How to water balsam and how to feed it for plentiful flowering: when to fertilize at home and which ones?

Today, balsam has become an inhabitant of many window sills and balconies of city apartments, decoration of personal plots. He enjoys considerable popularity due to his unpretentiousness in leaving. It continuously pleases its owners with bright and plentiful flowering.

However, that the natural forces of the flower did not dissect, he needs periodic top dressing, which will suit him. In today's article, we will examine in detail all aspects of balsam fertilizer to achieve various goals.

What is this plant?

REFERENCE! Balsam is a compact houseplant native to the tropics and subtropics of Asia and Africa.

Let's talk a little about the appearance of the flower. The stalks of balsam are juicy, with a large number of branches, with a height of 15 to 50 cm in different varieties. Foliage, as a rule, is richly green in color; there is also a color with a reddish or bronze tint.

Balsam flowers are located in the sinuses. There are various colors depending on the variety: they are gently pink or milky, and they are variegated, speckled or striped. Varieties with terry flowers are bred.

The balsam flower is small in size and usually has a bright color, which gave rise to the name "light". It’s not in vain that they call the “eternal blossom” balsam — balsamins bloom very plentifully almost all year round. Thanks to its beautiful small bushes, balsam or, as the people often call it "Roly wet" is often grown as an ampelous plant.

It can be grown in two qualities: both annual and perennial plants.

How to water?

Water prefers balsam in large quantities. To begin with, we will analyze how often it is required to water the soil substrate in the spring-summer period. If the plant is in the room, then watering should be done every other day. It is desirable that the pan in which the pot stands is deep. For balsam, excess water does not exist.

If the plant is on the open ground, then watering is done daily and with the same frequency - spraying. Such procedures can significantly increase the percentage of air humidity, and also prevent the appearance of pests, for example, spider mites.

Winter watering takes place once every three days or twice a week. The plant grows in the winter, so it is necessary to control the amount of water remaining after irrigation in the pan. The lump must be saturated with moisture, drying weakens the plant itself. If the soil is very moist, then stagnation of water in the soil will occur, and this is a favorable environment for breeding small midges - sciaridae.

NOTE! Significant drying of the soil can lead to the death of balsam.

Fertilizers for growing at home

A properly designed program for feeding your plant will allow you to achieve the desired effects, for example, bright and lush flowering or vice versa a set of leaf masses, so that the balsam takes an even more magnificent appearance.

When are required?

During the growing season, balsamine requires additional nutrients. Approximately 1 time in 10 days, feed balsamine with mineral fertilizers.
During the set of buds and flowering, you should not use nitrogen fertilizing. At this time, preference should be given to phosphorus-potash fertilizers.
With the advent of autumn, balsamins are no longer needed to be fed. This break lasts until spring. Also, diseased plants and those that have recently been transplanted do not fertilize. Read about the nuances of planting, transplanting and subsequent care for balsam here.

What and how to fertilize?

In spring, when balsam is actively growing, additional fertilizing with fertilizer is desirable. into the ground, to which he gratefully responds with an abundance of green juicy greens, shoots and leaves.

Once every 10 days you need to feed balsam with complete mineral fertilizer. Top dressing is done in cloudy weather or in the morning or in the evening to avoid root burns. Before top dressing, water the soil with ordinary water, and then with fertilizer.

From March to September, balsam is fed with fertilizer for indoor decorative flowering plants every two weeks. Fertica-lux, Uniflor-bud, Agricola for blooming, Merry flower girl for geraniums and balcony flowers, or Merry flower girl for violets and begonias (blooming) are well suited.

TIP! Balsamins respond well not only to root, but also fertilizers on the leaf (foliar top dressing), especially for young cuttings. To do this, dilute the fertilizer according to the instructions in soft, settled water, which is 2-3 ° higher than room temperature and spray on the surface of the entire foliage. In August and September, gradually stop feeding.

Stop feeding in late August, in winter it is not worth feeding, balsamins grow weakly during this period.

What to use to bloom magnificently?

In order to achieve lush and bright flowering, in no case do not use nitrogen fertilizers for top dressing. Fertilizers with a high content of phosphorus and potassium will better cope with this task. Now in specialized stores a wide assortment is presented, carefully study the labels to avoid mistakes.

In more detail about the care at home for this beautiful plant, we talked about in this article, and how to grow and propagate it at home can be found here.

How to fix bugs?

However, if you still made a mistake when choosing a ready-made fertilizer or did not comply with the proportions specified in the instructions, do not despair. But before we proceed to the analysis of further procedures, we make one remark.

Balsamine does not tolerate organic fertilizers, such as manure. You will see how the fragrance of a flower is replaced by drooping leaves and shedding of buds.

A sick plant, namely, it becomes in view of our inexperience and carelessness, we must immediately stop feeding by any means. Let the plant "come to its senses" for a month and then continue top-dressing in the usual mode, only with a more careful choice of nutrition.

Conclusion

The correct choice of fertilizer and its frequency will not go unnoticed by balsam. In conclusion, we suggest recalling a few basic rules:

The soil in the balsamic pot must be kept constantly moist.
In the spring, before the flowering period, mineral fertilizers are applied.
During the flowering period, to prolong it and increase the intensity, balsam is fed with phosphorus-potassium supplements.
You can fertilize balsam through leaf irrigation.
It is not necessary to apply organics, balsam does not tolerate it.

We hope that our simple tips will help you achieve abundant flowering of balsam. And your "touchy" will continue to delight you with its beauty and health.