Eustoma - love at first sight

I have been growing eustoma for 5 years, since the seeds appeared in our store. It was love at first sight. On the social network Odnoklassniki, I met the same growers in love with this plant, and to this day we learn from each other and improve our knowledge. And our ranks are growing!

I will not say that eustoma is a very difficult flower to grow, but nevertheless, patience will be required from you, since you will have to sow seeds for seedlings very early and from this the waiting time (5-8 months from the moment of sowing to flowering) will stretch. In this article, I tried to summarize my experience and the experience of other flower growers (Lyubov Serova, Tatyana Kalinichenko, Valery Luzhbin, Tatyana Umbrazhunene, Lyudmila Drizhenko and many, many others) in order to tell in detail about all the intricacies of growing this beautiful plant.

Cm. Large-flowered eustoma.

Eustoma grandiflorum (Eustoma grandiflorum)

Sowing eustoma

It is better to purchase seeds in online stores from flower growers who themselves purchase professional seeds directly from suppliers and pack them. Seeds from store-bought colored bags are not always successful.

Eustoma does not like an acidic environment, therefore, when choosing a soil, you need to pay attention to the pH value. The soil should be uniform, light, loose and breathable. For looseness, you can add vermiculite, soaked and squeezed coconut briquette.

I warn you right away - do not sow other flowers in the same container with eustomas! I sowed eustoma and begonia together once. The eustoma turned out to be faster, rose quickly, I began to open the container for airing, but the begonias did not have enough moisture, and almost all the seedlings disappeared.

We pour the soil into the container in a layer of 4-5 cm, tamp it so that the seeds do not fall through and are not lost. We moisten the soil from a spray bottle with warm water with the addition of Zircon, Energen or HB-101. Now we began to use the so-called "compote", the recipe of which was told by Tatiana Umbrazhuniene. This is 1 capsule of dry Energen + 4 drops of HB-101 per 1 liter of water.

You can use Jiffy peat tablets for sowing.

I usually sowed eustoma in late December and early January. And this time on October 21st. Why so early? Because the selected varieties are late flowering.

Eustoma grandiflorum (Eustoma grandiflorum), seedlings

We lay out the seeds on the moistened soil and moisten them from the spray bottle with the same mixture that was used to moisten the soil. The casing should be soaked. Now you need to gently smear it with a toothpick or needle.

We close the container with a lid and put it in a warm and bright place. We periodically remove condensate from the lid.

Since the quality of store-bought soils leaves much to be desired, this year, when sowing begonias and eustomas, I used the method followed by Tatyana Umbrazhunene: I put a small (about 1 cm) layer of soaked, squeezed and crumbled Jiffy tablets on the prepared soil. She also rammed it so that the seeds would not fall through. Then everything is the same as described above.

Eustoma emerges within 2 weeks. If the soil dries up, carefully pour it from the syringe. If watering with a spray bottle, keep it high to prevent seeds from being washed out of their places.

Seedlings grow for a long time

Eustoma seedlings grow very slowly, this is not a petunia! First, they build up the root system. We water them carefully at this time.

When the seedlings get stronger, we gradually accustom them to open air. In cloudy and dark hours of the day, it is necessary to use a phytolamp for illumination. Although, based on my own experience, I will say - if the window faces the sunny side, and sowing is carried out in early January, then you can do without a lamp. For 2 years out of 5 seasons of growing eustoma, I did not have illumination and the seedlings were successful.

At this stage of cultivation (before picking), flower growers give many different recommendations - from those that say: "you do not need to fertilize or stimulate growth", to the development of whole schemes where different preparations are applied every 5-7 days. Again, summarizing the experience, we can say that most often standard preparations are used to build up the root system - calcium nitrate, Kornevin, Zircon, Radifarm.

Picking eustoma seedlings: before and after

I am not in a hurry with a dive, I dive the seedlings in 50-60 days from the day of sowing (I am guided by the size of the seedlings).Plants by this time have 2-3 pairs of leaves. They develop in different ways, even within the same variety. Some growers dive eustoma earlier, there is no consensus on this matter. As there is none in the matter of choosing the volume of the picking cups. What is necessary is the presence of a drainage hole so that there is no stagnation of water.

I dived in different ways: first, into 100-gram cups, and when the roots are entwined with the soil, together with a lump I transferred into larger cups - with a capacity of 200-250-300 g; dived at once in the volume of 200-250-300 g. I did not notice much difference in the final result.

Eustoma grandiflorum (Eustoma grandiflorum) after picking

For the last time, Valery Luzhbin immediately cut the seedlings into 500-gram containers.

In order not to bother with re-transshipment, for myself I also decided to use large cups at once.

Large-flowered eustoma (Eustoma grandiflorum), picking into large pots

When watering during a dive, you can use Kornevin, Radifarm.

7-10 days after the pick, you can start fertilizing the eustoma. I use fertilizers Florist (Uniflor) Rost, Florist Micro, Biohumus, Agricola. You can use any fertilizer for seedlings. I alternate them every 10 days. You can do root dressing, you can - on the sheet.

To strengthen and harden the seedlings, it is useful to spray 2-3 times with growth stimulants - Zircon, Epin or HB-101.

If the seedlings are weak, grow poorly, they must be sprayed with Domotsvet, Citovit or Ferrovit (strictly according to the instructions), pour with a solution of succinic acid.

Now there are many professional fertilizers, you can choose an option for any stage of development of both seedlings and adult plants.

When the light part of the day becomes longer and the sun begins to bake, the eustoma begins to noticeably increase in growth. Water carefully. Seedlings can neither be poured nor overdried.

Planting eustoma in open ground

I plant eustoma in low "basins" with a volume of 3-5-7 pieces on a bucket of soil. I give her a sunny place. I saw a photo where eustomas grow in tall pots - it looks beautiful. The main thing is that there should be at least 3 plants in the container, then you get a lush "long-lasting" bouquet. Eustoma "in the legs" can be planted with lobelia, low sedum, or you can plant nothing.

I plant seedlings in May, there are no exact dates, I am guided by the weather. I make the soil mixture for planting myself: garden soil + ready-made peat soil (I buy it immediately in large briquettes) + sand + vermiculite + compost. Sustained release fertilizers can be added (optional). The mixture should be light, loose and breathable.

Eustoma can be fertilized 7-10 days after planting in open ground. Fertilizers are the same, we also add Florist Bud. When the eustoma blooms, we fertilize with potassium monophosphate or any complex fertilizer for flowering.

To increase immunity (good immunity is already the prevention of the appearance of diseases), if the weather is cold or rainy, you need to spray the plants with Zircon, Epin, HB-101, Domotsvet, Tsitovit or Ferrovit, diluting the drug according to the instructions.

About proven eustoma varieties

Of the varieties tested on my own experience, I can recommend Echo, Magic, Supermagic, Arena, ABC. In the Arena and ABC varieties, groups 1, 2, 3 are indicated - according to the flowering time, the sowing time depends on this. Therefore, when choosing seeds, it is imperative to pay attention to this.

Eustoma grandiflorum (Eustoma grandiflorum) Magic Pink, or Magic Lilak

Eustoma grandiflorum (Eustoma grandiflorum) Super Magic Epricot

Nowadays, many new varieties of eustoma have appeared in online stores: Corelli, Flare, Rosita, Vanderous, Croma, Advantage, Mariachi. Purely my opinion, but Rosita and Vanderose did not like it.

Flare, Advantage - planted in October 2017, as this is a late group, I will watch and wait for the results.

From Mariachi, only the Carmine hybrid was grown, hoping for a red color. However, this eustoma did not impress, as did Arena Red and Rosita Red. Eustoma does not have a pure red color, the flowers are dark crimson.