Will become a garden decoration: how to grow platycodon at home

Platycodon is a perennial herb belonging to the bellflower family. It is also called a broad bell.

This plant has a very interesting appearance and is quite unpretentious in its care. Floristix Info will tell you how to grow it.

Sowing

Platycodon is most often propagated by seeds. It can be sown directly in open ground in spring, but it is better to grow seedlings first. In this case, sow the flower in late February or early March.

First, put the seed in a gauze bag and soak it in water for two days. Then fill boxes or flowerpots with potting soil and place the seeds on it. You can also deepen it a little, but no more than 3-5 mm.

After sowing, moisten the soil with a spray bottle, cover with foil, and place in a warm place (20-22 degrees). Water the crops only when the topsoil dries.

After a week or two, when the sprouts appear, the film can be removed and the air temperature can be reduced to 18-20 degrees. After 3-4 full leaves appear on the plant, the seedlings should be transplanted into separate pots with a diameter of about 10 cm.

Choosing a location

Choosing the right place for planting is very important because the plant does not like transplants.

Platycodon likes well-lit places, but it can also grow in partial shade. As for the soil, you should plant the plant in loose, nutritious, moderately moist soil with neutral acidity. It is also important to take into account the occurrence of groundwater. The root system of an adult plant is vertical, so it can suffer from excess moisture deep in the soil.

Planting platycodon in open ground

Platycodon seedlings are planted outdoors when the threat of the last frost has passed, usually in late May or early June. Before planting, dig up the soil and add half a glass of wood ash and a tablespoon of complex mineral fertilizer per 1 square meter.

Then dig holes a few cm larger than the seedling pots. There should be a distance of about 25-30 cm between them. Gardeners advise transplanting platycodon by transshipment.

Caring for platycodon

During the first two weeks after planting in open ground, plants need to be watered daily. Then the number of waterings is reduced to once every three days. You should also loosen the soil regularly and remove weeds. To do this less often, you can mulch the area.

The flower should be fertilized with a complex fertilizer once a month. In addition, it is worth pinching the platycodon from time to time so that it does not stretch too much.

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