A profusely blooming miracle flower produces handy seeds in abundance. That's a good thing, because the magical flower is not hardy. Therefore, where there is no suitable space for overwintering, the flower festival continues next season after seeds have been sown. Find out how to do it here.
How do you sow miracle flowers?
Sowing miracle flowers can be achieved by moistening the seeds in small pots with seed soil on the windowsill in March, inserting 1-2 seeds per container 1 cm deep into the moist substrate and using a transparent plastic bag to create a tropical microclimate.
Seed harvesting made easy
Harvesting the pea-sized seeds would be child's play if it weren't for their worrying toxic content. Please remove the ripe seeds from the withered flower remains in autumn using protective gloves. To ensure that a Mirabilis jalapa produces the desired seed heads, leave a few flowers standing from the second half of summer onwards and do not clean them out.
Separate the seeds from the flower remains with your fingers and keep them dry, dark and cool until next spring.
Sowing instructions
From March onwards, the lighting conditions on the windowsill have improved so much that you can start growing young miracle flowers. How to do it right:
- Roughen the seeds the day before with sandpaper (€15.00 on Amazon) or a file and soak them in chamomile tea
- Fill small pots with seed soil and moisten with soft water
- Place 1-2 seeds per container 1 cm deep into the moist substrate
- Put a transparent plastic bag over each pot to create a tropical microclimate
On the warm, partially shaded windowsill you can look forward to the first germination leaves within 1 to 2 weeks. The cover has therefore fulfilled its duty and is removed. As a result, keep the substrate constantly slightly moist. By mid-May, your pupils will have partially developed the bulbous survival organ and can be planted in a sunny location.
Direct sowing is rarely successful
Sowing the seeds directly into the bed rarely has the desired outcome. Since the soil temperatures do not provide the necessary warmth for germination before the end of May/beginning of June, the young plant only gets going late in the year, when the flowering period is already coming to an end.
Tip
In order for a seed to transform into a magnificent miracle flower, a lean substrate is required during cultivation. If the young roots have a lavish nutrient buffet at their disposal, they see no reason to make any particular effort in growing. Therefore, only supplement your care with regular fertilization once a vital root system has developed on a strong tuber.
