Succulents: Tips for Raising Spring Grass
/ Chen Fuxia
Spring grass is a perennial bulb succulent plant in the genus Sentinelflower of the family Asparaginae. The root of the plant is a round bulb, the skin of the underground part is yellow-white, and the exposed part is yellow-green. Its linear leaves are drawn from the top of the bulb and twisted and coiled, and the peduncle is drawn from the leaf bush, the raceme. Spring grass has a unique shape, simple bulbs, smooth and flowing leaf shape, or waves or circles rich in changes, inflorescences are elegant and fresh, suitable for small potted planting, dotted on window sills, several cases, etc., peculiar and interesting, now share spring grass maintenance experience with flower friends (Figure 1).
Figure 1 Small potted seeds
1 . habit
The leaves can be enjoyed in circles, the flowering period is 3~4 months, and the flowering is fresh and elegant with strong fragrance. There are varieties of hairy leaf spring grass, wide leaf spring grass, fine leaf spring grass and so on. Among them, the hairy leaf and fine-leaved springgrass florets droop, the broad-leaved springgrass florets face upward, the petals are pale yellow on the front and yellow-green on the back. Spring grass likes cool, humid and sunny environments, afraid of humidity and heat, resistant to semi-shade, drought resistance, has a certain degree of cold tolerance, dormant in summer, and grows from autumn to spring. Sentinel flowers are common in flower markets, the leaves are thinner and not curled, the fine-leaved and hairy-leaved spring grass blooms similar to the sentinel flower, and the broad-leaved spring grass has a large difference in flower type, and the floral flavor of the two is different (Figure 2).
Figure 2 Broadleaf spring grass
2. Breeding process
The planting season of Henan spring grass is September, and the bulbs can grow normally with or without exposed soil, and half of the exposed soil can increase the ornamental effect of the bulbs. In mid-September, the bulbs begin to sprout, and a small amount of water is gradually given. Spring grass bulbs are fat and drought-tolerant, and need to be placed in a sunny and ventilated place. In a strong light environment, the leaves are curled like springs, while in low light environments, the leaves are easy to grow, becoming large waves or "wheat seedlings" without rolls. Spring grass blooms after the Spring Festival, the flower sword pulls out of the leaves in turn, and the pale yellow striped flowers have a strong floral fragrance. After the May flower, the leaves begin to turn yellow and gradually wither, entering the dormant period. Remove the dead leaves during the dormancy period, keep the bulbs in the pot, after which the water is completely cut off, the potting soil can not be wet, otherwise the high temperature in summer will cause rotten balls, place them in a cool, dry and ventilated place, and then you can begin to forget them. Stay until September, observe the green buds in the pot, and place them in an open-air fully exposed and ventilated place. In Henan, the temperature drops below 0°C after late November, especially in a bright indoor place (Figure 3)
Figure 3 Hairy spring grass
3. Precautions
Soil: peat plus granular soil (1~3 mm red jade soil, deer swamp soil, etc.) mixed with a little granular sheep manure, mainly loose and breathable without standing water.
Watering: Watering once in about 15 days, with huge bulbs under the bullet shaft, relatively drought tolerant. Excessive watering, the leaf shape is easy to scatter and elongate (Figure 4)
Figure 4 Thin-leaved spring grass
Basin selection: wide-mouth basin, height within 20 cm. Spring grass bulbs are easy to grow side balls after they are large enough, wide mouth pots are conducive to group side balls have enough growth space, spring grass has bulbs under the bulb as whisker roots, the roots are not deep, the growth period is short, just a few months, and the growth stops in May and enters a dormant state (Figure 5).
Figure 5 Pot
Reproduction: Potting or sowing seeds in groups. After the spring grass flowered, it was observed that the pistils had sticky hair and loose pollen, and they needed to apply heterogeneous pollen to the pistil's stigma for pollination, and its floral fragrance attracted bees, and occasionally bee media was strong. When the pods mature, they will naturally explode the scattered seeds, and the seeds will be sown in May or October, and the seed balls can bloom in about three years (Figure 6).
Figure 6 Fine-leaved and hairy-leaved spring grass flowering
Pests and diseases: There are almost no pests and diseases in breeding for many years, but this year it was found that there were white phenol shell insects on the leaves, which is suspected to be infected by Sedum. Spray with pyrrhiza a few times and disappear (Figure 7).
Figure 7 Sentinel flower
The above is some of the cultivation analysis of spring grass. In the early years, the price of spring grass introduced into China was expensive, and a small seed ball was more than 150 yuan into the hand, but now the market has been able to achieve mass breeding, and the price is very close to the people. Spring grass has few pests, drought tolerance, extensive management, and it is difficult to die, it belongs to a succulent plant with 5 stars, and it is recommended for flower friends who like to play with small potted plants.
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