Pelargonium "Simona" F1

Horseshoe pelargonium "Simona" F1 - Pelargonium zonale.
A magnificent perennial indoor plant, which has been successfully used for many years to decorate verandas and loggias, outdoor hanging baskets and flowerpots.
The plant forms a voluminous and compact bush, 35 cm high and 15-25 cm in diameter, decorated with decorative green leaves with brown tints along the edge. The flowers are juicy pink in color (with reddening towards the center), collected in large spherical inflorescences.
Sowing: December-March in light soil to a depth of no more than 1 cm. Crops are covered with film or glass, put in a warm and bright place, excluding direct sunlight. As a substrate, it is best to use a mixture of peat and sand. Shoots usually appear 2-3 weeks after sowing. The optimum temperature for friendly germination is + 20 + 25 ° C and moist soil (without excess water).
After seed germination, the containers should be moved to a cooler place. The picking of seedlings is carried out in the phase of 2-3 true leaves. For better tillering, the plants are pinched over 5-6 leaves. Seedlings are planted in the ground when the threat of frost has passed with a frequency of 20 cm. Pelargonium is a photophilous and moisture-loving plant that prefers light and fertile soils with the addition of sand.
Pelargonium is a photophilous and moisture-loving plant that prefers light and fertile soils with the addition of sand.
Care: in the warm season loves abundant, frequent watering.
In winter, depending on the temperature, water sparingly. Feed the plant with mineral fertilizers enriched with potassium.
Flowering: 15-18 weeks after sowing.
1,0 g = 152-200 seeds.

GROWING CONDITIONS.
By their nature, pelargoniums are very undemanding. They are thermophilic, but modern varieties and, especially, F1 hybrids are more resistant to adverse weather conditions and endure even short-term weak frosts by autumn. They can grow well both in bright sun and in partial shade, which makes it possible to decorate them with both sunny and moderately shaded areas. Soils for pelargoniums should be selected loose, nutritious, moderately moist and well permeable, because. plant roots do not tolerate soaking.
REPRODUCTION BY SEEDS.
Seeds are sown very early, in December - January, because. flowering begins 5-6 months after sowing. The soil is loose, light, based on peat or with the addition of sand or perlite. Seeds are sown in grooves or scattered on the surface of the soil and lightly sprinkled with earth. Crops are covered with a film or glass and periodically sprinkled with water to maintain constant humidity. The optimum temperature for seed germination is +21...+22 ° C. Seedlings appear 7-8 days after sowing. Immediately after this, the seedlings should be provided with good lighting. With a lack of light, the plants will stretch strongly and may die. During the development of seedlings and seedlings, the temperature should be slightly reduced to + 18 ° C. Watering during this period needs moderate (so that the soil does not dry out, but is not too damp). When 1-2 true leaves appear, the plants dive one by one in 8 cm pots, and when they reach a height of 8-10 cm, they pinch the top of the shoot.

* During the development of seedlings, it is desirable to provide daylight hours lasting 14-18 hours. The lengthening of daylight hours contributes to the earlier flowering of pelargoniums.

Feeding seedlings begin 5-7 days after picking. In the future, they are carried out once every 7 days. They use complex mineral fertilizers (nitrophoska, fertik, etc. - 30-35 g / 10 l of water), mullein tincture or, with a lack of nitrogen (if the leaves turn pale green and the plants slow down growth) - nitrogen fertilizers (urea, ammonium nitrate and etc.). Good results are obtained by alternating mineral fertilizers with organic and biofertilizers based on humic acids (Humate, humiks, etc.).

* If pelargoniums were sown early, and the plants grew strongly by spring, they can be transferred to larger pots with a diameter of 10 cm before planting in the ground or before sale.

Eng.: Horseshoe pelargonium. Sven.: Pelargon. Fin.: Pelakuu, Pelargoni.