Author: Elena N. https://floristics.info/ru/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=19 Category: Garden plants Published: February 18, 2019Last edits: November 03, 2020
- When to plant
- Rules of care
- Seaside cineraria (cineraria maritima)
In the garden, cineraria is grown as an annual or biennial. In indoor culture, this plant can bloom annually from December to March. There are already about 1300 species of cineraria. Most of them are grown for their flowers, and coastal cineraria is valuable for its either gray or silvery leaves.
Each type of cineraria has its own requirements for soil, conditions and care. From our article you can find out:
- how to sow cineraria for seedlings;
- how to transplant seedlings into pots or open ground;
- how to care for the plant before, during and after flowering;
- how to propagate cineraria.
In addition, you will learn which types of this plant are most often grown in culture.
Planting and caring for cineraria
- Planting: sowing seeds for seedlings in early April, planting seedlings in open ground in mid-May.
- Flowering: from mid-June until frost.
- Lighting: bright light in the morning and partial shade in the afternoon.
- Soil: fertile, well-drained, neutral or slightly alkaline.
- Watering: abundant, regular.
- Fertilizing: 2 times a month with complex mineral fertilizers.
- Reproduction: flowering species - by seed, decorative foliage - by seeds and cuttings.
- Pests: aphids, spider mites.
- Diseases: powdery mildew, rust.
Read more about growing cineraria below.
Cineraria (lat. Cineraria) is the name of the genus of the Aster family, or Asteraceae. Among the species of cineraria used in ornamental gardening, there are both representatives of this genus and species that belong to the genus of ragworts (lat. Senecio), close to cineraria, of the ragwort tribe of the same family Asteraceae. There are about fifty representatives of the genus Cineraria in nature; according to various sources, there are from one to three thousand species of ragworts. In this article we will talk about the most popular types of both cineraria and ragworts used in ornamental gardening. So, cineraria flowers...
- Kobeya: growing from seeds, types and varieties
Description
Most often, it is the hybrid type of cineraria that is grown at home. It is valued by gardeners and ordinary people for having incredibly beautiful flowers. It will be an excellent design element for flower gardens, flower beds and low borders. Often, when leaving a flower arrangement, a hybrid type of culture can be used in combination with plants such as cannas, pelargonium and sage.
In addition, hybrid cineraria, like Gaillardia flowers, comes in a wide variety of shades, so it can be planted alone in a flower bed. Due to the abundance of colors, each plant will give the flower garden an unusual and attractive look.
The height of the culture reaches 10-30 cm. It is best to grow hybrid cineraria in containers. When the cold weather comes, they can be brought into the house along with the plant. And in the spring, take the container outside.
You can place a container with a flower on a balcony, loggia, or gazebo.
In the video, growing Cineraria hybrid from seeds:
Botanical description
The cineraria plant (the name is translated from Latin as “ashen”) can be both a subshrub and a herbaceous plant. In nature, cineraria are most widespread in Madagascar and the tropics of Africa. In indoor gardening, only the bloody cineraria (Cineraria cruenta), also known as the hybrid cineraria (Cineraria hybrida), is common, although in fact it is a hybrid ragus. In garden culture, the cineraria flower is grown mainly as an annual or biennial. The height of cineraria is from 30 to 90 cm, the stem is highly branched, the leaves are large, petiolate, lyre-shaped or oval, pinnately dissected in many species. Both stems and leaves are pubescent. The terminal corymbose inflorescences consist of simple or double baskets with reed flowers of red, white, yellow, purple, surrounding an island of yellow tubular flowers. Cineraria blooms from mid-June until frost.
Description of the plant
Cineraria are herbs or shrubs from the Asteraceae family. Some plants from the genus Raspberry are called cineraria.
The most popular species in our gardens is Cineraria silver. More recently, these plants have been transferred to another genus, so there is often confusion in the names. Currently, silver cineraria is classified in the genus Jacobea (Jacobaea), the Asteraceae family. And if earlier its name was Senecio cineraria, today it belongs to a different genus and is called Jacobaea maritima. Despite these changes, the old name is still widely used and few people know the new name.
This species differs from others in its silvery pubescence, for which it received the name “silver”. Other names also popular:
- Ashy ragwort;
- Cineraria ashy;
- Silver cineraria;
- Cineraria;
- Cineraria maritima.
The homeland of Senecio cineraria is Southern Europe, where the plant found the best conditions for development in many areas. In nature, these are low shrubs 60-80 cm high, woody at the base, inhabiting rocky slopes. In our climatic conditions, ashthorn is often grown as a garden annual or perennial plant, if it is provided with conditions for wintering under a roof - in unheated basements with a window, a bright garage, an attic, stairwells.
Plant characteristics:
- In gardens, the ashtray reaches a height of 15-40 cm.
- The shoots are rigid, highly branched at the base, covered with silvery pubescence, and densely leafy. The pubescence protects the stems and leaves from sudden changes in temperature and excessive evaporation of water from the tissues.
- The leaves are pubescent, deeply dissected. The pubescence is soft, silky to the touch, and looks like winter frost. The lower leaves are located on petioles, the upper leaves are sessile, less dissected. On the underside of the leaf the pubescence is much denser than on the top. On older leaves, the pubescence becomes coarser, acquiring a greenish tint.
- Flowers. Small yellow, odorless flowers appear from July to September in the second year of cultivation, so cineraria rarely blooms in our climate. The flowers are collected in inflorescences-baskets, consisting of marginal reed flowers, and the inner ones - of tubular ones. The flowers are typical of the entire Aster family, with flower baskets resembling daisies with a diameter of 1.5 cm.
- The fruit is an achene.
Growing cineraria from seeds
Sowing seeds
If you want to know how to grow cineraria from seeds, then start by purchasing planting material, and although this African plant is not such a common occurrence in our gardens, it is quite possible to buy seeds. By the way, the germination rate of cineraria seeds is very high. Sowing cineraria for seedlings is carried out in early April: cineraria seeds are sown in a container filled with a mixture of sand and peat in equal parts, without embedding them in the soil, but compacting the surface after sowing with a wooden ruler, then spraying the soil with water from a sprayer or moistening the soil using the following method: bottom watering, cover the container with glass to create a greenhouse effect.
Growing seedlings
Typically, cineraria from seeds germinates in a week or ten days, and as soon as shoots appear, the container is moved to a well-lit place, and with the appearance of two true leaves, the seedlings dive into personal containers. You need to remove the seedling for replanting together with a lump of earth, and it is better to replant it in peat briquettes, so that later there will be no problems with planting seedlings in open ground. If you do everything on time and correctly, then by the time the seedlings are transplanted to a plot in the garden, they will develop into strong young plants.
Planting cineraria
When to plant
Growing cineraria is not particularly troublesome, but the more information you have, the easier it will be for you. So, what are cineraria's preferences? The lighting is preferably bright, but with shading at midday. She needs fertile and well-drained soil, slightly alkaline or neutral. If you have found a suitable site and brought the soil to the required pH value, then wait until mid-May, when sudden night frosts are behind you, and begin transplanting the seedlings into open ground.
How to plant
Planting cineraria is carried out according to the usual principle: in holes dug at a distance of 20-25 cm from each other, cineraria seedlings are planted along with the soil in which it grew. After planting, tamp down the soil and water the area. If you have a feeling that frost may return, cover the planting of cineraria overnight with spunbond or lutrasil for the required time.
Cineraria in winter
Cineraria is classified as a perennial plant, but in the climatic conditions of central Russia, the flower overwinters extremely poorly and often freezes, despite diligent care. That is why cineraria began to be grown as an annual rather than a winter plant. With the onset of cold weather, when the plant fades, all vegetation is destroyed and the soil is dug up.
If it’s a pity to part with your pet, then you can replant it in tubs or pots and keep it at home in winter. A room that is as bright as possible, but not too hot, is suitable for keeping. In the spring, the cineraria is again transplanted into open ground, again preparing the soil for planting.
In more southern regions, bushes winter well in open ground; to do this, they need to be wrapped in spruce branches and covered with fallen leaves on top.
Cineraria is a spectacular ash-colored plant that looks like small deer horns; it will not leave anyone indifferent. It looks advantageous both in open ground and when kept at home, so even novice gardeners can safely plant it. The variety of crop varieties allows each person to choose what he likes.
Cineraria care
Rules of care
Caring for cineraria is simple; the main thing is properly organized watering. If the plant lacks moisture, it weakens; if there is too much moisture, the roots of the cineraria rot. But almost all types of cineraria are drought-resistant, and in principle, natural precipitation is enough for them. After rain or watering, you need to remove weeds from the area and loosen the soil. Immediately remove faded flowers, this will extend the flowering period of cineraria.
- Cletra: growing in open ground, types
Feed cineraria two to three times a month with mineral fertilizers. Decorative flowering species during the budding period are fed alternately with organic and mineral fertilizers every week. In decorative deciduous species of cineraria, the buds are cut off immediately after appearance, so that the plant does not waste energy and nutrition on them. That's all you need to know about caring for cineraria.
Cineraria: care at home.
| Temperature | In summer – room temperature or slightly higher (but not more than +25°С), in winter – low (about +15°С). |
| Air humidity | Moderate. The plant can be sprayed periodically, protecting flowers and buds from moisture. |
| Lighting | Intense but diffuse. |
| Watering | Regular, moderate, without overflowing or drying out the soil. |
| Soil for cineraria | Loose, nutritious, slightly acidified or neutral. |
| Feeding and fertilizer | Single season plants are not required. Bushes older than a year are fed during the period of active growth 1-2 times a month. |
| Cineraria transplant | Annual when grown for more than one season. |
| Reproduction | From seeds or stem cuttings. |
| Features of cultivation | Cineraria at home does not tolerate stagnation of air and moisture, so it needs regular ventilation and strict adherence to the watering regime. |
Requirements for planting soil and pot
This plant has a fairly voluminous root system, so the size of the pot should not be small , especially for adult specimens. A drainage hole in the pot is a must, since ashy ragwort does not tolerate the roots getting soaked. But even if you have a sufficiently large pot, it will not be possible to grow silver cineraria at home for more than one winter - the roots grow too much. The same thing happens with bloody ragwort, but for a different reason - it blooms in indoor conditions for only one season.
Despite the fact that the plant is a perennial, it is practically impossible to force it to produce flower stalks again.
Cineraria has a fairly voluminous root system, so the size of the pot should not be small.
The soil for ashy ragwort must satisfy the following conditions:
- light and nutritious;
- well aerated;
- easily allows moisture to pass through;
- have a neutral or slightly acidic reaction.
We can recommend a mixture of turf and leaf soil in equal parts with a small addition of sand.
Temperature, humidity and lighting
Despite its southern origin, this plant does not like high temperatures. It is the discrepancy between the temperature in the room and the requirements of the plant that explains many failures in breeding silver ragwort. The same can be said about indoor cineraria. For its successful existence, it requires an even cooler room. It is important not only to maintain the temperature range from 15 to 20 degrees, but also to ensure that there are no temperature fluctuations.
Silver ragwort does not tolerate excessive soil moisture, but it likes moist air. At the same time, it is undesirable to spray it, like all pubescent plants. But you can do it differently. Place pebbles at the bottom of a wide tray and add water. Pots with cineraria are placed on top of the pebbles so that their bottoms are on the pebbles but do not touch the water.
Silver groundsel does not tolerate excessive soil moisture, but it likes humid air.
This flower does not like direct sunlight. He is most comfortable on the windowsill of a window oriented east or west. Northeast and northwest orientations are also acceptable. If there is enough light coming into the window, you can even place it on the north window.
Important! Soil moisture should be moderate but constant. It is regulated by the correct watering regime.
Frequency and rules for watering home cineraria
Ashy ragwort should not be watered too often, but quite abundantly. Make sure that the water in the pot does not stagnate - this is detrimental to the plant. For irrigation, you should use well-settled water with a temperature of at least 20 degrees. Water should not get on the leaves of the plant.
Cineraria does not like direct sunlight
Spraying
Caring for cineraria at home may include regularly spraying the plant with warm, settled water, although the flower develops normally even at normal room humidity.
When spraying, it is important to ensure that water does not get on the flowers and buds.
Feeding
When Cineraria is grown in compost, care in the form of fertilizing is reduced to zero; this substrate itself is already quite nutritious. It is advisable that peat be present in the flower pot.
Trimming
Cineraria forms a compact and dense crown on its own, so it does not need additional pruning. However, in order for the plant to retain its decorative and attractive appearance for as long as possible, it is recommended to regularly remove wilted flowers and yellowing leaves.
Rest period
Most often, faded cineraria is simply thrown away, but if the plant is planned to be grown as a perennial, it is given a short rest period after the flowers have withered. At this time, the plant is cut by about half and transferred to a cooler, but well-lit room.
Watering is reduced to the required minimum, fertilizing is temporarily stopped.
Cineraria bloom
A cineraria plant at home, with proper care, can bloom at any time of the year, but usually the flowering period occurs in the spring months.
Corymbose inflorescences are located at the tops of adult shoots and consist of many small red, lilac, violet, white or pink flowers, similar to daisy flowers.
After flowering
It was already mentioned above that this very spectacular flowering plant in mid-latitudes is cultivated by gardeners as an annual. In this regard, after it fades, it is simply destroyed. However, it is quite possible to preserve decorative deciduous species until next year. To do this, they need to be prepared for wintering, namely, the bushes of the plant need to be covered with a layer of dried leaves. In spring, you need to remove the foliage, and then cut off the parts that have frozen slightly from the cineraria, as they can interfere with the growth of young shoots. There is also a second method that will help preserve this plant until spring. In autumn, it should be transplanted into a flower pot, and then transferred to a sufficiently lit, cool room. With the onset of next spring, all you have to do is transplant this flower into open ground.
Transfer
Don’t rush to replant a new bush you just bought, because first it needs to adapt and bloom once. After this, remove all the inflorescences, shorten the long shoots and replant the flower along with the clump into a larger pot.
Reproduction of cineraria
We have already talked about seed propagation, but only ornamental flowering species are propagated exclusively by seeds. For decorative deciduous varieties, there are other methods of propagation - vegetative. For example, seaside cineraria (Cineraria maritima) is propagated in the summer by cuttings 10 cm long. To do this, they make a “cutting box” - a portable box in which you plant the cuttings for rooting. The cuttings are needed so that you can easily move them in the garden from place to place, hiding the cuttings from the midday sun. You can make such a box from wooden boards and plywood.
A mixture of sand and garden soil is poured into the bottom of a box with drainage holes in a layer of 10 cm, on top of which is 5-7 cm of coarse river sand, the surface is well leveled and the soil is poured from a watering can with a pink solution of potassium permanganate. The lower cut of the cutting is dusted with Kornevin, then it is stuck into the soil in the cutting plant and the soil is lightly pressed around it. Then put half a plastic bottle on each cutting, slightly pressing its cut into the sand, and do not remove this kind of greenhouse until the cuttings take root.
You need to water the soil on top of the bottles every two days, if necessary. When the cuttings take root, you will need to remove the plastic from them every day for an hour or two, accustoming them to the environment in which they will grow. Then, one fine cloudy, or even better, rainy day, the bottles are removed completely. The cuttings overwinter in the cuttings in a cool room, and in the spring they are planted in the ground.
Pests and diseases
Deciduous cineraria sometimes suffers from rust and powdery mildew (at too high temperatures and air humidity), as well as spider mites and aphids. Due to the dense pubescence of plants, it is easier to take preventive measures than to treat an already existing disease. As for insect pests, they are destroyed with systemic insecticides. In general, it must be said that all types of cineraria are very resistant to diseases and pests.
Plant propagation
There are three methods of propagating the ragwort plant:
- The first is using cuttings.
- The second involves the use of layering.
- The third is propagation by seeds.
The third method is considered the most difficult, since the seeds need to create comfortable conditions for germination. The temperature should be kept consistently high. Humidity should not fluctuate. It is better if it is possible to propagate ragwort using cuttings. Layerings are suitable for those plants whose roots are classified as creeping.
Cineraria after flowering
As already mentioned, cineraria in our climatic conditions is grown mainly as an annual, so after flowering the plants are destroyed. But you can try to preserve decorative deciduous species until next spring. To do this, the bushes are sprinkled with dry leaves for the winter. In the spring, after removing the foliage, trim off the frozen parts of the plants so that they do not interfere with the germination of young shoots. You can do it differently: dig up the cineraria, transplant it into pots and leave it to overwinter in a bright, cool room. In the spring, you can again plant the overwintered cineraria in the garden.
Types and varieties
The types of cineraria used in garden floriculture are divided into decorative-deciduous, which are grown mainly in open ground, and decorative-flowering, mostly cultivated as indoor plants.
- How to Refresh and Replace Worn Garden Soil
Seaside cineraria (cineraria maritima)
Or seaside ragwort, or silver cineraria, or silver cineraria - an ornamental deciduous perennial with a rosette of silver-green leaves. Widely used in landscape design if you need to create a background for greenery or brightly colored flowers. Sometimes this species is also called “silver dust”. Popular varieties:
- Silver Dust - low bushes with lacy leaves;
- Cirrus are taller, lush bushes with oval, toothed leaves.
Hybrid cineraria (Cineraria hybrid)
Or red cineraria, also known as bloody cineraria, is a bushy ornamental flowering plant reaching a height of 30 centimeters or more. The leaves are round, large - from 10 to 20 cm in length, they are an excellent background for bright flowers, similar to daisies or daisies. Varieties:
- Grandiflora is a tall plant (50-70 cm in height), flower diameter is from 5 to 8 cm;
- Double – bush height from 35 to 70 cm, flower diameter up to 5 cm;
- Stellata – plant height 70-90 cm, flower diameter from 2 to 4 cm;
- Sympathy - differs in all possible combinations of two shades.
Elegant Cineraria (Senecio elegans)
This is a species with a highly branched stem up to 60 cm high, covered with sticky hairs like the leaves. The flowers are simple or double, collected in baskets, which in turn make up corymbose inflorescences. Blooms until frost. Varieties:
- Ligulosus – terry cineraria in a wide range of colors;
- Nanus - dwarf plants up to 25 cm tall.
Cineraria in landscape design
Decorative foliage Primorsky cineraria is used not only for framing flower beds. Silver lace leaves look beautiful in the flower beds themselves as an accent color.
The plant is often used to create ornaments in carpet plantings. Cineraria Primorskaya is suitable for planting in flowerpots alone or together with flowering plants.
Graceful ragwort is usually placed on alpine hills and rocky gardens. The plant looks beautiful in any flower bed next to crops that are not too demanding on watering.
Hybrid cineraria is used in continuous plantings, flower beds, and when creating plant ornaments. It looks good planted in a clump among conifers as a color accent. The culture can often be found in stationary flowerpots or ordinary pots placed outside.
Cineraria is a beautiful, unpretentious plant grown in Russia as an annual. It is easily propagated vegetatively; you will have to tinker with the seeds, but you can sow them at any time to get a flowering bush by a certain date.
