Growing and caring for eustoma in open ground, propagation methods and varieties

Eustoma is a beautiful flower from the Gentian family. The second name of the plant is lisianthus, and people have come up with several more names for it, namely “Irish rose”, “Japanese rose” and “Texas bell”. In order to grow eustoma, you will have to make some effort, but it is worth it.

Characteristics and description of culture

Eustoma is highly decorative, therefore it is popular among gardeners and florists. The plant has strong but graceful stems. From the middle of the stem it begins to branch, so one branch looks like a full-fledged bouquet, which can have up to 30 inflorescences. The leaves of lisianthus have a bluish or grayish tint, matte.

The inflorescences come in various shapes with a diameter of about 5-8 cm. The colors vary: pink, lilac, violet, blue, yellow and white. There are single-colored, two-colored and with a contrasting border. Inflorescences are double or simple. In a half-opened position, the flower looks like a simple rose, and when fully opened, it resembles a double poppy.

The flowering period occurs in the second half of July and lasts until October.

In which regions is it recommended to plant the plant?

In areas with excessive humidity, eustoma does not take root well. The southern regions are the most favorable for growing flowers. But in Siberia and the Urals, this flower is cultivated only in greenhouses and indoor conditions.

Types of perennial eustoma

Eustoma is becoming quite popular and is increasingly found in gardening stores. These flowers are divided into two types.

Tall varieties

Tall representatives of lisianthus grow from 50 cm to 1 m. They are most often grown in the countryside for cutting.They have a large number of inflorescences on one stem, which look ideal in bouquets and do not fade for a long time.

Several varieties of tall eustomas:

• Echo Pink Picotee. This is an early variety. The height of the stems reaches 70 cm. The inflorescences are quite large, double with a white color and a pink frame.
• Flamenco. This variety begins flowering 2 weeks earlier than other representatives of the species. The inflorescences can be soft blue, soft yellow, soft pink, milky or almost white. Height 70 cm.
• Mariachi lime. The growth of this variety reaches 1 m. The flowers are super-double, 7 cm in diameter. The flowers resemble roses and have a light green color.

Low growth varieties:

• Loyalty. The flower has many simple inflorescences with white petals that are arranged in a spiral. The height of the Fidelity variety is 20 cm.
• Mermaid. The variety has funnel-shaped flowers of lilac, pink or white. The leaves are glaucous and have a waxy coating. Height is about 15 cm.
• Mystery. The flower has semi-double inflorescences with pale blue petals. Flowering is abundant. Height - up to 20 cm.

Low-growing or indoor

Low-growing species of these flowers grow no higher than 30 cm. They are often planted in pots and grown on window sills in winter and on balconies in summer. Bushes room eustoma compact, highly decorative.

Necessary conditions for cultivation

In order to grow this rather whimsical flower, you need to know in what conditions it should be done.

Light and humidity

For the first 2 months, plants need bright, diffused light. For this, fluorescent lamps are used, since natural light is not enough. This is necessary so that the sprouts do not stretch.

Temperature

The most favorable temperature for eustoma is +20-25 degrees during the day, and +15 degrees at night.In winter, if possible, plants are brought indoors and the temperature is maintained within +10-12 degrees.

Required soil composition

The soil in which the plant will develop must have low acidity, no higher than 6.5-7.0, and be breathable. To deoxidize and improve the soil, add ash, peat and sand. If the soil is correct, lisianthus can be grown as a perennial plant.

Purchased substrate is also used for sowing seeds. Suitable soil for Saintpaulias.

How to plant eustoma in the garden

Planting a flower through seeds is the most common and simplest.

Pre-sowing seed treatment

Lisianthus seeds are very small, like dust. In this regard, production facilities where seeds are packaged treat them with special substances. They form granules around the seeds. This not only makes sowing more convenient, but also helps the seeds to germinate, because the granule consists of fertilizers and growth stimulants.

Choosing a suitable location

The flower should be planted in a place protected from wind and drafts. In the selected area, the plant should not be exposed to the scorching rays of the sun all day. It is better if eustoma grows in diffuse shade.

Timing and technology of sowing seeds

When choosing the time for sowing seed material, you need to take into account that the flowering period of lisianthus begins 15-20 weeks after germination of the first shoots. Therefore, sowing begins in winter.

In order to sow seeds, you need to prepare a container and fill it with moist soil. To do this, mix peat and sand in equal proportions. The seeds are scattered over the soil, burying them slightly into the ground. Cover the top of the container with film or a sheet of glass. They are sent to a warm place where the air temperature will not be lower than +19 degrees.

Caring for seedlings after sowing

The container with the crops should be in a bright place. If necessary, the soil is sprayed with water. After 2-3 weeks the first shoots will appear. After the first 2 leaves have formed on the sprouts, reduce the amount of watering. Between irrigations the soil should have time to dry out. Then watering is carried out only in the mornings. After the flower has formed 4 leaves, they can be picked.

Important! Excessive watering can cause blackleg disease..

Picking

Dive the seedlings into separate containers with a diameter of about 5 cm. Do this carefully so as not to damage the tender and fragile sprouts. Using something thin, carefully pry up the soil and, with a small lump, transfer the plant into a glass. Fill the remaining area with fertile soil and water the seedlings. And after 30 days, the grown plants are planted in open ground.

Planting seedlings in open ground

Seedlings are planted in flower beds towards the end of May. At this point, she should have from 4 to 8 sheets. As soon as the flower is planted in the soil, it quickly begins to grow.

When planting lisianthus, gardeners adhere to the following recommendations:

• The right time of day for disembarkation is evening;
• When replanting seedlings, they should be removed from the pot along with the soil and moved into the hole, filled with fertile soil;
• when planting eustoma in the soil, you cannot bury it deeper than it grew in the pot;
• immediately after transplanting, each sprout is covered with a jar or tall glass to protect it from a strong temperature jump.

How to properly care for a flower

In order to organize proper care for eustoma, you need to know the rules of watering, fertilizing, replanting and disease control.

Watering and loosening

Watering is done with warm, standing water.Before watering, the soil should be slightly dry. The soil is periodically loosened to destroy weeds and improve the penetration of oxygen into the soil.

Top dressing

And they begin to feed eustomas from the 10-14th day after planting in the ground. During vigorous growth, fertilizing is carried out once every 2 weeks. They are also necessary during the period of bud formation and during flowering itself.

For fertilizing, all fertilizers that dissolve in water are used.

Garter

Tall specimens need a garter. The stem of the plant may not support the weight of numerous inflorescences and may break or bend. At the first sign of lodging, a garter should be made. To do this, they drive pegs into the ground and, tying a rope to them, wrap it around a bush. Instead of a garter, decorative supports are also used.

Transfer

The flower is rarely replanted, as it has a very vulnerable root system. If replanting is still necessary, then move the plant to a new place with a large lump of earth in order to injure the roots of the flower as little as possible.

Disease Prevention

For the preventive treatment of diseases, even at the stage of the first shoots, plants are sprayed with a solution of “Fundazol” or “Ridomil”. Further, throughout the entire development cycle, the flower will need to be treated with these drugs. For 1 liter of water you will need 1 tsp. facilities.

Most often, the flower is affected by the following diseases:

• blackleg;
• powdery mildew;
• gray rot;
• fusarium wilt.

How to protect against parasites and pests

Lisianthus belong to the Gentian family, so they have a bitter juice, and usually most pests avoid them.But if they do attack the plants, they are destroyed with the help of insecticides, “Confidor”, “Aktellik” or “Fitoverm” will do.

The following pests can damage the plant:

• aphid;
• mealy mite;
• greenhouse whitefly;
• slugs

Sheltering the plant for the winter

It is best to move the eustoma indoors for the winter, transferring it to a large flowerpot. But if this cannot be done, then the plants are covered. The flower can endure such a wintering only in the southern regions, where winters are not so severe. In this regard, eustoma is often grown as an annual plant.

Flower propagation methods

In order to propagate a plant, you need to know the possible options for this process.

Seeds

To propagate a plant using seeds, you must first collect them. Collection is carried out only from varietal specimens. There is no point in collecting seeds from hybrids, because the seedlings will not transfer the qualities of the mother bush.

The collection is carried out carefully, because the seeds are very small, and only after the seed pod is completely dry. The collected material is sown for seedlings. Sowing is carried out in winter.

Rhizome

These flowers do not reproduce by dividing their roots. They have a very sensitive root system. If the root is damaged, the plant will die.

Cuttings

It is also not possible to propagate eustoma by cuttings, since the cuttings do not root in the soil.

What problems do novice gardeners most often encounter?

Beginning gardeners should know some nuances in growing these capricious but beautiful flowers:

1. When watering, you need to know that eustoma is sensitive to overwatering. If the soil is poorly drained and moisture stagnates under the bush, there is a high chance of the flower dying.
2. Lisianthus bushes should not be planted near metal or brick fences and walls.In hot weather, this can cause burns to the delicate plant. Metal and brick get very hot in the sun and touching the plant can damage it.
3. Do not plant flowers in drafts. In such places they wither and die.
4. Often eustoma seeds do not germinate well, so only fresh material should be selected for sowing.
5. You should not frequently move lisianthus in pots from one place to another. They react poorly to sudden changes in temperature.
6. When sowing seeds for seedlings in winter, it is better to provide additional light to the seedlings. The required period of receiving light is 12-14 hours a day.
7. Seedlings must not only be watered periodically, but also ventilated. Gardeners do this once a day.

When growing eustoma, you need to adhere to all the rules for planting and caring for the plant. What may seem insignificant to a gardener can result in death for a plant.