Eustoma, planting and care in the open field

01.05.2021

Every owner wants his personal plot to look beautiful and somewhat exotic. In addition to landscape design items such as swimming pools, alpine slides, garden furniture, the appearance of the backyard is determined by the plants. Recently, gardeners have been paying more and more attention to a flower bed, since correctly selected flowers can delight the eye with their flowering for more than one day, emphasizing the whole idea of a holistic design. By using plants with different flowering periods and bud colors, great compositions can be created.

One of the recently popular flowers that are grown outdoors is eustoma. It grows equally well both at home (in pots) and outdoors. How to properly grow eustoma in a flower bed of a personal plot - further in the article.

What is eustoma

This plant has become known in Europe relatively recently. Eustoma owes its appearance in the Old World to the Irish biologist Patrick Brown. Perhaps it is because of this that this flower is also called the Irish rose. The eustoma bud that has not opened completely resembles a rose. However, this is where the similarities end. The homeland of the plant is the Central American region and the Caribbean. This fact determined the "love" of the eustoma to the warm and humid climate.

The main characteristics of the culture:

The lisianthus flower, which is another of its names, is considered a perennial plant. However, it is mainly cultivated in the open field as an annual. This is due to the fact that eustoma does not tolerate frost very well, and rarely blooms twice in extreme conditions.
The plant has a rather long stem, the height of which reaches 0.9 - 1.2 m. Approximately from its middle, the eustoma begins to branch, giving several shoots. Inflorescences are also formed on them, so one shoot of the plant gives several inflorescences. This has become the reason for the great popularity of the flower among flower growers, who are increasingly growing eustoma for cutting. By the way, in a cut form, under favorable conditions, it can stand in a vase for up to 2 weeks.
Its leaves give a special charm to eustoma. Mostly they have an elliptical shape and a bluish tint. Often this plant is compared with a carnation for the shape of the stem and leaves, but, despite the similarities, they are still different.
Eustoma flowers are rather large, reaching up to 8 cm in diameter. Moreover, they have a large number of colors and shades. Among flower beds, terry eustoma is more popular.

The cultivation of the plant in the open field began relatively recently. Before that, eustoma was predominantly a pot plant. With the advent of varieties for open cultivation, it was successfully grown in greenhouses, and then in flower beds.

Eustoma varieties

Plant varieties for potting and open field are different. This is due to the different growing conditions of the culture. Flowers for home growing are mostly undersized, their stem height does not exceed 70 cm. And for open ground, taller plants are used.

Among the domestic plant varieties, the most popular are:

A small variety, perfect for growing in pots. It has flowers of predominantly pink color with a large number of shades.
A variety with a stem size of no more than 20 cm, with a funnel inflorescence of various colors.
The varieties Vernost and Mermaid are also very popular.

For cultivation in clubs and in greenhouses, the following varieties of eustoma are used:

A beautiful flower with a large palette of colors and shades. In this case, there are both two-tone and monotone colorings of buds. Unlike other varieties, eustoma, intended for planting in open ground, does not differ in a large stem height.
Variety with a stem length up to 90 cm and a wide variety of bud colors.
An early plant variety. Its flowering begins 2-3 weeks earlier than the rest. At the same time, Aurora has the highest stem up to 1.2 m, and large flowers of blue, blue, white and pink colors.
This variety is distinguished by its unpretentiousness, therefore it is quite popular among gardeners for outdoor planting. It has tall stems and a wide range of colors and shades.

Planting eustoma seedlings

Since the plant is considered tropical, in our latitudes it should not be sown in open ground. Eustoma seedlings are grown in pots in more favorable conditions, after which a mature flower is transplanted into a flower bed.

Eustoma seeds are rather small. There are more than 20 thousand of them per 1 gram of weight. With proper seed treatment before sowing, the germination rate of the material is more than 50%. Such treatment, which reduces the incidence of plants, the influence of harmful fauna (bacteria, mold, fungus) on them, is carried out by seed producers. Therefore, it is better to buy the latter in specialized stores. The result will be better.

Planting material can be sown both in separate pots and in large boxes.

The order of planting the culture is as follows:

Before sowing, it is necessary to prepare the soil. The most optimal soil for growing seedlings will be a mixture of peat and bark humus in equal proportions. If not available, you can use a specialized formulation for flowering plants. You can buy it at any flower shop.
After the soil is prepared, you can start sowing eustoma. Before this, the soil must be slightly moistened. Then seeds are poured onto its surface and covered with a small layer of soil.
The distance between the plants should be at least 30 cm. You can put 2 seeds in a small hole. If both emerge, the smaller and weaker plant is removed.
The pot or box should be covered with a thin plastic wrap, while creating conditions for normal air circulation. To stimulate the growth of seedlings, artificial light can be used for 10-12 hours a day. To do this, you can hang a fluorescent lamp over them.
The temperature in the room where the seedlings will be placed should be in the range of 19-22 ° C. If everything is done correctly, shoots will appear in 2-3 weeks.
Seedlings should be watered regularly, however, the soil should not be waterlogged. It is best to resort to an even spray of moisture over the top layer of the soil, not allowing the latter to dry out. Once the seedlings appear, they can be placed on a south-facing window to increase the amount of natural light.

When to sow eustoma? So, if the cultivation of eustoma in greenhouses can be carried out year-round, regardless of the sowing time, then for planting in open ground, you need to sow seeds for seedlings in late January - early February. Only in this case, you can wait for the eustoma to bloom this year. The plant blooms only 3-4 months after germination. When transplanting seedlings into open ground, the interval can be increased.

Picking and planting eustoma seedlings in open ground

The order of work at this stage is as follows:

When the plant has a couple of full leaves, its watering can be slightly changed. Spraying is continued at large intervals. The picking and transplanting of seedlings into the ground is carried out under a favorable external environment and the normal state of the plants. They must be strong and have at least two pairs of full sheets.
It is possible to plant eustoma seedlings only in well-heated soil. This is usually done in mid or late May, when the probability of frost decreases to zero. Since eustoma is a tropical plant, a temperature drop below 0 ° C can be detrimental to its seedlings.
This plant is photophilous, however, it does not like direct sunlight. Therefore, for eustoma in the garden, it is better to choose a slightly darkened place with diffused light. Particular attention should be paid to the soil. It must be rich enough in mineral and organic nutrients to ensure normal growth and flowering of the plant.
Plant feeding must be carried out during the eustoma flowering period. For this, complex fertilizers are used in liquid form. You need to select them specifically for flowers. Fertilizer is diluted at the rate of 15 mg per 10 liters of water. You need to add top dressing no more than 2 times during the flowering period with a frequency of 1 time in 2 weeks.
When watering a planted plant, it is necessary to avoid getting moisture on its leaves. This can lead to the appearance of diseases.

Diseases and pests of eustoma

Growing eustoma in the open field is always associated with the threat of infection with various diseases and exposure to pests. Among the most common diseases of this plant are:

Powdery mildew.
Gray rot.
Fusarium.

The main reason for the appearance of these diseases is improper watering of plants. It can be irregular or excessive moisture, which leads to the appearance of disease-causing fungi.

The fight against these diseases consists in proper watering and processing of the soil with special antifungal solutions, or spraying the plant itself with foundation. Such processing will not hurt in case of frequent rains, when the earth cannot dry out for a long time.

Another disease that often affects the eustoma plant with improper care is black leg. Prevention of this disease consists in the treatment of seedlings with epin or zircon. These drugs also stimulate plant growth.