Specific features of growing daisies, asters, nasturtiums, and violets in the garden

Cultivation of ornamental crops in open ground and greenhouses requires strict adherence to planting and nutrient parameters. The correct choice of cultivars and species allows for the creation of a continuous flowering cycle. This helps to obtain high-quality commercial planting material.

Daisy — an herbaceous plant of the Asteraceae family with spatulate, short-petioled leaves and long flower stalks. In gardening, the most popular cultivars are Etna and Snowball, which are valued for their large pink, white, and red flowers. The crop can be propagated by seed, cuttings, or division of the bush.

Daisy can be propagated using the following methods:

• seed;
• cuttings;
• division of the bush.

Asters can be annual or perennial. These are beautiful flowering herbaceous plants of the Brassicaceae family with diverse flower shapes. They can be double, semi-double, or single, and by shape are divided into rose-like, peony-like, needle-like, chrysanthemum-like, and anemone-like. In gardening practice, two species are most often grown: the alpine aster and the European aster.

• Alpine aster — has large flower heads of white, pink, or purple color and a stem 20 cm high with sparse leaves.
• European aster — is a strongly branched bush with many flower heads of various colors, flowering throughout spring and summer.

Specifics of cultivating nasturtium, violet, and hyacinth

Nasturtium belongs to the Tropaeolaceae family and grows as a sprawling bush. Most often, hybrid nasturtium and large nasturtium are cultivated on farms. Large nasturtium has a vine-like or bushy stem up to 40 cm long with large alternate peltate leaves. Hybrid nasturtium is distinguished by long stems, rounded leaves, and large red or yellow flowers.

Violet forms a bush with a stem up to 25 cm high, oblong lanceolate-serrated leaves, and large flowers. All cultivars, based on the structure and color of the corolla, are divided into five main groups. The plant is propagated by seed or cuttings, preferring moist, well-fertilized soils.

1. Violets with large bicolor or self-colored flowers, having one eye in the center of each petal (cultivars Doctor Faust, Albipura, and Beaconsfield).
2. Plants having three eyes on the petals (cultivars Adonis and Cardinal).
3. Violets with variegated corolla coloring.
4. Plants with mixed flower coloring: spotted, variegated, striped, speckled, marbled.
5. Cultivars with ruffled or wavy petals.

For vegetative propagation of violets, softwood cuttings are used. During cultivation, the crop requires systematic top dressing with mineral fertilizers. Superphosphate and saltpeter are used for this purpose.

1. Prepare green terminal shoots with 2-3 nodes in advance.
2. Plant the prepared cuttings into moist, well-fertilized soil.
3. Wait for rooting, which occurs after 4 weeks.
4. Carry out weeding, loosening of the soil, and frequent irrigation.

Hyacinth — a perennial plant of the Liliaceae family. It is a low bush with an upright stem, linear-lanceolate leaves, and paniculate inflorescences. Hyacinths are propagated exclusively by bulbs. The most common cultivars are Marie, Queen Blue, Jacques, Sunflaper, and Inposance. Plants of this species are very demanding regarding light, irrigation, and top dressing.

• Daisy seed sowing scheme — 10x10 cm
• Violet seed sowing scheme — 15x20 cm
• Superphosphate and saltpeter dose for violets — 30 g per 1 m² each
• Alpine aster stem height — 20 cm
• Hybrid nasturtium stem length — up to 4 m
• Violet cutting rooting period — 4 weeks