How to Grow Alkanet at Home
Alkanet is a plant with a great number of advantages. It is pleasing to the eyes with its beautiful purplish blue flowers that bloom in May and remain till the end of October. The plant is also known to be of value in terms of medical uses at is great for cough and chest related illnesses. Its tea is also used to get rid of fever.
The plant is a visual delight and being useful at the same time as one can grow it at home. The process is not too difficult and can be done with ease.
Instructions
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1
Location
The alkanet needs sunny conditions to thrive. Make sure that the area you select for it should have plenty of sunlight so that it can properly grow. It is best that these are planted outdoors only as they need the natural environment to help them in thriving. -
2
Soil Type
The plant can be grown in most soil conditions though it prefers soil that is fertile and is well drained. Having a bit of sand in the soil is also not a bad idea. Make sure that you have soil that is rich for achieving the best results for your efforts. -
3
Plantation
Buy the seeds from a nursery and plant them in sandy soil during the Spring. Place these seeds in pots. The overnight drop is quite helpful in the germination of the plants. The seeds will germinate in two to four weeks with approximately 21 degrees centigrade.
Alternatively, the seeds can also be planted in July directly into a soil bed. Such plants tend to grow quicker and are fully grown by Autumn. -
4
Transplanting
Once the plants become large enough to handle by hand, you will need to prick the individual seedlings and plant them in individual pots. Later on these will need to be planted out in the sun on a soil bed during the summer.
In case of plants that were sown directly into the soil bed during summer, it is important that they too are transplanted so that they can grow to their full potential.
