How to grow Cineraria
How to grow Cineraria
The cineraria (Jacobaea maritima (L.) Pelser & Meijden, 2005) is a herbaceous species of the Asteraceae family, widespread in the Mediterranean basin, of which there are many cultivars used for ornamental purposes, selected according to the color and size of leaves and flowers and with spring bloom, between April and May. In this sheet we will see how to grow the Cineraria and the optimal climatic and agronomic conditions. They are plants that particularly appreciate the direct rays of the sun, so it is advisable, to allow abundant flowering anyway, to choose a very bright area well exposed to the sun’s rays. As for the type of soil, if grown in the garden, they are plants that prefer well drained, sandy soils with a very coarse and possibly even stony skeleton.
They are also plants that tolerate well the drought and salinity of both the soil and the air, so they are very suitable for the gardens of the areas near the sea or, in any case, subjected to the prevailing winds coming from the sea.
Obviously in the preparation of the portion of land where Cineraria can grow, it is better to distribute a good quantity of organic fertilizer (well-mature manure, compost or earthworm humus), this will allow a better vigor of the plant and, subsequently, a remarkable flowering. will not make other fertilizations, since the vegetative cycle of these plants is quite short. The time between the germination and the flowering of the new plants is about 7 months. As for irrigations, even if they are plants that naturally tolerate drought and dry conditions in nature, to have richly flowered flowerbeds it is necessary to irrigate them abundantly and making sure that the irrigation shift is chosen on the principle of intervening when the soil of the first centimeters has just dried. In this way we will favor the deepening of the roots and a greater vegetative vigor. The propagation of the plant occurs by seed. If you want winter blooms you must sow in the month of May, if instead you want the spring blooms you have to sow in the month of July. It is advisable to sow beforehand in the seeds, with soil for flowering plants, mixed with 40% of sand, keeping it constantly humid, especially during germination, with temperature not below 15 ° C. After about one month from the germination the seedlings can be transplanted either in the garden or in planters at a distance of 20-25 cm, to obtain homogeneous blooms. To keep flowering as long as possible, it is advisable to trim the apical part of the stems to favor the emission of new jets, also during the topping phase, it is advisable to eliminate the dry or damaged parts.
Among the pests and diseases that can occur for the cinerary we remember especially the rottenness, in the case above all it is not implanted in a very permeable soil or it is exceeded in the irrigations; among the insects the most dangerous are the aphids; in this last case it is advisable, beforehand, to spray with nettle macerates and then, if someone appears, with solutions of Marseille soap.