Gomfrena

Gomfrena: flower description

Gomphren's flower: photo of a plant

Gomphrene is a flowering plant that belongs to the Amaranth family. In the wild, it can be found in the tropical belt of the Southern and Northern Hemispheres. In the regions of South America, you can most often find this amazing plant. The genus includes more than 100 plant varieties, most of which are cultivated as a houseplant. Features of the variety. gomphrene is a herbaceous plant that can be both perennial and annual. The stems of the plant are either upright or raised. The entire opposite leaf plate can be petiolate or sessile. The inflorescences have a capitate shape, consisting of flowers that are red, pink, blue, white, purple, lilac or yellow in color, which is often uneven. The fruit looks like an unopened achene, inside which there are smooth seeds with a flattened shape. For middle latitudes, perennial plants are cultivated as annuals. The Gomfren plant is distinguished by its unpretentious care, has high decorative qualities.

Gomfrena: growing from seed

Gomphren's flower: photo of a plant

When to sow seedlings

For regions of middle latitude, it is typical to grow a plant only with the help of seedlings. The reason is that if the seeds are sown directly into open soil, they may not produce seedlings. Also, this culture is characterized by a rather long ripening period. Planting seeds of Gomfrena for seedlings falls on the beginning of March. Before you start sowing the seed, it needs preliminary preparation, which can take about 1.5 weeks. Within 3 days, in the morning it will be necessary to fill the seeds with warm water, before that the seeds are placed in a glass jar. On the 4th day, the water must be drained along with the seeds onto a sieve, rinsed thoroughly under running water. Rinse the jar well and put the washed seed there, after which the jar must be closed with a nylon lid and stored in the refrigerator for 1 week.

How to properly sow the seeds of Gomfrena

A suitable substrate should include coarse sand or vermiculite, as well as a versatile soil that is suitable for vegetable seedlings. The substrate will need to be watered well so that it becomes moist, but at the same time slightly oversaturated with water. Containers are filled with this dredge, and it is best to use cassettes. After that, the soil mixture must be slightly pressed down and watered well. This must be done, because next time you will not water soon. Cold seed will need to be taken out of the jar, evenly placed over the surface of the prepared substrate, then pressed against the soil mixture. After that, the container should be covered with glass or polyethylene, removed to a well-lit place, the lighting should be bright and diffused, the air temperature should be +20 +22 degrees. The appearance of the first seedlings can be expected in 15-20 days. If you want to speed up the process, then you need to use the bottom heating, then the emergence of seedlings will occur after 3 days. After their appearance, the shelter will need to be removed. If the seedlings are grown in one common container, then 15-20 days after the seedlings appear, it will be necessary to dive into separate containers.After such cut plants have finally taken root, it will be necessary to add a solution of mineral fertilizers, which will have a weak concentration. The soil should be slightly damp, but too much water should not be allowed, otherwise the plant may die due to a disease such as black skin - a fungal disease that affects the bushes during the seedling period. after you plant the plant, you will need to shed it well and loosen the soil around the bush. If you notice that the plant has been affected by a disease, then the affected bush must be removed, after which the surface of the earthmouth must be covered with a layer of wood ash, for some time watering will need to be stopped.

Gomfrena: landing

It is possible to plant Gomfren in open ground only when you are sure that the winter frosts will not disturb you and your plant again. The weather should be warm, the soil warm. Most often it is the end of May or the beginning of June. In order to start growing a plant, you need to choose an illuminated place that will be far from wind and drafts. The soil should be neutral, slightly nutritious.

How to land Gomfrena.

Before you start planting Gomfrena in open soil, you must first dig it up, but you do not need to apply fertilizer. After the site is completely ready for planting, you need to start preparing the planting holes. It is important to keep in mind that if you will grow varieties with high growth, then you need to maintain a distance between them of about 35 cm.For plants with small growth, about 20 cm is enough.The depth of the hole should be such that the plant, together with a lump of earth, can quietly accommodate there. After that, the plant is placed in a hole, strictly in the center, while all actions must be carried out very carefully so as not to damage the root system. The holes in the pits are also filled with soil. After that, the soil will need to be tamped and watered.

Gomfrena: flower care

Gomphren's flower: photo of a plant

It is not so difficult to grow Gomfren on your site, due to the fact that the plant has an unpretentious disposition in care. the plant will need to water, weed, fertilize, and loosen the soil on time. In order for the plant to delight you with its beautiful and neat appearance, the plant will need to be pruned. The Gomphrene flower tolerates cutting well, and most importantly, the more often and more you cut the plant, the more dense it will have.

Watering and fertilizing.

Gomfren needs watering only in very dry weather, while watering should be of a moderate nature. The plant tolerates drought well, for this reason, if you skip watering, it will not affect the condition of the plant in any way. it is also worth observing that there is no stagnation of water in order to avoid fungal disease, especially if the weather is cool. If the weather in your region is very rainy, then watering is not needed at all, however, on the advice of experts, after the rain stops, loosen the soil every time and remove excess weeds that have appeared. Fertilizers need to be applied with extreme caution, since the plant does not like highly nutritious soil. If the soil contains a large amount of nitrogen, then a strong appearance of green mass may occur, and this will negatively affect the quantity and quality of flowering, or it may not occur at all.

Diseases and insects

Gomphren's flower: photo of a plant

The Gomphren plant can be susceptible to disease if water stagnates in the soil. it is important to note the fact that the plant has good immunity against various diseases and insects. it is very rare to find aphids, which can appear on a plant, having got over from a nearby bush.To combat aphids, special insecticides are used. Using folk methods will have a low effect.

Varieties of Gomphren

• Spherical Gomfrena. The height of the plant can be different - from 15 to 40 cm. The whole-edged short-peted leaves are distinguished by the presence of pubescence, which gives them a dry color. The capitate inflorescences with a spherical shape in diameter can reach up to 40 mm, can have pink, lilac, purple, red, white, crimson color. The flowering period of the Globular Gomphrene falls in July, ends when the first frosts come.
• Bright Border - a bush with a height of about 0.3 m. Flowers can differ in various shades of pink flowers, even up to a carmine-pink hue.
• Buddy - a bush with a height of about 15 cm, flowers are purple, white and pink.

Also not less popular types of Gomphren are considered: Gnome, Globoza, Fireworks, raspberry berry, Pixie Mix, pompom. The cultivation of this variety began not so long ago. It resembles Gomfren's spherical, but in this plant the inflorescences are larger, orange and red in color. The variety loves warmth, for this reason, if suddenly the summer period is cold, then the plant may not begin to bloom.

• Absent-minded Gomfrena. Very often, this type of plant is placed in suspended structures. The elongated leaf plate serves as a beautiful decoration for the shoots that spread throughout the entire territory of the site, thereby creating the look of a carpet. The carnation-shaped inflorescence and buds with an orange-golden color are especially effective.
• The Gomphrene variety has gained great popularity - Pink Pinhade. The flowers of this plant have a deep pink color, which can persist even if the plant dries up. For this reason, it is often used in floral arrangements during winter time.