Nemesia

Family. Scrophulariaceae.

Origin. Subtropics of South Africa.

Description. The genus Nemesia consists of approximately 40 charming flowering branched annual and perennial herbaceous plants and subshrubs.

The shoots are strong, erect, with pubescent tops.

The leaves are lanceolate, green, up to 10 cm long, simple, opposite.

The flowers are often fragrant, up to 3 cm in diameter, in a wide range of colors - white, orange, yellow, pink, scarlet, crimson, lilac, collected in inflorescences - panicles or single. Nemesias are often found with flowers of 2 shades. With proper care, the plant blooms so profusely that the flowers almost completely hide the foliage. 

Height. 15 - 60 cm.

Planting and care

Keeping in open ground

In open ground, nemesia is grown as an attractive annual plant - in a harsh climate, the flower does not survive the winter.

Nemesia is planted in the garden as seedling bushes in May or early June, when the threat of return frosts has passed. If spring is early and warm, then you can sow nemesia seeds directly into the soil, but in this case, flowering will occur later - in August.

For 10 - 14 days before planting, boxes with seedlings are left in the fresh air during the daytime for several hours, hardening the flowers. Over the course of a couple of weeks, the time spent outside is gradually increased. 

For planting, prepare an area open to the sun - loosen the soil and remove weeds.

Do not plant the flower on low-lying or flooded lands. When grown in the shade, the plants will bloom less profusely, but in light shade from direct sun during the daytime the flower will feel great.

Depending on the placement scheme, planting holes are prepared, maintaining a distance of 20-30 cm between them. The depth and width of the holes should slightly exceed the volume of the root ball. 

If the substrate on the site is too heavy, then a sufficient amount of river sand is mixed into it. Nutrient-poor soils are enriched with mineral fertilizers or organic matter. When planting, it is worth remembering that the flower does not like the presence of lime in the soil.

The bushes are taken out of the pots and placed in the planting holes using the transshipment method - keeping the earthen lump intact. If the plants developed in peat pots, then there is no need to remove them from the pots - within a short time the roots will grow through the walls of the pots. 

The flowers are sprinkled with prepared soil, compacted lightly and watered generously with plenty of warm water.

To prevent moisture from evaporating too quickly from the soil surface, the bases of plants are mulched with mowed grass, rotted sawdust or straw, and peat. A layer of mulch, among other things, will also inhibit the development of weeds.

If the temperature at night threatens to drop to zero, the flowers are covered with non-woven material on top.

Further care of the flowers will consist of timely watering, weeding, loosening the soil and fertilizing.

Feeding for nemesia is applied only 2-3 times during spring and summer. Young bushes are fed with nitrogen fertilizers, and for the onset of abundant flowering, mineral fertilizers with a high content of phosphorus and potassium are used.

The flower responds well to the addition of organic matter - for example, well-rotted manure, slurry or humus.

Water the flowers with warm water in the morning and evening hours.

In autumn, with the onset of frost, nemesia bushes damaged by frost are removed from the site. 

Reproduction, growing from seeds 

Sowing of seeds is carried out in the spring - usually in the middle or end of March. Fresh seeds have the greatest germination; 2 years after collection, germination will be better.

For sowing, use a container with drainage holes and a drainage layer in the form of fine expanded clay.

Fill the container with loose, nutritious soil - for example, a mixture of peat and sand.

If the crops are too dense, the plants will be elongated and unsightly, so it is important to evenly distribute the planting material over the surface of the substrate. 

It is convenient to sow small nemesia seeds using a slightly moistened toothpick. Sometimes planting material is mixed with river sand and then sown.

It is also possible to sow more or less evenly if the soil in the container is sprinkled with snow - dark dots on its surface will be clearly visible. Melting snow will simultaneously saturate the soil with moisture.

If there is no snow, then after sowing the substrate in the seedling box is moistened with water using a fine spray bottle. 

The top of the crops is covered with a thin layer of sand about 3 mm thick. or simply leave it on the surface of the earth, lightly pressing it with your fingertips.

The box is covered with a lid or transparent glass on top to create a greenhouse effect. Periodically, remove the cap and remove any condensation that appears on it. 

The seedlings are kept in moderately warm conditions - at a temperature of 18 to 22 °C and partial shade for germination, which occurs within a week. Airing is carried out daily, gradually increasing the time.

With the appearance of the first shoots, the cover can be completely removed.

When almost all the sprouts have emerged, the temperature is lowered to 10 ° C, hardening the plants and slightly stopping their development. The fact is that in March flowers often do not have enough sun - the duration of daylight hours is too short and slow growth at this time will help ensure that the bushes remain strong and lush.

When each plant can boast 2 - 3 true leaves, the seedlings are picked - very carefully planted in separate small cups with soil. 

Simultaneously with diving or a little later, the tips of the stems are pinched for the first time to form side shoots.

You should not delay picking, as the flower forms a deep tap root, which is easily damaged during transplantation.

You can do without picking if you plant the seeds immediately in separate cups. Good results are also obtained when sowing seeds in peat tablets.

After diving, the temperature is increased to 13 ° C, and a week later the plants are fed for the first time with a very weak solution of mineral fertilizers with a high nitrogen content.

Seed propagation occurs quite easily and often self-seeding can even be found under the plants.

The first flowering will occur in plants aged about 2.5 months. 

For propagation, you can use your own collected seeds, which should be allowed to fully ripen on the plant.

To prevent the seeds from spilling out of the dry, ripened boxes, they are covered with gauze.

Plants obtained from their own seeds often do not inherit all the charm of their parents, so nemesias are often propagated using cuttings.

1. In order to obtain cuttings, flowers are brought indoors in the autumn months and placed in a cool place for wintering. 
2. The air temperature should be 11 - 14 degrees Celsius.
3. In spring, the first young shoots will appear on the bushes, which are separated from the mother plants using sharp pruning shears.
4. Cuttings are rooted in pots filled with well-moistened peat and sand.
5. The top of the cuttings is covered with transparent plastic film or glass and periodically moistened with a spray bottle.

The fact that roots have formed on the ground can be judged by the new leaves and shoots that appear on the cuttings.

Occasionally, adult plants are divided into several parts when transplanted in the spring, but often such propagation ends in failure.

Unfortunately, when dividing, damage to the root system often occurs and the plants become sick and even die long after planting.

If such a need arises, then do the division with your hands, trying to cause minimal injuries. If necessary, cut the bush with sharp pruning shears and treat the cut areas with crushed charcoal.

As a result of division, each part should receive its own, well-developed root system and green ground part.

Nemesia at home 

The plant does not have any special requirements for living conditions and even fairly inexperienced gardeners can grow it.

Nemesia does not like sudden changes in conditions of detention; it should be accustomed to any changes gradually. 

The tips of young shoots are regularly pinched so that the plant actively branches and looks denser. The first pinching is done on very young bushes - when 3-4 leaves have formed on them. 

After flowering, the stems can be pruned to a height of 10–15 cm from the soil level - such pruning can contribute to the onset of a second wave of flowering. Plants after pruning will not waste their energy on producing seeds. After such pruning, side shoots will appear, which will also bloom profusely.

Perform pruning only with sharp and sterilized tools.

Remove fading flowers to prolong flowering time. 

In the warm season, take the plants outside - nemesia will be happy to be outside in the summer, protected from strong winds and heavy rainfall.

Tall varieties may require support during the flowering period. 

Flowering time of nemesia

Summer, with good care at home, it blooms almost all year round. When grown in open ground, plants bloom in the second half of June.

Often, after the first flowering and proper pruning, plants form buds again. Repeat flowering may be less abundant.

Transplant 

Perennial nemesias are transplanted into fresh soil annually in the spring.  Instead of landing, you can carry out transshipment.

1. For growing, select pots with large drainage holes at the bottom.
2. First of all, drainage is placed in the pot, consisting of expanded clay, fine gravel, river pebbles or simple broken bricks.
3. A small layer of substrate is poured onto the drainage layer and the plant is placed along with the root ball in the center of the pot so that it is at the same depth as in the previous container.
4. The voids between the walls of the pot and the root ball are filled with fresh soil mixture, which is then lightly tamped with your fingertips.
5. After transshipment, the plants are watered generously and excess water is allowed to drain from the drainage holes.
6. Place transplanted plants only in a place shaded from direct rays. Flowers can be taken out into a more illuminated room after 7 - 10 days.

The first feeding of transplanted flowers is carried out a couple of weeks after transplantation.

Feeding 

Nemesia in a pot has a limited feeding area and requires additional minerals to be added to the soil.

The flowers are fed with liquid fertilizers 2 times a month during the period of growth and flowering.  To form green mass, the flower will need nitrogen fertilizers, and phosphorus-potassium mixtures are used to form buds. 

Good results are obtained by using mineral fertilizers for flowering plants in the form of slowly soluble sticks.

Organic fertilizers in the form of slurry, a weak solution of bird droppings, and humus have a positive effect on plants.

The best results when growing nemesia were obtained by alternating mineral and organic fertilizers.

All fertilizing is applied only after abundant watering, since a fertilizer solution that gets on dry roots can cause a chemical burn. 

Diseases and pests 

• Root rot due to insufficient drainage and excessive watering, especially in the cold season.
• Fungal diseases - such as powdery mildew - appear when the environment is too cool and humid.
• Strong thickening and lack of air movement have a negative effect on plants - in this case, the flower can also suffer from fungal diseases. 
• With insufficient ventilation and abundant watering, nemesia seedlings are susceptible to a disease such as black leg.
• Overdrying the soil negatively affects the plant - it slows down its development and looks weak and sick.
• Excessive amounts of nitrogen in the soil will cause flowers to abundantly grow green mass to the detriment of flowering.
• Nemesia does not bloom or blooms sparingly when grown in low light conditions.

Among the pests, at low air humidity, the flower can be attacked by spider mites.

Features of maintenance - temperature

The plant prefers cool conditions at a temperature of about 18°C. Under such conditions, the flowering period is extended.  

In the winter months, in order for the flower to rest and gain strength for subsequent flowering in the new season, it is provided with a cool dormant period at a temperature of about 12 ° C.

Nemesia does not tolerate frosts, and at temperatures below 10 ° C this attractive flowering bush can get sick and die.

Lighting

Preferably bright lighting with reflected rays of the sun. This species can sunbathe in the morning and evening, but it is better to shade it from the midday rays. Good lighting affects the abundance of flowering.

The most suitable for keeping nemesia will be the window sills of eastern or western windows. When grown on the south side, the flower is slightly deeper into the room or shaded with a light curtain from direct sunlight.  When kept in the north, plants will need to be provided with artificial illumination with fluorescent lamps or phytolamps.

Since the bushes have the ability to stretch towards the light source, every week the pot with plants is turned a quarter turn so that the flower remains thick and symmetrical.

Soil

The soil should contain a large amount of organic matter in the form of peat, leaf humus and turf soil; coarse sand is added to improve drainage. You can also add perlite or vermiculite to the substrate as drainage.

Nemesia prefers soils with an acidic or neutral pH. 

Watering 

The plant needs evenly moist soil; between waterings, only slightly dry the top layer of soil.

Young plants will react especially painfully to a lack of moisture; with age, short drying of the soil will be more painless. Flowering stops when the soil gets too dry.

In autumn, reduce the frequency of watering slightly. During the winter months, water in such a way as to simply protect the substrate from drying out completely.

Be sure to drain any excess water that appears in the pan after watering after a few minutes.

For watering, use well-settled tap, filtered or softened bottled water at room temperature. 

Spraying

You can spray periodically to prevent pests such as red spider mites. For spraying, use water at room temperature, standing for at least a day.

You should not spray during the flowering period - droplets of moisture getting on the buds and flowers can negatively affect their appearance. 

During budding, it is better to use a room humidifier placed in close proximity to the flower to increase air humidity.

The nemesia pot can be placed on a tray filled with damp gravel, ensuring that the bottom of the pot is not submerged in water.

Any vessel or container with water will also perfectly humidify the air.

Plants love to be in spacious rooms that are constantly ventilated and where there is good air circulation. Cold drafts do not frighten the flower.

Purpose

Looks ideal when grown in hanging baskets - flowerpots, as hanging plants.

Suitable for landscaping balconies, loggias and terraces. Flowers are used for cutting. 

The abundant and lush flowering of nemesia allows it to compete with such leaders of the flower market as, for example, petunia and snapdragon. 

Varieties:

Nemesia strumosa

A flowering plant with erect, abundantly branching stems at the base. The leaves are green, slightly bent along the central vein, glossy, arranged in opposite pairs. The edges of the leaf blades have small teeth. The flowers are bright, collected in small apical inflorescences. Shades of flowers are within the range of white, cream, pink, yellow, lilac, red, orange, violet colors. Often there are plants with flowers colored in two, three or even four shades at once.