What can be sown on seedlings in December?

Send

Winter time is far from all gardeners perceive as an excuse to abandon all gardening and relax. A couple of weeks of respite from the active garden hassle - and again pulls to do something useful. It is better to devote December to the study of literature, catalogs, new products, debriefing and drawing up plans. Do such things or rest seem too boring? You can sow the seeds for the first seedlings! Yes, if conditions allow, “long-playing” colors can be started in December.

Important conditions for the success of December crops

Oddly enough, for many gardeners, December means the start of the seedling season. Of course, work on growing seedlings to the peak will be released only in March, but in December you can do the first crops to grow your own healthy seedlings of flowers.

But before you take in the first month of winter for a package with a substrate and containers, you should carefully evaluate your capabilities. In December, crops can be carried out only if you can satisfy the needs of gentle seedlings for the right temperature and lighting. The amount of light is critical to the development of any seedlings, especially flowers.

Therefore, it is worth sowing seeds in December only if you have the opportunity to highlight them and protect the seedlings from temperature extremes, including from cold drafts.

Summer people with an extremely long developmental period before flowering - clove Shabo, for example - the first candidates for the December sowing. But in fact, not so few cultures will prefer early planting seedlings. This month you can start sowing:

Summer people with a very long growing season or an extended period of seed germination.
Herbaceous perennials with a very long waiting period for seedlings.
Seeds of indoor plants (including dates, avocados, citrus fruits).
Seeds of stone fruit and pome fruits and ornamental tree crops for the garden (conifers, robinia, horse chestnut, oak, maple, rare plants and exotics.

In December, you can sow seedlings and vegetables, but only if you plan to grow them on a windowsill or in a heated greenhouse. So, if possible, sow cucumbers, cabbage, tomatoes, celery, peppers, sweet potatoes and even potatoes in December. This month, sowing of new varieties of strawberries for greenhouse (and not only) crops begins.

Sowing annuals and perennials in December

December is considered an ideal month for sowing seedlings for any flowering and ornamental-deciduous plants, the seedlings of which appear no earlier than 4-6 weeks, or developing so slowly that flowering begins 6-7 months after emergence.

And there are many such plants among perennial and annual flowers: verbena; eustomas; lobelia; Snapdragon; clove Shabo; petunia; gentians; gaillardia; hellebores; irises; saxifrage; evening primrose; Adonis; buttercup; delphinium; clematis (especially species); bells; hazel grouse; Corydalis; euphorbia multiflora; aquilegia; primrose aconite; eustoma; tree peony; meconopsis; fraxinella; lumbago; Gelenium a swimsuit; lavender; perennial viols, etc.

Regardless of which plant is selected, for December sowing it is important to strictly follow the instructions for a particular plant type:

soil type
container depth
penetration of seeds into the substrate,
planting density,
soil moisture
the need to ventilate shelters daily,
creation of a special temperature regime.

So, clove Shabo needs sowing in fertile soil to a depth of about 3 mm with a row spacing of up to 3 cm and a temperature of 18 degrees. Begonias are sown superficially, keeping constant soil moisture and a temperature of about 21 degrees under glass. The seeds of eustoma are lightly covered with a substrate and contain at 25 degrees, and lavender is finely sprinkled with a layer of sand up to 3 mm and stratified for 2 months until transferred to room temperature.

Sowing indoor plants in December

In addition to perennials and perennials with long vegetation, in December it is worth thinking about the most affordable way to replenish the home collection of plants - propagation by seeds. It will take several years to expect maximum decorativeness from pet pets, but there is simply no more economical way.

In December, you can sow the seeds of such indoor plants: cyclamen, calceolaria, passiflora, begonia, pelargonium, pelargonium, pelargonium zonal, Waller balsam, gloxinia, fuchsia. But first of all, you should think about all the fruitful houseplants (citrus fruits, pomegranate, figs, etc.), cacti and other succulents that prefer December sowing. It is best to sow the seeds of indoor crops from the middle or in the third decade of December.

December - a month of stratification bookmark

December is the main month for the start of cooling of plant seeds requiring long and medium stratification. Any plants that prefer to sow after a long cold treatment can be placed on stratification both outside the soil and after sowing.

If there is room, stratification after seeding is preferable, because it will significantly save time in the spring, when the containers will be enough to transfer to heat to stimulate growth.

Not single seedlings

In December, the optimal period begins for the planting of all large plants, especially evergreens. Frosts are not yet severe and the very beginning of the dormant period allows you to transfer already mature trees and bushes to a new place without much loss. If you planned to replenish the collection with giants, then take care of ordering planting material and proper transportation in advance.

Landing pits prepared in the fall are just the first step to success. So that the large-sized ones do not suffer, and the entire adaptation process is successful, you need to think through special supports and stock up on mulching materials. Whatever the general rules of planting, when working with large-sized plants, always very strictly follow the recommendations received in the garden center, and do not deviate from them in any “trifle”.

If the weather allows and in winter the snow has not yet covered the garden with a white blanket, then you can continue sowing in open soil. But even if this is not possible, you can always sow the plants in pots, boxes or containers, dropping them under the snow.