Written By Harpreet Ahluwlia
The onset of winter season makes us all more of outdoor people. We love sitting and basking in the sunlight. This would become more pleasurable if our outdoor was more colorful and vibrant.
Flowers make your garden/balcony more colorful and vibrant. They enhance the fragrance in the space. Winter gives you a lot of choices of flowers in varied colors, shapes, sizes and textures. In fact the first of winter flowers start blooming in November- December and the maximum of blooms happen in February – March.
The small growers who want to grow the winter annuals in containers and keep them in their balconies, atriums, patios and roof tops should grow the regular hardy varities of flowers. All you need to do is to plant them where they can get a lot of sunshine.
Essentials for Cultivation
- Provide an open and sunny position, exception being cineraria, salvia, petunia and larkspur as they don’t mind semi- shades. All winter annuals need at least 5 hours of daily direct sunlight.
- Effective drainage is a must.
- Soil should be reasonably fed with organic manure but avoid overfeeding as excess of it may result in more leafy growth and less of flowers.
Nasturticem gives its best on poor soil. Soil mixture composition should be one pot of loam clay, one part of farm manure, little leaf mould, neem -khali and bone meal.
- Staking would be necessary for all tall annuals.
- More frequent watering is required as roots are not generally deep with the exception of sweet peas, whose roots are deep. A caution here – since the days are shorter water evaporation reduces, so be watchful of over watering. Water as per need of plant and size of pot. Smaller pots need frequent watering than bigger pots.
Pot size: Plant the plants in containers that are large enough. The best containers are that which is 1-2 sizes larger than the plant to be planted. Sizes can vary from 6,8,10 and 12 inches, depending upon your space and varieties you choose.
Planting of Annuals
The activities for winter annuals start in September itself. Sowing the seeds of most winter annuals must be done in nursery beds or seed pans. Sweet peas, nastasium prefer directing sowing. Dhalia, Chrysanthemums, carnations can grow through cuttings. If heavy rains continue, delay the sowing till first week of October.
To make sure the seedlings are well spaced, place chicken wire over your seedling tray and put a seed in each hole. This makes it easier to separate the seedling for transplanting after 15-20 days. By that time the seedling is 2-3 inches tall and having 2-3 leaves. Transplant them in 6 inch height pot.
A sunny location with effective drainage is more important to most annuals than soil quality. Annuals don’t like too much manure even when it’s well aged. Too much nitrogen results in plants with too many leaves, stems and too few flowers. The best manure for winter annuals is dried leaf mould or well rotten and old farm manure.
Pinching
Once the seedling is established for 15-20 days and after you see fresh leaves coming up, pinch the young plants. Pinching delays blooming but helps them to become stockier and bushier. Annuals like Alyssum, Phlox, salvia, Antirrhinum, benefit from pinching most. Use your thumb and forefinger to nip out the growing tip of the main stem just above a pair of leaves.
Caring of the plant
In the growing period keep hoeing the pots regularly to loosen the soil and keep a close watch on aphides and pests. Nuvan is a safe bet for spraying. Repot Dahlias and carnations especially in bigger pots after about a month of planting and once the cutting is established.
Types
Varieties that look the best for window boxes are Petunias, marigold, Verbena, Alyssum. Some commonly grown varieties for pots.
Harpreet Ahluwalia
CEO- Earthly Creations
D 138 sector 36. Noida. 201303
hahluwlaia138@yahoo.co.in. Cell 9810502046
