Beautiful and unpretentious flowers of the majors. Planting and care recommendations

Surely you've seen lush terry flowers that stand on a string. Perhaps you've seen them on city flower beds or in front gardens in front of houses. These are unpretentious flowers of the major, or zinnia. How they are grown and how to take care of them - you will learn all this in the article.

What kind of flowers are the majors?

Despite its strict name, it is a very attractive and bright plant. The majors are their national name, on seed bags and in literature you are likely to meet their official name - zinnia. The flower is named after the German scientist, professor of botany Johann Gottfried Cinna.

The plant is one of the easiest annuals for growing in the garden. They develop rapidly, and the period of flowering is very long - until the first colds.

Zinnia has bright, solitary buds, similar in shape to chamomile, but much more magnificent. The height of the plant varies depending on the variety - from 15 cm to the giants with a height of 1 m, which allows them to be used in different roles in the garden: from low curbs to whole flower beds, where the main flowers are majors. Photo of this way of landing:

The dimensions of the petals are also different: from 2 to 8 cm.

Zinnia is also grown on a slice.

Flowers majors: planting, caring for young plants

These annuals are not only beautiful, but also quite budgetary. In a temperate climate, they can be grown on their own, without seedlings. Seeds of flowers of majors are inexpensive and they can be found in most gardening stores. And further care for the plant is quite simple and does not involve expensive fertilizers or protective equipment.

A sunny place - that's what the correct landing of the majors necessarily requires. There will be a lot of flowers, and they will develop well only in the absence of shading in the flowerbed. The root system of the plant is strong, but branched, so it does not tolerate the transplant.

In the ground, the flowers of the majors are planted after 4-6 weeks from the last frosts, to begin active development, they need a temperature of 10 degrees.

If you want to accelerate the growth or in your region, the spring is long and cold, then it is worth growing zinnia in pots of peat. They can be immediately planted in the soil, decomposing, they will serve as an additional source of nutrients for the flower.

The majors are unpretentious to the soil, but grow best on loose, humus-rich soils with an acidity level of pH 5.5 to 7.5.

When planting the seeds need to be sealed to a depth of not more than 1 cm, slightly sprinkling with earth. The distance between seedlings depends on the size of the plant: for low grades - 15-20 cm, for high grades - 30-60 cm.

If all the conditions are met, the first shoots will appear in 4-7 days. Soil for them should be well moistened, but not to the state of gruel.

Care of adult plants

The flowers of the majors do not take away much of your time during the garden work. Young plants need good watering, preferably carried out under the root, in the evening or in the early morning, so that the moisture is properly absorbed before the hot sun warms by day. When majors become older, they do not like excess water and are even considered resistant to short-term droughts.

When the plant reaches a height of 10 cm, it needs to be fertilized with liquid fertilizer.

To make the flowers of the majors acquire a more branched shape, while they are small, you need to prick the main shoots.

High grades may require support so that they do not fall and do not break with the wind.

To prolong flowering you need to cut old buds, and in order for the plant to continue to blossom blossom, it is necessary to feed it again in the middle of summer.

The majors live until the first frosts.

Yourself a florist

With zinnias, you can safely make home bouquets. Removal of flowering stems only provokes the development of new floral ovaries, but for this purpose the cut must be located above the leaf or a new bud.

In addition, the majors look beautiful in pots, which can be put anywhere on the site or even on the balcony in a block of flats. It can be a monocultural composition or a mixture of several kinds of flowers.

Pests

The majors are afraid of caterpillars, worms and spider mites. But their main problem is powdery mildew and other bacterial diseases. They arise in the absence of ventilation, caused by too dense planting of plants or with an overabundance of irrigation. Therefore, the soil for them should be loose, well-flowing water. The moisture that remains on buds and leaves after watering from above also contributes to the development of these diseases. If in one place plants are planted densely, do not be afraid to remove a few weak shoots, so that the rest develop normally. Also do not overdo it with watering. Inspect the plants and remove the parts affected by pests.

Modern varieties of zinnia were cultivated to increase resistance to powdery mildew, so if you follow the recommendations for planting and care, then it is unlikely to disturb you.

Interesting Facts

• Zinnia grows like wild flowers in the central part of North America, the southwestern United States and in Mexico. IG Zinn also discovered this plant and brought it to Europe as a herbarium for the eminent scientist Karl Linnaeus. He gave him the modern name.
• Butterflies love the bright colors of the majors. Photos of the guests of the gardens, where they grow, can be seen below.
• Zinnia was the official plant of Indiana from 1931 to 1957.
• Small majors look nice in a dried kind.
• Zinnia is a member of the family of astroids, and therefore has family ties with chamomile, cosmece, marigolds and even sunflower.
• Seeds of majors can be harvested independently, they are ready when the head is completely dried and the flakes are easily separated. But keep in mind that if other varieties grow on the site or within 500 m, the flowers most likely cross-pollinated, and their varietal qualities worsened.