Aromatic heliotrope. Cultivation from seeds

Many flower growers with undisguised admiration refer to the heliotrope. This flower is a real adornment of any garden, and its pleasant vanilla aroma soothes and pacifies. A half-shrub with harsh leaves and blue or violet small flowers gathered in the shields - this is the heliotrope. Cultivation of the seeds of this plant does not cause much trouble, although it forces the gardeners to work hard.

Blooms flower heliotrope in June and pleases the eye right up to the most frosts. Although this half-shrub is considered a perennial plant, it is cultivated as an annual plant. He comes from South America, so the heat-loving flower can not withstand our frosts and disappears during the winter. Heliotrope is remarkable in that it always turns its small numerous flowers to the sun, as if in search of light and heat, which it so lacks in our regions.

The plant is grown in two ways: seeds and cuttings. The first method is more laborious, but it is necessary for reproduction, and the second one can be used if there is an adult heliotrope. Growing out of seeds means preparing the substrate and having a room with a temperature of about 20 ° C. In the seedlings you need to fill a mixture of garden land, peat and sand. The seeds are very small, so it is recommended to pour them on a folded leaf and sow.

The soil must be decontaminated, so before planting the seeds, it must be steamed or shed with boiling water. To make plants appear faster, the box is installed in a warm place and covered with glass to create greenhouse conditions that are so Loves heliotrope. Cultivation from seeds though and is not considered an easy way, but the seedlings turn out healthy, and flowers - large. Shoots appear after 21-30 days. In March and April, sunlight is not so much, so that the plants do not stretch, requires fluorescent lighting fluorescence.

Transplant into individual pots or glasses seedlings can be done when the first real leaf appears, which will soon be able to boast heliotrope. Cultivation from seeds allows a large number of seedlings to be obtained in a short time, so it is important that there is a free space for its placement. You need to pinch the flower when it reaches a height of 10 cm.

It is problematic to grow a heliotrope with seeds every year, so you can resort to cuttings. For this purpose, before autumn frosts, the most healthy adult plants should be excavated and transplanted into a pot. If you provide them with light and warmth, then the flowers will bloom and in Conditions. In January and February, you can start cutting, cutting new shoots and planting them in peat pills. In the open land, seedlings are planted in late May or early June, when the danger of frosts disappears.

Bright, unforgettable, beautiful and fragrant - all this heliotrope. This flower will become a real decoration of any garden. The plant is known for its pleasant vanilla aroma, which attracts many people, but whether it will have a smell depends first of all on the seed producer. Some breeders focus on the unpretentiousness of the conditions of cultivation, and only then on the presence of smell. But most of the heliotrope has a wonderful aroma and pleases its flowering all summer.