Ageratum in the garden: everything you need to know about planting and care

Ageratum in the garden

Ageratum is a culture that will perfectly complement your composition in a flower garden. With its pretty blue flowers, this plant is capable of captivating almost anyone. Ageratum is not too whimsical to care for. In this article, we will tell you about the rules for planting, reproduction and caring for the ageratum.

Brief information about ageratum

The homeland of the ageratum is the warm country of India, it was there that it was first discovered. In our area, this culture belongs to annuals due to cold conditions. Sometimes the ageratum can also be found in the United States. Ageratum can be both in the form of shrubs and a herbaceous plant. As a rule, this culture does not reach more than 50 centimeters in height.

At the moment, there are about sixty known species of ageratum. Ageratum is different in its form. There are varieties of dwarf, spreading, erect. In appearance, the flowers of the plant are a bit like fluffy balls, such as pompons. In color, they come in blue shades, sometimes they are white or pinkish. Small in size, usually not exceeding one centimeter in diameter. They have a wonderful aroma. Usually, the active appearance of flowers starts in early June. This period is rather long and lasts until the onset of cold temperatures. The fruiting period is in September. Just imagine, more than 5000 seeds can contain only one achene! To make the ageratum feel comfortable in your flower bed, try to have annual crops as neighbors.

Keep in mind that ageratum leaves contain toxic substances. They can cause allergies and irritation of the mucous membranes!

Ageratum in the garden: choosing the right place for planting

Ageratum is not at all whimsical culture in care and planting rules. One of the most important conditions for planting ageratum in the garden is that there are no risks of recurrent low temperatures in spring. The soil for the ageratum is not too important, but a large amount of sunlight is a prerequisite for the normal growth and development of this culture. When planting, be sure to maintain a spacing between plants of at least fifteen centimeters.

When choosing a site for planting ageratum, give preference to an open area with the lightest soil that has a neutral pH level. A prerequisite is good lighting! Do not let drafts blow through your flower bed. Remember that the ageratum in the garden will not tolerate even the slightest shading. For this reason, there is a risk that the stalks of plants will begin to stretch, the leaves will thin out, and you will practically not see flowers. On average, it is believed that the ageratum in the garden should be in the shade no longer than a couple of hours a day.

The plant is not quite whimsical to the soil, the earth should be sufficiently nutritious, but without excess. Since with a large amount of fertilizer, the plant will begin to grow green mass, and there is a possibility that it will not be possible to see a lush flowering.

Do not plant this crop in damp or stony soils. Otherwise, there is a risk that the root system of your plants will be sick. Drainage of ageratum during planting is not required. No additional fertilizing is needed in the soil either. The most important thing is that the site is with light soils, moisture does not stagnate.In this case, further withdrawal will not require too much of you.

Ageratum in the garden: correct planting and breeding methods

Landing the ageratum is not too troublesome. First of all, choose a well-lit area and prepare the ground. If the soil is already loose, then loosen it additionally with a pitchfork. And that will be enough. If the earth is dense, then it will be more reliable to arrange a digging. Ageratum is grown in the garden in two ways: using seeds and using cuttings. A natural question arises, at what time should the ageratum be planted in one and the other way?

As a rule, gardeners for the most part give preference to seed reproduction. Ageratum is usually planted in early March. In order for the sprouts to germinate without any problems, you first need to prepare a special soil mixture and containers for planting. The substrate should consist of sand, peat and humus, in a ratio of 1: 1: 1. As containers, you can use, for example, a wooden box or some other containers.

When the seeds are sown, sprinkle with that soil from above, sprinkle a little water from the spray bottle and put the film on top. When you see that the ground is already dry, water your seedlings. After ten days, the first shoots should appear. After that, you can remove the film. It is good if the temperature is maintained around 20 - 23 degrees. Remember that Ageratum is a culture that is very fond of light! As for dressings, they should be applied about once a week. As a rule, complex fertilizers are applied.

Before planting your plants outdoors, you can, if you wish, move your seedlings to separate containers. When the risk of night cold temperatures goes away, then you can plant your plants. Usually this time falls on the end of May.

If you want to propagate your plants using cuttings, then before the onset of cold temperatures, you need to pull out the seedlings along with the earth and transplant them into other containers. Keep the pots close to the light all the time. The temperature should be room temperature. Watering should be done in moderation; every month, add fertilizing that contains the necessary minerals. This will allow your plants to overwinter normally. Closer to mid-April, cuttings should be cut from the plants, they should be about fifteen centimeters long. The slices themselves are best treated with a growth accelerator. The cuttings should be planted in fertilized soil that allows moisture and air to pass through well. Next, you need to water them and place them under the film. It is required to observe the temperature regime (about 20 degrees), and also make sure that there is a sufficient amount of light. After a few weeks, your cuttings will take root, and in a month they will please you with the first shoots.

Planting cuttings, however, like seeds, is necessary when the low temperatures go away.

Usually gardeners prefer the seed method of propagation of ageratum. It is believed that this method is easier than cuttings. This is especially convenient considering that one flower alone can provide you with thousands of seeds. By the way, they have good germination, which they retain for two to three years.

If you have chosen the method of seed propagation of ageratum, you can get different colors every year, and the method of propagation by cuttings gives only stable results.

If you grow ageratum using seeds at home, then watering should be done only in the morning. To help your plants quickly adapt to outdoor conditions, start hardening them a couple of weeks before planting in an open area. You need to take your landings to a balcony or loggia. You do not need to deepen your seedlings when planting more than they were in the soil mixture. You should not use fresh manure as fertilizer, this will not have the best effect on how the ageratum will bloom and grow.

Ageratum care rules

Taking care of the ageratum is not a very time-consuming and complicated process. Even a novice gardener can handle it. Ageratum requires regular watering. It should be abundant enough, however, make sure that the soil is not too wet, as this is dangerous for the root system of the plants. A good guideline for watering is dry soil. Loosening is quite convenient to carry out after the rain has passed, or after watering. At the same time, it will not be superfluous to get rid of weeds that interfere with the normal development of your plantings.

You do not need to feed your flowers too often, you need to do this a maximum of once every three weeks. Pay attention to pruning your flowers, as the flowering will be more active after this procedure. Pruning also has a good effect on the quality of your plants' growth.

The ageratum root system is sufficiently developed to withstand dry weather. This crop is good for abundant, but not too frequent watering. Excess water in the soil can provoke various diseases of the root system.

When feeding, do not apply clean manure. It is better to use an infusion of mullein, which is convenient to add to the water with which you water ageratums.

It is not necessary to make classical top dressing, such as peat, humus. They can affect the formation of abundant greenery, but will not improve flowering in any way. The best option would be complex fertilizers based on minerals for annual plants. These can be purchased from specialist gardening stores. Remember that you need to apply top dressing for ageratum a maximum of once every three weeks.

Ageratums take pruning well. Remove, not sparing, inflorescences that have already faded. This will give a good boost to abundant flowering. If a little shade is allowed, then the plants may begin to stretch upward. In this case, it is better to remove the upper part of the shoots. This will make your shrub grow more dense.

You can "rejuvenate" your bushes once a month by pruning, you can shape them as you want. If you want the bushes to be thicker, then you need to periodically pinch the flowers. If the sprouts begin to actively stretch out, then it's time to cut off the upper part of the shoots. In order for the ageratum to grow normally in the garden, you need to leave at least four to six leaves on the shoot. This will provoke the appearance of new bushes, as well as make the flowering longer.

As for various diseases and harmful insects, here gardeners periodically face some problems. For example, ageratum is often affected by root rot. This is due to the increased sensitivity to the level of moisture in the air and in the soil. If there is already an attack, it is better to remove the affected plant. But the best solution would be to take preventive measures. Sometimes ageratum is affected by cucumber mosaics, spider mites and nematodes. First of all, when plants are damaged, it is necessary to remove the leaves that have been damaged, and then carry out the treatment with herbal decoctions or insecticides.

Ageratum in the garden photo