositions.